Floyd Parks (DD 884) - Naval Cruise Book

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History of the Cruises of the Floyd B. Parks CDD-8847 By William R. Baucum, EM2, USN. fFf0m material compiled from Ship's logs and personal diariesj ass.. r The Cruise Book, 1950 Edition, is concerned primarily with the history and activities of the Parks during the cruise in the Far East during the period from October 1949 through June 1950. However, to bring the reader up to date on the whole history of the Parks since her commissioning in August 1945, the ensuing paragraphs will briefly outline some of the major points of interest and give a chronological history of the places the Parks has visited. After this brief history a complete description of the present cruise will be given. ship in excess of 30 knots and at cruising speed can drive her without refueling over 6,500 miles. There are facilities aboard for berthing, messing, and providing the normal services of laundry, barber shop, etc. for over 350 men. It is of general interest to note that the two bower anchors weigh 4,000 pounds each. The ship's keel was laid on 30 October 1944 by the Consolidated Steel Corporation in Orange, Texas, on the banks of the Sabine River. Mrs. F. B. Parks, widow of the late Major Parks, sponsored the ship at her launching on 31 March 1945. Parks was put in commission in Orange on 31 July 1945. Parks is named for Major Floyd Bruce Parks, U.S.M.C., who was a Marine aviator reported missing in action 4 June 1942 in the defense of 'Midway Island against the assaults of the Japanese Navy. Major Parks, born in Salisbury, Missouri, was enlisted in the Navy for two years prior to his appointment to the United States Naval Academy in June, 1930. Major Parks was commissioned Second Lieu- tenant in the Marine Corps the day after his graduation from the Academy on 31 May 1934 and rose through the ranks in the Corps to be commissioned Major less than a month before the action at Midway. Major Parks has been awarded the Navy Cross, Special Letter of Commendation from the Secretary of the Navy, Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, Ameri- can Defense Service Medal, and Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign Medal. The ship proceeded from Orange, Texas after commissioning to the Todd Shipbuilding Cor- poration Yards at Galveston, Texas for final work to her bottom. After the completion of this work she was all shipshape and ready for her shakedown cruise to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. After this cruise the ship returned to Charleston, South Carolina in October, 1945 for shakedown overhaul. Navy Day of 1945 saw the Parks taking part in the ceremonies at Pensacola, Florida. Receiving her orders to join the Pacific Fleet, Parks proceeded through the Panama Canal on 7 November 1945 on her way to San Diego, California which was to become her home port for the next several years. Bad luck first hailed aboard while the Parks was enroute overseas on her first cruise to the Far East. While entering Pearl Harbor on 28 November 1945 she ran aground off the entrance to the harbor. Consequently she entered the yards at Pearl Harbor for overhaul where she remained until 24 January 1946. Leaving Oahu she set her course for Hong Kong, Where she arrived on 9 February 1946. Parks is the fiagship of Commander Destroyer Squadron One and serves in the U.S. Pacific Fleet under Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Force, Pacific Fleet. Her principal duty is that of anti-submarine warfare, although she is equipped to handle numerous details such as anti-aircraft defense, surface and shore bom- bardment, and surface attack with torpedoes. One of the GEARING Class cans , Parks is 390 feet in length and 41 feet wide. She dis- places, fully loaded, over 3000 tons and has an average draft of 15 feet. Her two engines, developing a total of 60,000 HP, can drive the Parks operated in the Hong Kong-Hainan area, until June when she moved to Shanghai. After Shanghai she operated in the Tsingtao, China-Jinsin, Korea area until August of 1946 r gf ..,- ,ul -Q11-'zrysmsfgc ' A ' ' ' M-dw .sk 'P' .'Kra'L mf, ef, ...-4.13 -N fr . A gf Q'-m-,--1' M-1 ,f I7 . ,315 1-fs Hi: PP-W . . '10 'Ltr - .1 ftlfmggj .f .343

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The Petty Ufficers' Club, Yokosuka Japan By R. H. Damaske, HM3 Seems as how they cast an eye for me to write about the P. O. Club, where so many of us spent so many leisurely hours during our stay in Yokosuka, so I will try to remember a few things about it. Probably the chief drawing card of the place was the chow situation. You could get a very delect- able meal there for a reasonable sum and you had to be a pretty hearty eater to get it all down as they put as much or more on the table as they do back on the farm and approaching the quality, too. Naturally, the farm atmosphere was missing. After dinner you could, if you wished, retire to the main bar for a cocktail or two. Woe to the fellow who tried to drink the place dry though, as they had more on hand than any one person could use. CI tried.D Another thing, it was impossible to drink them as fast as they Japanese bartenders could mix them. CI tried that, too.Q Of course there was some difference between drinks these Japanese mixed than one of the same name back in the states. This was due partly to a shortage of the different materials and partly to the inexperience of these men who were previously accustomed to mixing Japanese drinks. After a drink or two, you could go dancing on the second deck. Orchestras and entertainment, both American and Japanese, was provided, there being both a modern dance floor and a regular dance Hoor. For those with a quiet disposition and who do not care to drink, there was also, on the second deck, a lounge and reading room. Bingo was played twice a month on the second deck for those with the wagering spirit. Summing it all up, I'd say that the Petty Officers' Club in Yokosuka was one of the best that I have had the pleasure of visiting. Q

