Halsey (CG 23) - Naval Cruise Book

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25 YEARS OF SERVICE In 1959. the United States Congress authorized construction of DLG-23. a LEAHY class destroyer. This ship, later named after the illustrations and aggressive Fleet Admiral William F (Bull) Halsey. would, through her successful service to her county, live up to the legacy of the man she was named for On the 25th of September 1959. San Francisco Naval Shipyard was awarded the contract to build DLG-23. which was to be named in honor of Fleet Admiral Halsey who had died that year. Work began on the ship in early March of 1960. with the keel being laid on August 25th of that same year. Work steadily progressed and on January 15, 1962. DLG-23 was christened HALSEY , by two of FADM Halsey ' s granddaughters. Mrs. Spruance Denham and Miss Jane Halsey, with a third granddaughter. Miss Ann Halsey. acting as Maid of Honor, On the third of February 1963. HALSEY ' s prospective Commanding Officer. Captain Herbert H Anderson, reported on board for duty. Finally, after three years, construction was completed on July 8. 1963 and HALSEY was commissioned on the 20th of July. At her commissioning, then Secretary of the Navy, the honorable Fred Korth. was the principle speaker, with Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz and Mr William F Halsey III also speaking The day of the commissioning ceremonies, included an almost total eclipse of the sun. as if to underscore that this was no ordinary ship. HALSEY departed San Francisco on November 25. 1963 for ASW tests and acoustical noise surveys Completing these tests, she arrived in her new homeport of San Diego December 11. 1963 and was honored with a Welcome Aboard ceremony, hosted by the USS Hamner (DD-718). HALSEY became Destroyer Squadron Seven ' s newest member and was placed in DESDIV 71. with the HAMNER. BUCK and POWELL. Shortly after joining the Fleet, HALSEY had occasion to prove her Anti-Air Warfare prowress when she acted as screen commander in a special Sea Power demonstration for the Secretary of the Navy, HALSEY participated in her first large scale Fleet exercise, UNION SQUARE, over a ten day period, from September 28. 1964 to October 6. The very next day. HALSEY saw her first Change of Command Ceremony as Captain George W Rmgenberg relieved Captain Herbert H Anderson Three months after assuming Command. Captain Ringenberg took HALSEY and her crew and departed home and family for her first major deployment (WESTPAC), in which she operated with the U S Navy ' s attack carrier forces off the coast of Vietnam In addition to duties as rescue destroyer and Anti-Submarine Warfare assignments, she employed her advanced Combat Information Center (CIC) and endurance on station, to conduct AAW operations. For her service. HALSEY earned the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. She returned home to San Diego m August of 1965. Shortly after returning from Westpac. Captain G.W. Ringenberg was relieved as Commanding Officer, by Captain J J LeBourgeois. in a ceremony held on September 10 Less than a year after returning from her last deployment, HALSEY departed on July 2, 1966 for what was to be a very eventful and noteworthy second deployment Arriving on station in the Gulf of Tonkin, HALSEY was assigned to the Southern Search and Rescue (SAR) station, off the coast of North Vietnam The first of HALSEY ' s rescues came on the 18th of August when LCDR Demitrio Verich had to parachute from his damaged F8C Crusader, just one and one quarter mile from the North Vietnamese shore Within three minutes, HALSEY ' s helo proceeded to the scene and despite being taken underfire from the shore, successfully hoisted the pilot aboard and returned to the HALSEY The very next day. a Vigilante RA5C was hit over Vietnam and crashed into the Gulf of Tonkin, where the HALSEY ' s helo picked up the pilot. Later, on August 28. an A1H Skyraider took a hit and the pilot, CDR Gordon Smith, bailed out very close to shore With a USAF Albatross decoying fire. Halsey ' s helo again made the rescue On the fifth of October, the HALSEY experimentally refueled the USS COLLETT (DD-730), the first time anything like this had been done by a LEAHY class destroyer Eleven days later. HALSEY received a message that there was a