Camp (DER 251) - Naval Cruise Book

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Uss CAMP , CDER-2515 Q 54 if it l If aw, It is always pleasant to reminisce about shared hardship and the nearly-forgotten rigors of a long deploymentg even more pleasant is the memory of the good times: the gayety of our ship's parties, the happy expectancy of mail call, the excitement of entering exotic ports, and the tranquility of sunsets at sea. Equally pleasant for me is the sincere pride which I feel for the men of the CAMP and their consistent high performance in every task. All during this seven and a half months in the Seventh Fleet, the CAMP's reputation as a performer remained outstanding. We met every operational commitment, went to the aid of other ships on many oc- casions, and fired our guns against the enemy with enviable effectiveness. Our experiences are treasured memories, not because of the things we did, but because we shared each occasion with such fine shipmates. Let us remember that the men of the CAMP earned her reputation and molded her personality. Throughout many days at sea, a ship and her crew become a unique en- tity-welded together in hardships and happy times into a unity of men and machine - a fighting ship. My best wishes to all who share my nostalgia in browsing through this record of a fight- ing ship's WestPac 1968-69 Cruise. LCDR J. C. Gilbert

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Commanding Officer LCDR James C. Gilbert Lieutenant Commander James C. Gilbert, U.S.Navy, a native of Covington, Virginia, was graduated from Covington High School in 1946 and enlisted in the Navy two years later., During the Korean Conflict, he served as an enlisted man on the destroyer USS JAMES E. KEYESQ fDD-7871, In 1956,while serving at the Eighth Naval District Headquarters as a petty officer first class, he was selected for commission as Ensign in the line. Upon completion of Officer Candidate School, Ensign Gilbert was assigned to the guided missile heavy cruiser USS BOS- TON until 19-58. He was subsequently ordered to duty as gunnery officer of the antisubmarine warfare destroyer USS HOLDER: in 1960 Lieutenant Gilbert was assigned to the staff of Com- mander Mine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, as personnel officer. From 1962 to 1964 hetcom.-g manded the fleet tug USS SIOUX CATF-755 while still a Lieutenant. Upon graduation from the Navy Postgraduate School in December 1966, he served as Executive Officer of the destroyer USS FRANK E, EVANS QDD-7543 before ,being ordered as Commanding Officer of the ,USS CAMP QDER-2513 in June 1968. Lieutenant Commander Gilbert wears the following campaign ribbons and medals: Good Conduct, National Defense, Korean Campaign, United Nations, Ko- rean Presidential Unit.Citation, Armed Forces Expeditionary, and Vietnam Service. -