Conquest (MSO 488) - Naval Cruise Book

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Aifn 5 LCDR WILSON enlisted in the Navy in December 1942. He. was ordered to Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, Illinois for recruit training and attended Quarter ber 1944 he served on the USS MacKENZIE QDD 6141 as she escorted convoys across the North Atlantic and later participated in Mediterranean operations off Sicily, Ital and Southern France. LCDR WILSON attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School, Bainbridge, Maryland, in 1944-45 and reported to the U. S. Naval Academy in 1 June 1945. He received his commission in june 1949 and was ordered to the USS F. D. ROOSEVELT QCVA 421 In 1950 he was ordered to the USS MISSOURI QBB 631 which immediately 'lgployed for Korean Waters to act as flagship for COM7TI-IFLT. In 1952 LCDR WILSON- reported to Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, where he served for the next 18 months with the scientific testing group, joint Task Force 7, on two series of atomic tests. His next two years duty were as operations officer, USS TURNER QDDR 8341 and then he reported to the Bureau of Naval Personnel in 1955. In April 1958 LCDR WILSON was ordered to the USS CQNQUEST QMSO 4881 and after a short course in M.ine ':Warfa.re at Yorktown, Virginia, took command in June 1958. Russell E. WILSON, LcDR, USN ln this , the most modern Navy in the World, with its great aircraft carriers, its nuclear- powered submarines, and its guided-missile Cruisers, there still remain a few wooden ships with their iron-men crews. This cruise book is testimony to the fact that not only do these vessels exist, but also that they still ply the oceans, The finest of these ships, I'm convinced, is the USS CONQUEST. The cruise pictured herein took seven months to complete, during which the CONQUEST and her crew traveled almost twenty thousand miles, visiting six foreign countries and a dozen or more foreign cities. These statistics are impressive, but they take on real significance only when one realizes the purpose of the cruise itself. As we traveled and worked and played, we served our country and the Free World by acting as a deterrent to further Communist aggression. We were, so to speak, junior ambassadors , representing the United States and the American way of life to the hundreds of people with whom we came into contact. You men of the CONQUEST ' sensed the importance of each man's influence, and each did his utmost to make our overall im- pression a good, lasting one. You established for yourselves, the ship, and those to follow a most enviable record, not only in exemplary conduct ashore, but also in winning friends for America. The achievement of any ship depends on the individual efforts and contributions of each member of the crew. The fact that the CONQUEST performed all her assignments, and per- formed them well, is a tribute to every man on board. I will long remember the CONQUEST, this cruise, and each of you. Moreover, I am indeed proud to have served with you. master school there also. From june 1943 until Septem-

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The U S S Conque of Martmac Shlpbulldmg m1ss1oned as a un1t of tl' f1rst command of the Co Most of the Water p Cal1forn1a operatmg are Mex1co In March 1957 Conquest s second blrthc second Commandmg Off Upon returnlng to tl' overhaul 111 San D16gO C LCDR Russell F WILSC 1958 found the Conquest sweepmg operatlons W1tl After returmng to L pomted her bow toward Fukuoka japan Next s sweepmg operat1ons Wltl a v1s1t to Osaka W1th headed for Keelung Fort durmg the Hol1day Seasc almost half Way around I Bay P I Guam Mldw flnally Long Beach . Q00 I . I I - ' ! . ' 1 , . g C ! ,.., , 1 . i 1 f I Q , , . 5 k I I f I 9 I THE FLEET'S FINEST MINESWEEPER . U.S.S. CONQUEST MSO-488 MINE DIVISION SEVENTY-THREE MINE FORCE U. S. PACIFIC FLEET ni? U If' My B' llllllll 1

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--1 S OFFICER I. B. GLAVIN, ENS., USNR xJSN OEET392 UTNEY9' L Y,,,. XEC UC E ,YAYNB R- R. ENGINE ERING O E. RAP ER EUC Y o D SUWLUSNR AN v -MIS: ' HPAJLa XS-Y LTR: E- FFICER ACKIE, ENS., uwn