Catamount (LSD 17) - Naval Cruise Book

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The Captain Commander Harry F. Slawsm Commander Harry F. Slawson relieved as Commanding Officer of the Catamount on Friday, 13 October as the ship entered the FRAAA yard period at Long Beach. He came from the Washburn (AKA 108) where he had served as Executive Officer since June 1960. Commander Slavi son was commissioned an Ensign, USNR, on 13 June 1943 after graduating from Bowling Green University and the USNR Midshipman ' s School, Columbia University. Upon commissioning, he attended Harvard University a nd Massachusetts Institute of Technology for duty under instruction in electronics and radar and taught briefly at radar maintenance school in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. While in Hawaii, he volunteered for submarines and was selected for duty as Elec- tronics Officer aboard the Piranha. From May 1944 to May 1952 Commander Slawson served aboard the submarines Piranha, Diodon, Charr, Tilefish, and Trutta, during which time he partici- pated in 5 ' A World War II war patrols and 2 during the Korean conflict. From June 1952 until July 1955 Commander Slawson served in the Regulus Missile program, in guided Missile Unit 50 as Executive Officer and Atomic Warhead Assembly Supervisor and in Submarine Missile Division 51 as Missile Operations Officer and Test Coordinator. For the next two years he served as Executive Officer aboard the Alfred A. Cunningham (DD 752); from November 1957 to December 1959 he was Development Officer and Safety Analyst in Research and Development Directorate Headquarters Defense Atomic Support Agency, coordinating atomic weapons matters among the service headquarters, DOD, and AEC in Washington. He then attended the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, California and was enrolled in the Man- agement curriculum from January to June 1960, after which he went to the Washburn. Commander Slawson is designated qualified for command of submarines and destroyers. He has been awarded the commendation medal with Combat V, the World War II Victory Medal, United Nations and Korean Service medals, China Service and Asiatic Occupation Medal, the American theater and Asiatic Pacific theater (with 6 stars), and submarine combat pin plus two stars. Commander Slawson has just completed his 7fh deployment to the Western Pacific. He was married in May 1949 to the former Helene Dudley of Newport, Rhode Island. The Slawsons, who have one boy and three girls, reside in Chula Vista, California.

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The Catamount Tavern One sunny afternoon in the 1770 ' s, a hunter killed a strange looking mountain lion in a forest near Bennington, Vermont. The hunter, proud of his kill, dragged the lion into Bennington, pro- ceeded to have it stuffed, and presented it to Stephen Fay, proprietor and founder of the town ' s leading tavern. At the same time, the Royal Governors of New York and New Hampshire were involved in a dispute, both claiming the region around and containing Bennington. Were New York to win the disagreement, the claims of the settlers would have been invalidated. To aid in resistance, Ethan Allen, who was to become a famous Revolutionary War hero, formed a small band of volunteers, known in history as the Green Mountain Boys. Their primary purpose was to defend the settlers ' claims to their homes and farms. Fay ' s tavern soon became the site for all town meetings. A special convention was even held at the tavern, and before long Allen ' s band of vigilantes began to muster there in the evenings. Shortly thereafter Fay named his tavern The Green Mountain Tavern. After staring at the stuffed lion for many evenings, the Boys decided that the animal ' s face resembled their own grinning defiance to the Yorkers. They then decided to adopt the lion as a mascot and subsequently renamed the tavern for the beast, The Catamount. Soon the Revolutionary War became a reality and colonial leaders of Massachusetts and Connecticut met many times with Allen at the tavern. The attack on Fort Ticonderoga, led by Allen and the Green Mountain Boys in May, 1775 was planned at the Catamount and commenced from there. When England ' s Burgoyne was sent to capture Bennington in August, 1777 the Cata- mount was still functioning as a headquarters for the colonists. Several weeks after the Battle of Bennington, the settlers declared themselves independent of both New Hampshire and New York and formed the independent republic of Vermont. Then the republic became a state; the Catamount was used as the site for several sessions of the state legislature. The state ' s first court was held within its walls and the first man sentenced to death in Vermont was tried and convicted in the tavern and hung within sight of it. The original building was destroyed by fire in 1877, but two memorials to her importance remain. One is the large moument on her site in Bennington, the other is the USS Catamount, possibly the only ship in any navy named for a tavern.

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The Executive Officer Lieutenant Commander John A. Simmons, Jr. Lieutenant Commander John A, Simmons, Jr., a native of Chicago, entered Princeton Uni- versity in September 1944 under the V-12 program. In June 1946 he graduated and was commissioned an Ensign. Shortly thereafter he went to his first duty station, the USS Kearsarge (CV 33) where he served as Signal Officer. In May 1947 he commenced a tour of duty with COMSERVLANT, serving on the Communications staff. After 18 months of staff duty, LCDR Simmons spent four months aboard the USS Fresno (CLAA-121), acting as both 4th Division Officer and Forward Heavy Machine Gun Officer. From February 1949 until July 1950 he was Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, Operations Officer, and Communications Officer of LSM 297. He then became an Executive Officer for the first time, serving aboard the USS Marion County (LST 975) until March 1951. LCDR Simmons then went to the USS Erben (DD 631), where he was Operations Officer until December 1952. Commencing in January 1953, LCDR Simmons attended General Line School, then Post Grad- uate School, both in Monterey, California. After specializing there in Communcations Engineering, he served two years on the COMPHIBPAC staff, acting as Assistant Communications Officer and Flog Lieutenant. After completing this tour in July 1956, LCDR Simmons became Commanding Officer of the USS Steuben County (LST 1 138); he was relieved in August 1958. During the next 13 months, LCDR Simmons served as Executive Officer, Naval Communica- tions Station, Seattle, Washington. Following this assignment, he began in November 1959 a 26- month tour of duty as Communications Advisor to the Korean Navy. After leaving Korea in January 1962, LCDR became Executive Officer of the Catamount on 25 February 1962. LCDR Simmons was married in July 1951 to the former Gloria Peterson of Fullerton, Cali- fornia. They have two boys, William and Michael.