Dubuque (LPD 8) - Naval Cruise Book

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.iff Ll? I v 4- -if X71 pi. , . ' 'af J Poli v has be L. 3f.f-- tg 'J nc d an a decision has been made I :mica I cut down the effort to return the gre -t-rr bu-ae1 of the war to those whom it most directly concerns Fo many of our troops this decision bri. - '. rcief --f rliet from the worries and hazards of a waria long w2:1y,f1'Oh1 l1OIT16 For ZlJllOW1Hg the sun across the Pacific for nineteen days signifies the start of a deployment - it is a long nineteen days We spent it flexing our muscles and sharpening our reflexes Drill after drill Nobody liked it very much but we could feel ourselves getting better DUBUQUE returned to DaNang Harbor after a year s absence on the morning of October 19th For many of us it was our first look at an infamous name It was CJ xp- 'N.x'U we 111. T 1 ,.:' 6 3 dh FI ' . 1 1 1K U I T1 I O I Ms., 1 . xlllkt' tvs' 1' K -. Q., + x .' l.-. - . 'in ' . number of her troops in the ltepuhhc -L v'lCt1'13.Il'1 in an - 9 c r 1 1 - - - ' A' ' S. I' i 7 - , pcm GT. 31 . .7 0 7 , Us ' kf 1 5 a - , . our Navy, this decision means :planning and work the Navy will play as large a role in redeploying the Leathernecks as it did in introducing them to the war. And, for our ship, this decision becomes our call to serve both the Navy and the Marines. DUBUQUE will be the stepping stone for thousands of Marines as they eagerly depart a land where danger lurks in every hamlet, hill, and valley to return to faces too long just a memory. DUBUQUE will also assume a more quiet role, using her sophisticated facilities to serve as host to the planners of the backloads and the landings, the Amphibious Commander of America's mighty Seventh Fleet. She will carry a two star flag - and make it look easy. if -QM wp VIETNAM. We hadnt known what to expect, but it really did not look too bad. There were jets and patrol boats and occasional sounds of distant artillery, but DaNang was pretty that morning. It looked peaceful and the sight of land was a welcome sight to all of us. The war became more real for us as we quickly arrived at Cua Viet to begin the first of three backloads in OPERATION KEYSTONE CARDINAL. Time started moving faster as DUBUQUE went to work. Our job was to move units of the Third Marine Division from Cua Viet to Okinawa. The Marines were easy. lt was the vehicles, cargo, and lumber that they brought with them that meant a lot of hard work for us. A backload is an intricate, difficult, and potentially dangerous operation. The loads DUBUQUE participated in were not in the least facilitated by the heavy seas and strong winds which prevail off the DMZ in the late Vietnamese fall. As we dropped the hook off Cua Viet, sentries were already at their posts to protect the ship against the ever-present danger of swimmer attack. The Deck gang was just getting warmed up. Soon we were ballasted down with an LCU in our well. We were lucky if it was vehicles. We could either drive or tow them to their stowage spaces. It was the cargo and lumber that took so long. DUBUQUE has several means of moving VVWVUY i

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cargo, including monorails, forkliiis, l..a7,is:t convey0TS, elevators, and the RTFL's trough terram forkliftsj the Marines lent us. But even the best equipment is subject to breakdown after continuous use around the clock, and pallets can only be moved, safely, so fast. lts largely a matter of plugging away at it, emptying the boats, moving the cargo, repairing the equipment, filling the holds. At the same time the flight deck is alive, landing helos with the troops themselves, and using the BSIA Crane to hoist aboard cargo and vehicles from additional boats alongside. It can take as long as two or three days to load the ship. The weather often interferes with boat operations, sometimes not permitting boats to get out to the river resulting in the cargo being sent infrequently as the ship rolls in the swells impatiently. And of course when the boats and their cargo are on hand, it is wisely decided that safety must not be sacrificed for excessive speed. DUBUQUE reaches a happy balance: all com- mittments met on time, without any serious injury or loss of life. We steamed independently this cruise, but we were rarely alone. KEYSTONF. CARDINAL was completed November, and the ship spruced up to welcome Commander Amphibious Force Seventh Fleet and his staff aboard. lt was a new role for DUBUQUE. She had backloaded and landed Marines before, but she had never served as flagship to an Admiral. It can be a problem, 'especially since LPDs are not designed to serve so large a staff, but we worked to meet our counterparts ??'l-,-fay, and it worked very well. We discovered that a 1.1, .,.. .5 can be more of a help than a headache. lt was nice ffctiing the best berth, it was nice going to Bangkok, 5'-fiwaii, Cam Rahn Bay, and Vung Tau, and it was nice having new friends and additional professional advice. We learned a great deal more about Vietnam and the war from our guests, and we were able to watch the plans develop for Operation KEYSTUNE BLUEJAY, the next Marine redeployment scheduled for March and April. Having a staff did not diminish DUBUQUE's work load, as the communicators discovered. Besides all units of Task Force 76, the amphibious arm of the Seventh Fleet, CTF 76 'was required to keep circuits open throughout Southeast Asia and a good part of the rest of the world. The Radiomen and ETS showed DUBUQUE's hallmark: professionalism. This extended through every rate and division, throughout the ship. We showed what we can do, from precision anchorings to shooting down sleeves. Admiral Rosenberg was asked to observe us conduct a battle problem - and we aced it. We showed off the best engineering holds in the Pacific. We also demonstrated that we knew how to act on the beach. The beach was good to DUBUQUE this cruise. It was around a lot. Okinawa, Subic, Cam Ranh Bay, Bangkok, Vung Tau, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, lwakuni. Even a very quick look at Guam. DUBUQUE will be remembered there as long as we remember those wonderful places. They were different, each having it's own special quality of life to offer to us. There were also enough shopping bargains to have the majority of us just about go broke saving money. Stereo gear, jewelry, clothes, wood- carvings, furniture, cameras, everything, There was also recreation. The DUBUQUE softball team made itis presence felt in almost every port, winning friends fand quite a few games as wellj. Led by the old man, the