Du Pont (DD 941) - Naval Cruise Book

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Ai On June 1967, DUPONT left Norfolk for a seven month Vietnam deployment. During this time DUPONT fired more than 20,000 rounds of 5 shells in support of the 3rd Marine Division and 15th Marine Regiment at the DMZ of Vietnam DUPONT was taken under fire on four separate occasions by North Vietnamese shore batteries. On 28 August while going to the aid of another ship she received heavy fire which resulted in a hit on Mount 52 fwhere the ASROC launcher is todayj. One man was killed and eight wounded The ship, however, remained on station and con- tinued her support of the Marines ashore. During this deployment the DUPONT officers and crew were awarded: 3 Bronze Stars, 8 Purple Hearts, 7 Navy Commendation Medals, 21 Navy Achievement Medals, 11 COMSEVENTHFLT Letters of Commendation, and all hands received the Navy Meritorious Unit Award. She returned to Norfolk in January 1968. After over- haul and routine operations, DUPONT returned to Viet- nam in August 1968, arriving in the IV Corps area of South Vietnam on 10 October. After a goodwill tour to Sydney, Australia, and Welling- ton New Zealand, she returned to Norfolk on 1 1 April, and then headed for Boston and her Antisubmarine Warfare Modernization. Q 'w 5,5 wmv.: 'N 5,.w w . i.Tf 4 gxXC

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SHIP'S SPONSOR The ship's sponsor, Mrs. Henry B. Du Pont chris- tened USS DUPONT on 8 September 1956. Mrs. Du Pont is the Great grand-neice of Rear Ad- miral Du Pont. HISTORY There have been three ships in the United States Navy which have been named in honor of Rear Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont. The first DUPONT was Tor- pedo Boat No. 7, launched in 1897 and stricken from the record in 1920 when she was sold. The second DUPONT was one of the famous four-stack destroyers, QDD-1525, which was launched in 1918 and saw exten- sive service during World War II. This DUPONT was decommis- sioned in 1946 and sole in 1947. The third USS DUPONT QDD-9415 is the seventh destroyer of the For- est Sherman Class. DUPONT was originally commissioned on 1 July 1957, at the Boston Naval Ship- yard and temporarily placed out of commision on 23 May 1969 at the same shipyard while she received an extensive anti-submarine war- fare modification. During DUPONT's active years she spent almost three years of time on six separate deployments in the Medi- terranean Sea. In June 1959, DUPONT took part in the official opening of the St. Lawrence Sea- way and in August 1959 served as one of the plane- guards for President Eisen- hower's first historic flight to Europe. She also has partici- pated in America's space pro- gram in the recovery of two space shots - Walter Shirra's Mercury Capsule and Gemini V. In May 1963, DUPONT served as the command ship during the search for the USS Thresher and in 1965, was a station ship in Santo Domingo during the Dominican Republic Crisis.

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After her Antisubmarine Warfare Mod- ernization, DUPONT was recommissioned in May 1970. The conversion and modern- ization of DUPONT included a long range sonar tied into an underwater battery fire control computer to produce a fire- control solution for control of the ship's antisubmarine rock- et system QASROCJ located aft and the two triple torpedo mounts forward. Following the completion of fitting out and final accep- tance trials, DUPONT joined Destroyer Squadron 26 of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, homeported in Norfolk, Virginia. She made major deployments to the Mediterranean and played a key role in upholding the American role in the North Atlan- tic Treaty Organization QNATOD while attached to Standing Naval Forces Atlantic CSTANNAVFORLANTD in 1974. DUPONT also made goodwill cruises to the Caribbean and South Atlantic regions. DUPONT returned to Norfolk in mid-1975 and commenced a scheduled overhaul in the Nor- folk Naval Shipyard. After completion of overhaul and sea trials, DUPONT was ready to support the active fleet once again. She made var- ious major deployments in the following years which includ- ed the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean in 1975 and 1976. She joined up with the NATO Fleet in 1977 for numerous exer- cises and then toured South America as a part of UN ITAS XIX in 1978. DUPONT once once again spent a great deal of time making goodwill tours to the Caribbean. In June 1979 DUPONT headed to the Bethlem Steel Ship- yards in Hoboken, New Jersey, where she un- derwent her last scheduled overhaul. In June 1980, DUPONT departed Hoboken for sea tri- als and proceeded to Guatanamo, Cuba, for re- fresher training. Since that time DUPONT has made three Mediterranean deployments which also saw her as a part of the Indian Ocean!Per- sian Gulf Battle Group during the Iranian Crisis. DUPONT is now 25V2 years old and the Beirut Contingency Operations was her final assign- ment. On 4 March 1983, the commissioning pen- nant will be lowered as she's decommissioned. DUPONT's list of accomplishments speaks highly of the thousands of men Qand dogs! who have served as a part of the DUPONT family. DUPONT will be placed in the Inactive Ship Basin in the Philadelphia Navy Yard to await her country's recall to duty possibly sometime in the future