Decatur (DDG 31) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 8 text:

THE DECATUR TRADITION 1 rQ'w'l' .r 1, . i. X 'I Stephen Decatur was born at Sinepauxent, Maryland, on 5 January, 1779. At the age of nineteen, he was pro- vided with a midshipman's warrant by Commodore Barry, I under whom he made his first cruise in frigate UNITED I STATES. Commanding the schooner ENTERPRISE at the outbreak of the Tripolitan War, Decatur captured the bomb ketch MASTICO on 23 December 1803. It was in this prize ketch, renamed INTREPID, that Decatur entered the harbor of Tripoli on 16 February 1804 and boarded ,the captured frigate PHILADELPHIA. Within twenty minutes, he and his men had swept the Tripo- litan crew overboard, and, with but one man wounded, had returned under fire of shore batteries,- their way lighted by the burning PHILADELPHIA. Horatio Nelson termed this ' 'the most bold and daring act of the age. During the attacks on Tripoli itself, Decatur com- manded a gtmboat division. In the first attack, 3 August 1804, he took one gunboat ' by furious hand-to-hand combat, and with but ten followers leaped aboard a second, personally to attack and kill the huge Tripolitan leader. Upon receipt of his Captain's commission in September 1804, then at age twenty-five, Decaturwas given command of frigate CONSTITUTION. shifting to CONGRESS in November, he held negotiations with the Bey of Tunis at the close of the Tripolitan War and re- turned to America with the Tunisian Envoy during September 1805. .Commanding UNITED STATES at the outbreak of war in 1812, Decatur captured MADARIN on 11 October, and on'25 October, in a battle gallantly sustained on both sides, he captured frigate MACEDONIAN, This victory earned Decatur the thanks, of Congress and several State Legislatures. Then, blockaded in New London for a year, he transferred to PRESIDENT at New York, remaining for defense of the city. He fell in with a British Squadron of five heavy ships on the morning of 15 January 1815 and silenced frigate ENDYMION after sailing side-by-side in two hours of furious combat. Because of the extensive damage suffered by PRESIDENT, it WELS impossible to execute an escape, thus Decatur was overhauled by other enemy frigates. Twice wounded himself, he lost twenty-four men with fifty-five wounded. He reluctantly surrendered but was soon paroled, landing in New London on 22 February 1815. Aboard flagship GUERRIERE toward the end of the war, he negotiated a treaty with the Bey of Algiers, ending tribute and exacting full payment for injuries to Americans. He exacted the same from the Bey of Tunis and the Bashaw of Tripoli shortly thereafter. From November 1815 until his death, Decatur served on the Board of Navy Commissioners. He died 22 March 1820, as the result of a duel' with Commodore James Baron. Loyalty to his country was the breath of life to Stephen Decatur. At a dinner in Norfolk in April 1816, he gave a stirring response to a toast: 6 ' Our Country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she be always in the right, but our country, right or wrong.

Page 7 text:

jgfw The primary mission of DECATUR is to operate offensively with fast carrier strike forces providing anti-air and anti-submarine defense and to provide shore bombardment in support of amphibious assault operations. Associated tasks include the protection and screening of support forces and convoys against submarines, air and surface threats. DECATUR is equipped with a rapid fire 5 !54 gun forward, in addition to the single arm TARTAR missile launcher aft. Both systems can be used against air and surface targets. The ship has a three-di- mensional height finding radar, a long range air search radar, and a surface search radar. The Anti-Submarine Rocket CASROCJ and the conventional torpedo tubes, coupled with the long range modern sonar can meet any submarine threat. DECATUR is 420 feet long and has a maximum beam of 45 feet. Fully loaded she displaces 4000 tons with a navigational draft of 23 feet. She is designed to travel for extended periods at speeds up to 34 knots. Her main propulsion plant consists of four high pressure boilers C1200 lbs.j and two main engines driving twin four bladed propellers. Maximum power developed by the plant is 70,000 shaft horsepower. This ship's main generators are capable of producing 3000 kilowatts of power, while her evaporators will produce 24,000 gallons of fresh water daily. She accelerates and maneuvers in the best destroyer tradition while possessing superior riding characteristics. Modern air conditioned working spaces and living accomodations are provided for a crew of 350 officers and men. The DECATUR is flagship for Commander, Destroyer Division 132 and his staff.

Page 9 text:

UA ' 7 -f' 5: Q -'.,.., '-2' J-C-9'1 -'f r':2 f x'1 ' ' 1 I .. . . -i ,U N--U - 1 ,. . . . .. ff., N , 'f f., Wi XF' f' r ffl wwxR f2y'f f ,f M-...M 'H W QW 7 , M V THEODORE ROCNESS JOHNSON,iIII, CAPTAIN, USN COMMANDER DESTROYER DIVISION 132 A graduate of Yale University-CBA 1943D and the United States Naval Academy CBS 19465, Captain T. Rogness JOHNSON, Jr., United States Navy, has served in a variety of sea going assignments as an Unrestricted Line Officer. These have included command of four combatant ships- the Landing Force Rocket Ship USS DES PLAINES RIVER CLFR-4125, the Ocean Going Minesweeper USS PERSISTENT CMSO-4913 and the Destroyers USS FLOYD B. PARKS CDD-8845 and USS ERNEST G. SMALL CDDR-8385 in addition to his current assignment as Commander Destroyer Division ONE THIRTY-TWO. Captain JOHNSON is also a special warfare qualified Underwater Demolition Team.CUDTJ Officer and SCUBA Diver, servingin Underwater Demolition Team TWELVE during the Korean conflict. Captain JOHNSON has served two tours in Washington, D. C., both in the Bureau of Naval Personnel. On his last tour as Head of the Active Enlisted Plans Branch, he was the Navy's principal Liaison and Briefing Officer for the Special Sub Committee of the House Armed Service Committee on Enlisted Promotion Policy Review. A native of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Captain JOHNSON currently resides in Costa Mesa, California. The Captain and his wife, Frances, a former Navy Nurse have five children - two sons and three daughters. . -.. ww- ...r I. . . N' - gg, .4-1,:,,,,.,,-1. v. 1-.,,.s',,, . ... .i ., in . -. ..,,..1,w,.f+n 1 hfaih-,,e,,.,,L,,.1,,..5ff,.g..-1. Q ,,. ..,..-..