helo that had been badly shot up. was short of fuel and was not able to return to her ship She homed in on HALSEY ' s TACAN, made an approach on HALSEY ' s flight deck, lost control and crashed into the sea HALSEY ' s helo and motor whale boat were immediately dispatched to the scene and succeeded in rescuing ten people from the helo, just before the helo capsized and sank. Eighteen days later, HALSEY picked up a distress signal from a downed F4C Phantom, dispatched her helo and picked up the Phantom ' s Pilot and Radar Intercept Officer before they even had a chance to light a distress flare. Right before she was to be relieved by the USS REEVES (DLG-24). on November 6. HALSEY had the greatest test of her rescue capabilities. Captain Victor Vizcarra, USAF was forced to eject from his F105 deep over North Vietnam, near the Laotian border. HALSEY immediately launched her helo and directed her helo to the scene as she proceeded down the coast at high speed to shorten the return flight of the helo. As nightfall approached. HALSEY ' s helo spotted the downed pilots flare and picked up the pilot The helo, low on fuel, raced back to the HALSEY and Cooper ' s Gray Ghost landed on HALSEY ' s flight deck with a scant two minutes of fuel remaining After five and a half months of hard work. HALSEY returned to San Diego on the 21st of December, just in time to enjoy Christmas at home During 1967. HALSEY was awarded her first Battle E and was also presented the Navy Unit Commendation for her actions during the Westpac of the previous year On July 6. 1967. HALSEY saw the Command change hands as Captain Vincent L Murtha relieved Captain J J LeBorgeois After spending all of 1967 in the U.S.. HALSEY once again departed for Westpac on January 2, 1968 in company with the USS ENTERPRISE (CVN-65) and the USS TRUXTON (DLGN-35) While crossing the Pacific, the three ships encountered very heavy seas, sometimes as high as 30 feet, which produced a tragic event While walking along the signal bridge. ETR3 William W. Francis Jr.. was swept off his feet and over the side Four hours of searching by the three ships proved fruitless as Petty Officer Francis was never seen to surface During the deployment. HALSEY ' s actions on the SAR stations resulted in the recovery of seven downed pilots In addition to using her two helos for SAR operations, HALSEY recovered a special purpose aircraft from the water and later the same day. a Jolly Green Giant helo made an emergency landing on the fantail, with little margin for error For her actions on the deployment, HALSEY earned the Meritorious Unit Commendation On the 14th of October 1968, Captain Vincent L. Murtha completed his tour of duty and was relieved by Captain Wyatt E. Harper, Jr. Just over a year later on December 10. HALSEY saw another Change of Command ceremony as Captain J A Hooper relieved Captain W E Harper Jr March 2nd through the 10th of 1970 HALSEY participated in Readiness Operational Evaluation, with Vice Admiral Isaac Kidd, Jr embarked C Later on that year, on the 22nd of October. HALSEY once again set sail for the Western Pacific, p. v this time with the USS HANCOCK (CVA-19). ) On the 15th of December 1970. HALSEY received a message telling of the sinking of a Republic of Korea ferry HALSEY rushed to the area and became on scene commander, but no survivors or bodies were found While in Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines. HALSEY proudly painted on her second Battle E on the day of April 4. 1971 Eighteen days later, HALSEY pulled in to her homeport of San Diego The rest of 1971, up until September 6. was spent readying the ship for her extensive overhaul and Anti-Air Warfare modernization that was to take place in Bath. Maine. Tuesday. September 7. 1971. HALSEY departed Sdn Diego and began her 14.500 mile trek to her new homeport of Bath. Maine. After many port visits along the East and West coasts of South America, as well as ports on the United States East coast. HALSEY moored at the yards of Bath iron Works on October 27. 1971. A few days later on November 4. HALSEY was placed Out of Commission Special for the upcoming modernization. Slightly over a year later, after much work and many changes HALSEY was placed back in commission and Captain Joseph D Nolan assumed command in ceremonies on December 16. 1