Cotten (DD 669) - Naval Cruise Book

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n e agen: The rumors started in july of 1952 that the U. S. S, COTTEN, 210118 Vlfithlqthe rest of DesDiv 302, would depart for a trip around the .world with a tour off duty in 015621 Sogne- time in early 1953. When they were made official, the date was set or iiiuaflll dr ' t ue to reasons unknown to the crew it was postponed until April. Then in arc ue o .a cracked starboard screw and defective boilers the jaunt to far eastern shores was again e et for Ma . A . . cancelgpiraiiehding approilcimately three weeks inudrydockn at Boston and obtaining an .'EXCELLENT in the Admiral's departure inspection held in! that great liberty .port,Hbetter known to all as Beantown U. S. A. , the ,ready ship and the Im .not so sure willing crew departed on May 18, 1953 from Newport, Rhode Islandfor the distant shores of Korea. H After an uneventful and beautiful trip which was hindered only by one small storm o Cape Hatteras the ship arrived in Cristobal Harbor, Canal Zone on May 23. The trip through the famous canal was no less than fascinating as the whole crew turned to their cameras to capture on film many of the beautiful sights seen only to .those who pass through the Canal. The ship as seen from the beach must have looked like the bleachers at Yankee Stadium during a World Series. It seemed as though the Sightseers were everywhere, from the main deck to the mast. The forty-one mile trip through the Canal will probably be some of the best remembered mileage the ship will put on during the course of this cruise. f . . n . c . The port and ustarboardn sections split the two daynliberty while the ship was in Balboa. Most of the crew took the short trip to Panama City for their liberty, but 1t IS understood that the best time had by all was only a matter of 1000 yards away from the ship. A great time was had by everyone who participated in the so called softball game at Black Gnat field, Balboa. It seemed that the real contest was an eighteen inning fiasco saturated by an overabundance of beer. The outcome was never determined as the partici- pants, arbitraters and spectators could not recall the score. The BLUE RIBBGN was awarded Mr. Pabst , to the victor belong the spoils. On May 25th the Cotten turned her bow north, bound for San Diego. The crew experienced a very calm and sunny trip on the way to this Southern California sea port. We entered San Diego Harbor and tied up alongside the tender U. S. S. Prairie for the duration of our five day stay there. Since San Diego is not one of the better towns for liberty most of the crew journeyed to other points to enjoy their liberty, such as the famous town, Hollywood and Los Angeles. It was also noticed that quite a few of the Peach fuzz boys made the trip to Tijuana. . The ship departed sadly from San Diego on june 6, not to see the shores of the United States again until january, 1954. After two days at sea DesDiv 302 joined the U. S. S. Mt. Katmai and proceeded westward. The journey westward was interrupted for three hours with a stop at Midway Island for refueling. Here the members of the Cotten encountered the strange specimen of fowl aptly named the Goony Bird. Each section was granted one-half hour liberty. These birds are the most Hat footed, knockneed, bowlegged, top heavy and ugly birds known to man. How they fly is a mystery but it is sure they defy all laws of gravity upon leaving the ground. Yes, everything was Goony that day. We soon left Midway and the Goonybirds far behind as we headed for Yokosuka, Japan. , After sixteen days at sea the ship proudly headed up Tokyo Bay to tie up in Yokosuka for seven wonderful days in which we learned much about the ways of the japanese.

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alciion in flue gat Cad! On 29 June the ship in company with the U. S. S. DALY and U. S. S. SMALLEY, departed for the Korean operational area. Behind us we left the U. S- S. BRONSON which had developed boiler trouble and 'needed repairs. - Our nearness to the war started manyheads thinking and wondering why we, who live thousands of miles away should worry about a small. war in Korea. Actually the area it covered was small but it was a world wide affair. Ithas been concluded that our enemy has but one objective. That being to gain all the power and land possible. This may be clearly seen in both Europe and Asia where the Russian government either politically or by measures of force, has overtaken many countries. The reason for the United Nations in Korea is to stop aggressions such as this before they enlarge themselves. We must realize that our men would much rather fight here than on our own native soil. Perhaps at this time, before we go back to the U. S. S. COTTEN it might be well to describe the type of war we were about to Cflgagff in- UPOH OUI aff1VHl 111 the Korean theatre the fighting had slackened and the front line had remained fairlyfstable for a con- siderable period of time. Of course the patrolling activities were carried on and occasional skirmishes were to be seen. These were the only moves made by either side. It was known that our enemy was building up his forces. To remedy this the air and sea war was quite active. His supply lines were continually harassed from both air and sea. Our enemy's coast was blockaded by the U. N. naval forces, which consisted of ships from several coun- tries. These always achieved complete harmony of work in all of their operations. Another fact that should not go unmentioned, was that we were up against an enemy who showed herself only in the form of guns, planes, and shells. We were not fighting Russia, but the Russian backed puppets of Red China and North Korea. As we entered the operational area the ship joined forces with the mighty and well known Task Force 77. We were immediately given a screening position to afford protec- tion to our fast carriers. We then settled down to the many tasks and new jobs which lay ahead. For several days we cruised north and south on the Sea of japan with little or no excitement. Only an occasional battle-beaten plane going to a final resting place in the cruel sea broke the monotony. When this did happen a helicopter or an ever' ready destroyer was on hand to rescue the crew of the downed plane. This soon became a fairly common occurence as we did lose several planes in the time spent in Korea. With this exception nothing else occurred other than the usual tasks the Navyis all purpose ships, the destroyers, encounter while operating in a war zone. It seemed odd that we were operating in a combat zone, yet not seeing any action. All queries to this were soon answered when on 6 July the following message was received from COMDESDIV 302: Your prospective duty will probably make you the first Thunder- bolter to engage the enemy X The DIVCOM expects that your performance will be far superior to the best so far produced X To COTTEN and her men I wish good luck, a hot fight and God speed BT . . . Yes, this meant that the COTTEN was assigned to a special task and would soon see some real action on tlrfe coast of North Korea. The COTTEN