Estes (AGC 12) - Naval Cruise Book

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EXECUTIVE For several years, Commander Harold R. Heagerty served as Executive Officer. Born in Missouri, the Commander's first desire Was to fly and after being commis- sioned as an Ensign, USN, he rose to the Navy's elite flying team, the BLUE ANGELS, ln September 1965, Commander Heagerty was relieved as Executive Officer and reported to Commander in Chief, U,S, Naval Forces, Europe, for duty on his staff. Our new Executive Officer, Commander John Knox McConeghy is a U,S. Naval Acad- 1 OFFICER emy graduate Qclass of 19485 Who has spent most of his active career as a submariner. I-Ie has had primary duties as supply, opera- tions, engineering, navigation, and executive officer on some five different submarines. From 1961 to 1963 Commander McConeghy was commanding officer of the USS SEGUNDO SSS 3985 which was deployed 6 months in estPac, He comes to ESTES from Atlantic Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare School,Where he was a technical instructor. A 5 bf AXAX 9, i f f

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w- I ,f,, , 4 7 X W777 6 f Captain William H. Pellett was born at Boonton, New Jersey, and attended Admiral Farragut Academy, He was accepted to the Naval Academy and was later commissioned Ensign in the U,S. Navy in December, l94l, His first assignment, from 1942 to l943 was the cruise USS CINCINATTI in the gunnery department. Captain Pellett's next several assignments were in gunnery, culminating in 1946 aboard the battleship USS WISCONSIN as Air Defense and Gunnery Officer. After shore duty with BuPers for about four years, he was made Executive Officer of USS POWER CDD 8395. Three years again at BuPers and then his first command at sea as Commanding Officer of USS MARSHALL QDD 6765 followed. ln 1959, Captain Pellett was Per- sonnel Readiness and Training Officer with CINCPACELT staff. This assign- ment he retained until l96l when he became Director of Programs at the Navy's Post Graduate School, Monterey, California. lt was in October of 1964 that he relieved Captain W, W, DeVenter as Commanding Officer of USS ESTES. Captain Pellett wears the following decorations: American Defense, Euro- pean Defense, Asiatic Pacific Theatre qwith four starsj, American Theatre, Philippine Liberation, World War ll Victory, and National Defense Service Medal. A view from the bridge a com- manding position and the best seat in the house. CAPTAIN PELLETT ff Z f f ,, ,, ,W ,,, , f W L 'WZLL 'S f iff' - J X M My .,. , X I ' ffsix X ' - , ,f , Wy f fs Aw 'r f -1. uf' f ,ff , ,. 2 , Z X fb, 43112 -I K Q SN . f 9 it s K, , f ,4 4 of if . ff f l mp, iff ff fx wc f ' yy 922,72 if A .. -. ', 7 N

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THE SHIP The battle of Guadalcanal forcefully indicated to the Allies the dire need for in- creased building and rapid, advanced training of an efficient Amphibious war machine, A flagship specifically designed to function as the floating command center exercising operational as well as administrative control over the combined land, sea, and air compo- nents in an amphibious assault was a natural development of our island-hopping Pacific campaign. The USS ESTES was the twelfth in a growing series of thesenew amphibious force flagships. The keel of this intended mer- chant vessel, SS MORNING STAR, was laid on 22 February 1944 in a privately owned shipyard in Wilmington, North Carolina. ln April, this hull was towed to the Todd ship- yard, Brooklyn, N,Y. to be converted to ACC-12, Amphibious Command ships were named for mountains and the Navy's newest was significantly entitled after the prominent peaks in Colorado near Estes Park. ESTES went on to participate as flag- ship in the last two amphibious assaults at lwo Jima and Ckinawa, and upon cessation of hostilities, she acted as flagship for the Commander of U,S, Seventh Fleet. During the Korean conflict ESTFS served as flagship for various flag officers and she participated in the Passage to Freedom in lndo-China and evacuation of the Tachen Islands, and three atomic test operations in the Pacific proving grounds. ESTFS is not a new ship. She is a ship with a sturdy proud history of servingand a ship with an important future as amphibious operations continue to be decisive against aggression. , ' ' Tut 51 W m11'f f CLFLFTTT '-'f 1- 2:-Q+??i32:S-532-3125.1-2fsi?:.1.i :f-.Q-1 '-15 ' -uf-3--53:-wr: z.. fre.: 4f-l-.g:1s-,fi-'1::-'ea-2:1311 'S xii:-'F .3377 iff' ?'SiC ' ' ga l' 'V 7':TTf1'-- A 1 . ,'TT ' T' T 'S T ' '3 ' . f T1 '::. 21v' '.-Fsszuw '- '------f- --fn --.. -. 4,-- ,W 4 :.. - v .,, . . - - ..- - -.eu .,...,... Y .. W, , - , , ' ., . '- - , , ' , A . --'L we. v -'Qi-,....w.4r,:nzxzsQ.::4e.:-W:f,fv-rv:p,::-:s-,-,:,:Q,.z.a...- ..QN,:...:s: