Davis (DD 937) - Naval Cruise Book

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.,,. In March of 965, Daviswas sent to the Caribbean to patrol those waters during the Dominican crisis, and in the fall of 1965, the ship' received the Admiral Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy, symbolic of the most improved ship in the Atlantic Fleet in Battle Efficiency. 1 On 19 January 1966, Davis left Newport with DESRON 20 for SEVENTH Fleet duty. in the waters off the coast of Vietnam where she lived up to her fine reputation during rescue destroyer duty for aircraft carriers ',4' I ong' Naval Gunfire support missions. Three members of Davis crew were awarded the Republic of Vietnam's second highest decoration, the Cross of Gallantry. In 1966 Davis again won the Battle Efficiency E and the Operation and Engineering departmental f'E 's as well. On 2 May, 1967 Davis left Newport for a four and one half month deployment with the SIXTH fleet and during this deployment she was witness to the Arab-Israeli conflict in early June. . On 15 August 1968, Davis received three maj or awards, the Destroyer Squadron Twenty Battle Efficiency E , the Engineering E , and the Atlantic Fleet ASW Award. Then on 22 August 1968, Davis again departed Newport for extended operations with the U.S. SEVENTH Fleet in waters off North Vietnam. During this second WESTPAC deployment, Davis fired more than 1 1, 000 rounds ,of ammunition providing accurate and effective gunfire support for troops ashore. Davis also received hostile fire several times. Davis' performance earned her the Meritorious Unit Commendation. it Returning to Newport in April 1969, Davis spent the next 5 months participating in Anti-air, surface, and Anti-submarine warfare exercises in the Caribbean. She returned to Newport in early f etober. On 17 October, Davis departed Newport for Boston,Naval Shipyard whereshe was decommissioned on October 30, 1969 to undergo extensive modernization. After nearly one year in the yards, Davis was recommissioned on 17 October 1970 and outfitted for ASW capability with the installation of the latest ASW. weapons, including ASROC and improved sensors which greatly enhanced Davis' effectiveness against todayis high speed submarines. Since the modernization, Davis has proved her worth in ASW and NGFS during a 1972 Vietnam deployment and a 1974 Mediterranean Cruise. This resulted in a Meritorious Unit Citation for Vietnam and the ASW KA Award for excellence in that mission area during 1974. A The USS DAVIS entered the Charleston Naval Shipyard in early 1975 for another comprehensive overhaul. Then in January 1976, Davis left Charleston for extensive training in the areas of ASW and gunfire support to train personnel for the upcoming South American cruise. After three months of training in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Davis left Charleston, South Carolina on 10 July for a five and one half month cruise to South America which involved the circumnavigation of the South American continent, commencing and concluding in Puerto Rico. UNITAS XVII consisted of combined operations with the Navies and Air Forces of Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Columbia. After a total of over 320 individual exercises and over 24,000 miles in total distance steamed, Davis returned to Charleston on 23 November 1976. In January 1977, Davis left Charleston for exercises in the Caribbean with NATO Forces including Canada, France, Sweden, Germany, England and Portugual. After a month and a half, Davis returned to Charleston to get ready for an upcoming Middle East Cruise.

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THE HISTGRY GF USS DAVIS QDD-9371 USS DAVIS was commissioned on 6 March 1957, bearing the name of World War II hero Commander George F. Davis who, as Commanding Officer on the USS Walke CDD-723Jbrave1y gave his life in a victorious duel with four Japanese Kamikaze aircraft. Davis arrived 1n her homeport Newport Rhode Island on 10 MAY 1957 She became flagship for Commander Destroyer Squadron Twenty after intensive shakedown cruises rn the Caribbean and North Atlantic and in the fall of 1957 she sailed for the Mediterranean and Jo1ned SIXTH Fleet operations Returning from the Mediterranean she deployed to the Caribbean spending the 1958 59 w1nter there and then went to Boston Naval Shipyard for her frrst regular overhaul In March and April 1960 the ship pa1nted gunnery E s on each gun mount for outstanding shooting and then on 5 July 1960 she was awarded the Battle Efficiency E In 1961 Davis made her second Mediterranean cruise and won her second Battle Efficiency E the ship also spent two weeks operating in conjunction w1th the Mercury Space Program Late in 1962 Davis took part 1n the Cuban Blockade and ln May 1963 USS Dav1sjo1ned the recovery operation group for Astronaut Gordon Cooper Later that summer she made a Mediterranean Midshipman cruise ' 9 9 ' 9 9 ' 9 9 - ' ' A - ' cc 999 ' ' 9 ' ' cc 99 ' ' ' 3 - 9 . ' ' ' ' sc 99, ' A 9 9 9 9 9 - 9

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'i'17 ,E -' f K S Z 1 CDR ALAN B. FLANAGAN, USN , 7 A ' COMMANDING OFFICER 6 Commander Flanagan was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1938. He graduated from Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, with a BA in History in June 1960. He commenced his Naval career at the Officer Candidate School, Newport, Rhode Island, in October 1960, and was commissioned an Ensign, USNR, in March 1961. He served as Communications Officer on USS SPROSTON CDD-5775 from May 1961 to February 1963, graduated from the U.S. Naval Destroyer School, Newport, Rhode Island in September 1963, and was Weapons Officer on USS HARWOOD CDD-861D until July 1965. Following a short tour as Weapons Instructor at the NROTC Unit, Stanford University, he was assigned as Surface Operations fCommunications Officer for COMSEVENTHFLT Staff DET C at Tan Son Nhut, AB, Saigon,Vietnam from December 1965 to November 1966. From March 1967 to December 1968, he was Commanding Officer, USS MOLALA CATF-1061 and took part in various operations in the Western Pacific. From 1968 until 1972, he was on the Joint Staff of USCINCEURX CINCLANT in Stuttgart, Germany. He served as Executive Officer, USS ROBERT A. OWENSCDD-8271 from June 1972 to September 1973. During the period October 1973 to March 1977, he was assigned as Surface Personnel Officer at the Enlisted Personnel Distribution Office, Atlantic Fleet, in Norfolk, Virginia and then as Director, Unit Manning and Monitoring Division of the Enlisted Personnel Management Center New Orleans, Louisiana On May 21 1977 Commander Flanagan assumed the duties of Commanding Officer of the USS Davis CDD 9371 relieving Commander Donald H Gunderson a a 9 ' 9 . .