Decatur (DDG 73) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 11 text:

There were six thousand That died that ' tched thi elt the p, J under attack whi , ' to do i ,1 out t«Ja and figh Like we wer imed to do People ask why we tight We fight for our fre pirld We do it for our family and We fi r peopi To keep the thoughts away Of mily a We know wf And w( To prote ' ct Tir freedom And all the lives And to remember our naffion And all those who died We fight for me and for you vWe fight for those who died Those we never knew i lk ' r lli Ht i ur wi There waic As they eal ur le ' ■ n ' t feel T streets red white an , , -- fed innocent lii lime for them to pay th due|S fjtry t e ar We fight for the Ameni spiri And motivi We fight because we are proud And love our nati( Irti We sit here at night — Wi h pictures in hand yVe strugc le and fighti And do wfiat we can GhQS few the ones ' nd true they ask what we ) would do juld you? ave Written Michael L. Adams

Page 13 text:

Stephen Decatur 1779-1820 Our hero dies, and yet his name emblazoned On the naval role of fame Shall live till yonder bright star to seamen dear Shall cease to brighten the northern sphere Till winds no more shall rage nor fires roar And Freedoms sun shall rise and set no more. ( {C : CA ccCn, This is just one verse from one of the poems written following the tragic death of Commodore Stephen Decatur on March 22, 1820. What is it about the man that inspired such words? Heroism, Charismatic leadership, Patriotism, Honor and total devotion to his country, and bravery in battle where some of the things that defined who Stephen Decatur was. Decatur was only 41 years old at the time of his death. Stephen Decatur ' s first moment of glory was in 1804 were he led 74 men aboard The Intrepid into Tripoli harbor and burned the captured American Frigate The Philadelphia. Within 10 minutes of the encounters beginning. The Philadelphia Has ablaze. For his efforts he received his commission to the rank of Captain. In February 1808, he was appointed a member of the court martial that tried Com. James Barron for surrendering his ship to the British man-of-war Leopard. In The War of 1812, while in command of the frigate. The United States, Decatur and his crew defeated the British Frigate, The Macedonian, and brought her back to the United States where she was refitted and commissioned in the American Navy. Following the War of 1812, Decatur obtained treaties from Tripoli and the Pirates of the Barbary Coast which eliminated the United Sta tes from paying tributes for safe passage. As a member of the Navy Commissioners, Decatur made remarks against Com. Barron who then challenged him to a dual, which in those days was how men of honor settled disputes. And so it was that his naval career ended as heroicly as it had started. When the word fire was given, Barron was wounded in the hip where Decatur said he would shoot. Decatur was shot in the abdomen, fell soon after, and died later that night.