Galveston (CLG 3) - Naval Cruise Book

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' ' W the Mediterranean. The Sixth Fleet is a completely mobile force, operating without any permanent shore bases in the Mediterra- nean. All refueling and replenishing was done at sea using highlines strung between ships, or helicopters with cargo nets slung under- ■ neath for transferring supplies. Galveston ' s men were old hands at underway replenishments (UNREPS) by the time they joined the Sixth Fleet, however. They had plenty of practice replenishing at sea in the Western Pacific during the first half of the two-ocean cruise. The double cruise began on October 17, 1968, when GALVESTON left San Diego for her third Western Pacific deployment. The crew fully expected a normal tour of seven months in the Pacific, but the word was passed on the morning of November 4, after she left Pearl Harbor, that she was scheduled to return

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Soudha Bay, Crete, and Argostoli, Greece, were two island anchorages visited for a few days of rest and ship ' s upkeep. Rota, on Spain ' s Atlantic coast, was both the first and last port GALVESTON visited as a unit of the Sixth Fleet. Rota was the point where she assumed her duties as a member of the fleet and the port where GALVESTON rendez- voused with USS Columbus (CGI 2), the cruiser that assumed GALVESTON ' s duties when she left the Mediterranean to return to t he United States. Not all of GALVESTON ' S time was spent in port, however. During the seven month deployment, the 6 10- foot warship steamed over 48,000 miles, roughly equivalent to 2 1 3 times around the world. She participated in several exercises with the Sixth Fleet as well as two NATO exercises. Underway replenishments were also a regular occurrence during GALVESTON ' s stay in U '

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to San Diego early in February to redeploy two months later to the Mediterranean. Before then, however, there was a job to be done. Providing gunfire support along the coast of South Vietnam, GALVESTON aided major offensives by the South Korean Second Marine Brigade and the U.S. First Marine Division near DaNang. In round-the-clock operations GAL- VESTON fired over 4,000 rounds of ammu- nition in a two week period during November. Later in the deployment GALVESTON illus- trated her versatility as an electronics detec- tion and tracking unit in the Gulf of Tonkin where she successfully tested new equipment that provided the basis for fleet-wide installation. Hawaii, the Philippines, Japan and Hong Kong were included as ports-of-call before she returned to San Diego in February to prepare for the second leg of her cruise - the Mediterranean deployment. USS GALVESTON ' S keel was laid February 20, 1944, by the William Cramp Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia. The ship was caught in the general demobilization plan following World War II, and did not become fully equipped until she became the Navy ' s first Talos ship nine years later. In the conversion to a guided missile cruiser GALVESTON re- tained two 6 gun turrets and three 5 mounts, giving her one of the most capable and versa- tile weapons systems in the surface Navy. She was commissioned and joined the fleet as CLG-3onMay 28, 1958.