Berkeley (DDG 15) - Naval Cruise Book

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■ir- In keeping with the tradition of naming destroyers for men who have distinguished themselves in the service of the United States, DDG- 15 was named in honor of the late Major General Randolph C. Berkeley, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism during the Battle of Vera Cruz in 1914. Throughout eight years of naval ser- vice the USS BERKELEY has proven herself again and again a fitting credit to the great man whose name she bears. Commissioned in Philadelphia in December of 1962, BERKELEY ' S 417 feet and 4500 tons support the most effective and up to date air, surface, and sub-surface weapons systems employed by the destroyer navy of today. BERKELEY ' S eventful history includes cruises with the Seventh Fleet in the Tonkin Gulf as well as participation in various tests of the TARTAR and Standard missiles. Following preliminary tests of new electronics systems installed in BERKELEY, the ship departed in March 1964 for an eight month tour with the Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific. The ship was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for the role she played in the August 1964 Tonkin Gulf PT boat incident - the first attack on U.S. warships operating in the Gulf. In late November 1964, BERKELEY returned to Long Beach for ship overhaul. One year later in November of 1965, BERKELEY again got under- way from Long Beach for her second tour in the Western Pacific. BERKELEY ' S assignment was the patroling of the Northern Tonkin Gulf as flagship for the Northern Search and Rescue (SAR) Com- mander. In SAR station, BERKELEY coordinated the rescue efforts of Air Force and Navy fighter planes and armed rescue helicopters. On March 14, 1966 BERKELEY ' S 5 inch 54 caliber guns silenced North Vietnamese shore batteries, while rescue aircraft successfully recovered six downed aviators. BERKELEY wound up the deployment on a most enjoyable note with a visit to Australia for the 1966 Coral Sea Cele- bration and returned to Long Beach in June of that year. During the BERKELEY ' S third cruise to the Western Pacific, which lasted from May to October of 1967, she participated in seven SAR operations and directly assisted in the rescue of four pilots. During Operation Sea Dragon nearly one thousand rounds of hostile fire were received from North Vietnamese gun emplacements along the coast. However, the ship sustained no casualties. The North Vietnamese coast was also the scene of action for BERKELEY ' S fourth Western Pacific cruise, which lasted from July to December of 1968. Her mission was the interdiction of waterborne logistic traffic and weapons sites along the northern coast of Vietnam. During the years of 1967 and 1968 the BERKELEY attended to the destruction of more than 10 percent of all hostile craft taken under fire by U.S. Naval warships. After extensive overhaul at Long Beach Naval Shipyard in 1969, BERKELEY trained virtually a new crew of 330 officers and men and departed in February of 1970 for a fifth tour of duty with the Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific. Assignments included serving as escort for two aircraft carriers and naval gunfire support off the coast of South Viet Nam. On August 14, 1970 the ship returned home to Long Beach with six more months of successful operations and noteworthy accomp- lishments. BERKELEY ' S sixth and most recent deployment began in March of 1971. The ship functioned in nearly every capability of a ship in the DDG-2 class. Escort duties as plane-guard with the USS KITTY HAWK (CVA-63) were assigned while in the Gulf of Tonkin. Radar picket duty in the Sea of Japan and SAR activities in the Tonkin Gulf followed. BERKELEY concluded her 1971 Western Pacific deployment by making national headlines, firing on targets in the DMZ in support of the South Vietnamese First ARVN Division. rlsL

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These days perspective is a highly perishable commodity. The winds of change shift so frequently it seems one is never able to steady on a course long enough to get his bearings. We hope to change that in some part with WESTPAC 71 Z grams and Acts of Congress seem to make drastic . ' changes with frequent regularity. But think of the changes , that have occurred since our Navy started. These ilW?- ' .M trations and faces from another day provide contrast which: iS need no comment. V»- Most of all Westpac 71 is a record for thg men of dte BERKELEY. The good times, the rough times all WeiKH make it a memorable experience. Hopefully in feyv mcfcj years they will look at this volume and see piore ' chafiffr • - even as these six months of hard work and li Ay 4 i%»» elapsed. ' — ••C tl ' ' It is in this spirit that this book. is dedicated t« the BERKELEY ' S crew, in acknowledgement of ' tffe pf fe ' sional pride they took in makingour lsi71 deojoYrnfl success it was. ••♦ . . • JENS GN, USN . : .-