Cushing (DD 985) - Naval Cruise Book

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iff. S: ffmiffi iw f-rare' fe-1 .rw- ,. , V Commander William B. Cushing USS CUSHING is named after Com- mander William Barker Cushing, aNaval hero of the Civil War. Born in Delafield, Wis., Nov. 4, 1842, he entered the Naval Academy in 1857. He became lieutenant on July 16, 1862, and subsequently at- tained the rank of commander on Jan. 31, 1872. After brilliant service in the blockad- ing fleet off the North Carolina coast, his plans to outfit torpedo boats to destroy the formidable and dangerous Confed- erate ram, Albemarle were approved. On Oct. 27, 1864, Cushing in a torpedo boat manned by 15 volunteers, eluded the enemy lookouts and crept up the Ro- anoke River under defense fire from small arms and succeeded in disabling the Confederate ram Albemarle. For this action, Cushing was promoted and offi- cially thanked by Congress, the only non-flag officer of the war to be so hon- ored. ln the four years he had risen from midshipman to lieutenant commander he was under fire perhaps more than any other officer in the Navy and seemed to have escaped without a scratch. After the Civil War he served in both Pacific and Asiatic squadrons, commanded the Lancaster and Mau- mee, served as ordnance officer, Bos- ton Navy Yard, and from July 11 , 1873 commanded the USS WYOMING until relieved of active duty because of ill- ness. While commanding USS WYO- MING in the Caribbean, he helped to free the passengers of a ship detained by the Spanish government in Cuba. Commander Cushing died on Decem- ber 17, 1874 at the age of thirty two. 3

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The Ship's Crest 'lf ' I USS CUSHlNG's coat of arms symbolizes the spirit and endeavors of William Baxter Cushing as well as the tradition of destroyers named in honor of this brave na- val officer. The indented division of the shield repre- sents a log boom and the pile, which represents the ships prow, crosses the boom suggestive of the man- ner in which Commander Cushing foiled the Confeder- ate defenses to accomplish the sinking of the ABER- MARLE. The upper area of the pile is red, alluding to the danger and high risk of his famous action and the fact that Commander Cushing had been under more fire than any other officer in the Navy at that time. The lion's head is a symbol of courage and strength and repre- sents the spirit and abilities of Commander Cushing. This spirit is also reflected in the ships motto, Non Sibi Sed Patriae, a statement attributed to the ancient Flo- man Cicero, which translated to Not for Self but for Country. The trident is a traditional maritime symbol and its sharp points suggest offensive action. The spar torpe- do is dark blue, alluding to the dark of night and the co- vert nature ofthe sinking of the ABERMARLE. The dark blue also recalls the fact that Commander Cushing a Union officer, took the torpedo, at that time basically a Confederate weapon, and used it to sink an enemy ves- sel. The five stars refer to the fact that this SPRUANCE class destroyer is the fifth destroyer-type ship to be named CUSHING. :Qi ml N Illlfp ,1 1' -, sz:- , e e s x try s? 0 1 .. D 1,1 0 I Ora: ll' I W Q If O xx 'lik 5 xg 111' f 0? ,flf',, O .000 fl ff' '-5 '.. S 0' ',l' '-X ' 00' HQ , U U5 x 6215 25' K ? Q 5? 5 0 1' . xxx .. T 7 I ,Il l 2

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fe ' be-gvgqqe 3-l.1ra:r-gQNE2:1'-Ev-vii -. iw!-3 ':'.l Q 6 'RSS 'l1,5lE1EF l- -1 ' 57- 453 if X33 253431 C ,M.MANbte G o:FPioER COMMANDER GARY M. HALL COMMANDING OFFICER, USS CUSHING DD-985 Commander Gary M. Hall, son of Robert and Charlotte qKellerl Hall, was born in North Tonawanda, New York. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1972. Following graduation from the Naval Academy in 1972, Commander Hall reported to USS PERRY QDD-844i where he earned the Combat Action Ribbon and Officer of the Deck qualification. Other sea duty assignments have included Executive Officer and Operations Officer USS DIRECT QMSO-430l, Engineer and Operations Officer USS SCHOFIELD QFFG-3l,-Flag Lieutenant Commander Cruiser Destroyer Group Three!Commander Task Force 75, and Executive Offi- cer USS CHANDLER QDDG-9963. A Shore assignments have included Cruiser-Destroyer, Pacific Placement Officer at the Naval Military Personnel Command, Financial Management studies at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, and Weapons Pro- curement, Navy Appropriation Manager in the Office of the Assistant Chief of Naval Operations fSurface Warfarel. Commander Hall's awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, two Battle Efficiency Ribbons, and the Humanitarian Service Medal. He is married to the former Elizabeth Jean fBetty Jeanl Zihala of West Orange, New Jersey. The Halls have two children, Cheryl and Robert. 4 : f.::: w sgt12,i..- - -:,,gf,..1-tg.' - ---'3 - 1 ' 4- - 7 ' 'V '- Q g:L:.LfLLLvCts2P?:ZfiL- 1 :-