George MacKenzie (DD 836) - Naval Cruise Book

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Destroyer Division 72 Comes Home To End Third Korean Theater Tour The destroyers George K. JIac- Kenzie, Hanson, Taussig and Laws, comprising Destroyer Di- vision 72, tied up at Navy Pier at 2 p.m. yesterday, climaxing a third tour of duty in the Ko- rean theater. A large crowd of friends and relatives welcomed the 1200 offi- cers and men aboard the ships. With 23 months of combat completed, the division has re- corded more time in Far Eastern waters than any other group of ships. During its three tours, the division has steamed more than a half-million miles, the Navy said. SUCCESSFUL TOLTl Division commander, Comdr. Dennis C. Lyndon, of 376 B St.. Coronado. said the tour just end- ed was as successful as anyone could hope for. The destroyers pounded Com munist strongholds on North Ko rea ' s East Coast with almost 450C rounds of five-inch ammunition, he said. Only one ship, the Taus- sig, suffered damage. The Taus- sig took a hit from a 76mm gun during a strike on railroad po- sitions near Hungnam. One man was injured. The division flagship, the Mac- Kenzie, commanded by Comdr Clifford VV. Bundy, of 926 Sec end St., Coronado, spent a month in the harbor of Communist-held Wonsan, the most shot at city In the world, to bring the Mac- Kenzie ' s total time in that harbor area to 70 days. 23 MONTHS LOGGED In addition to serving in Ko rean waters, the destroyers also spent a month on the patrol of Formosa Strait. The JlacKenzie, Hanson and Taussig each have logged 23 months of Far Eastern action since they escorted the First Pro- visional Marine Brigade to Ko- rea in August, 1950. The Laws, a replacement for the Ernest G. Small, is rounding out her first Korean tour. THE SAN DIEGO UNION Tues., July 21, 1953 SAN DIEGO. CALTF. ' - ' ' - -PPort o, , , 7 ' ° -- - operations con- ' ' ' ' -- We,, Done we done fn n ' ° nder 7th Fi o Destroyer D,v,s,on 72 ' ' = ' ' ° ean and Fa, . ° ° ' P ' et,on tour of ' Eastern Waters y . ' -- ' ' ' -,t.,3„n.ents,nn.ot ' ' °--- 9-- ' y .o sue ' ' ' -annercont. ccess of Un,ted M.t °ntr,but- ' hes for a h ° ' f° s m Ko ° ' PPy voyage hon.e. = ' ' ' O COMCRUDESPAC) °— -On,ted.af,onsr ' ° °---- -.e. -Hands ° ' —een acred. History will ultimately decide whether the United Nations ' effort was a down payment on a permanent peace or merely the prelude to something far more fearsome. One of the Korean officers who served aboard the MacKenzie expressed m his labored English what most MacKenzie men felt in their hearts. Ens. Kim Sam Jung ' s letter is printed below as it appeared in a recent Saturday Evening Post story. The spirit of the South Koreans, civilian and military, appeared to im- press Dwight Eisenhower more than anything else he witnessed in Korea. If anybody has learned about com- munism the hard way, it is these poor, long-suffering people. Their spirit is ex- emplified in a letter Ens. Kim Sam Jung bravely WTote the commanding officer of the USS Aludra when he went on board for training early this winter: Afr. Captain : I am newly ensign. Therefore 1 don ' t know everythings. I will sludy hard from now as a naval otficer. I say again, sir. you don ' t think that a troublesome foreigner came here, and please love and lead me as your son. I will respect you as my father. I thank you very much for your kind. My people is very miserable, they lost their family, house and property etc. Then they have no anythings now. I will help my miser- able people and I will fight for peace with commonist that is the enemy of the human race. This is my duty, my responsibility and my mission. U. S. military that is fighting now with commonist in Korea is very great. You lost many your fellows in this war. You are not only apostles of peace for your people, but also the human race of this world. Let us fight for our purpose.

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. . . 1325 changed course to 252 degrees pgc. 1326 passed buoy 11 to port. Proceeding on various courses to Navy Pier. Changed speed to 8 knots (067 rpm). 1401 Line number one secured to Navy Pier. 1415 Moored to Navy Pier, San Diego, California with six six-inch standard mooring lines. . . Thus, on 20 July, 1953 the deck log of the U.S.S. George K. MacKenzie chronicled the end of her third Korean war cruise. Exactly eight months and some 53,000 miles and 1500 fired- in-anger rounds of five inch ammuni- tion after her departure, the Mac was home. One week after her return the long awaited truce was signed in Korea. So it was that the Mac, one of the first destroyers to see Korean action was one of the first to return. From the beginning to the end, the Mac had been there. And she, together with her division mates, had been THERE longer than any other destroyers in the fleet.

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Ivj iC JMEM No ship, be she tanker or tin can, flattop or ferry is any better or any worse than the men who sail her. If the Mac was a hot ship it was because she had a hot crew. In three years of combat opera- tions the Mac has been all things to each of her three hundred officers and men; home, hospital, church, citadel. We praised her, cursed her, beat her, nursed her. But always, deep down, we were proud of her. We hope, in turn, she was proud of us l tn