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when she proceeded to Guam. At Guam she participated in fleet maneuvers stopping over at Sasebo and Yokosuka, Japan on the way back to Shanghai, China where she spent Navy Day, 1946. After Navy Day, 1946 Parks operated again in the Guam-Saipan area until relieved on 28 January 1947 to return to the United States. Upon return to San Diego area she partici- pated in various maneuvers and exercises before going into the naval yards at Hunter's Point, San Francisco, California for overhaul in 30 June 1947. After overhaul, Parks returned to the home port area of San Diego, California to operate until time for her second cruise in the Far East in February 1948. An interesting trip made during this time was a short stay at Santa Barbara, California over the Navy Day period of 1947. Parks participated in OPERATION SAND- STONE during March 1948. After being re- lieved from this duty Parks proceeded to Japan for her first complete tour of duty in the Occupa- tion. During April 1948, Parks had the distinc- tion of representing U.S. Naval Forces at the funeral of President Roxas in Manila. One officer and twenty five men paraded in the funeral procession. I Parks was relieved from duty in Japan on 30 September 1948 to return to her home port of San Diego via Pearl Harbor arriving in time for the Christmas holidays of 1948. Having received her initiation of tropical heat she was due for a bit of cold weather, so on 1 February 1949 Parks was ordered to partici- pate in cold weather exercise, OPERATION MICOWEX, visiting Kodiak, Alaska. Parks' second general overhaul since com- missioning took place at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California from 1 April until 1 June 1949. After the completion of this work she returned to the San Diego Area to operate until the beginning of the present cruise overseas. Since her commissioning the PARKS has had four commanding officers, six division com- manders, and five executive officers. The divi- sion commanders in the order of their serving are: Capt. Miles H. Hubbard, Capt. James H. Ward, Capt. Gale E. Griggs, Capt. Charles T. Singleton, Capt. John B. Taylor and Capt. Walter C. Winn. The commanding officers in the order of their serving are: Cdr. Morgan Slayton, Cdr. John H. Brandt, Cdr. Richard E. Nichols, and Cdr. Herbert G. Claudius. The Executive officers in the order of their serving are: Lt. Cdr. Oscar D. MacMillan, Lt. Glen A. Kirby, Lt. Cdr. Sidney Brooks, Lt.Cdr. Michael A. Censale, and Lt. Daniel M. Karcher. Of her original crew there is only one remain- ing plank aboard in the present crew. He is Roy Llewellyn Drescher, FCC, of York, Penna., who was FC1 at the time of Commissioning. The present cruise with which this Cruise Book primarily deals began on Saturday, 15 October 1949, when the Parks, in company with the OPERATION MIKI Task Force, left San Diego for a 7 -month and 28-day cruise in Far Eastern waters arriving back at her home port on 12 June 1950. During these intervening months, she visited many interesting places in Japan, the Philippine Islands, China, and Ma- laya as well as crossed the equator on a voyage to the south seas and Singapore. There were many days of maneuvers and routine exercises but these were more than compensated for by the many fine liberty ports of call where the ship's company had wonderful opportunity for recreation and sightseeing. This made the third cruise of the Parks to Japan during 'a period since 1946 that has seen that country recover almost completely from a war-wrecked area to a country with laughing people and playful children and whose economy once more is in a period of partial stability. Whereas on the first two cruises Japan was under a state of rigid military control both for the military personnel as well as the Japanese Nationals this third cruise saw a large relaxation of these con- trols and a policy of democratizing these people of radical ideas really begin to take form. With some limitations of local nature the Occupation atmosphere is now one of free mingling of the military personnel and Japanese on as near a stateside basis as conditions will permit. In Japan the two principal ports for naval activities are located at Yokosuka, near Tokyo, on the island of Honshu, and Sasebo in extreme southern Japan on the island of Kyushu. Although we visited numerous other ports during our period of duty our principal activities were centered at these two ports. Yokosuka, former Japanese home naval base, was damaged quite seriously by Allied bombing during the months preceding the surrender but these facilities, including drydocks and repair shops, have been restored employing skilled Japanese labor and under the supervision of American naval personnel. Sasebo has some facilities for fContinued on page 251