Hepburn (FF 1055) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 9 text:

Separations from loved ones, friends and native soil are never easy. But no matter where we were or how many miles separated us from home, a continual chain of cards, letters and telephone calls formed a vital lifeline. We were lonely, but never alone and the emotions and remembrances we shared over great distances made the long nights so much shorter. For all these reasons and many more, we dedicate this book to our friends and families to those we left in body but never In spirit. y y M IIV '

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HI, I ' M HAPPY! LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO THE HEp RN. Our proud Lady of the Sea is a young five year old having been commissioned at Todd Shipyard, Long Beach, California on July 3, 1969. She Vi as named for Arthur Japy Hepburn a distinguished former Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Fleet, chairman of the General Board of the Navy. Naval Diplomat and veteran of the Spanish-American war and both w orld wars. Her vital statistics are: Length: 438 ft. Width: 46 ft. 10 in. Height: 120 ft. 10 in. above the waterline Displacement: 4000 tons (approx.) Full Power Shaft Horsepower: 35,000 HP Propellor: 1-5 bladed, 15 ft. dia. Complement: 17 officers 20 CPO ' S 210 enlisted Armament: Anti-Submarine Rocket (ASROC) Launcher Basic Point Defense Missile System (BPDt S) Launcher 5 54 cal Gun Mount 4 Torpedo Tubes

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COMMANDER R. R. OWENS COMMANDING OFFICER Commander R. R. Owens was born on May 28. 1934 in Bismarck, North Dakota. He graduated from high school in Pasco. Wash- ington in 1952 and enlisted in the Navy in 1953. He entered the Naval Preparatory School at Bainbridge, Maryland in September 1953 and the U. S. Naval Academy in 1954. After graduation and commissioning in June 1958, his first assignment was in the USS PRICHETT (DD-561) as Damage Control Assistant and Main Propulsion Assistant. In August 1960 he was reassigned to the com- missioning crew of the USS KING (DLG-10) where he served as Main Propulsion Assistant and Engineering Officer until July 1963. In August 1963 CDR Owens was selected for the nuclear power program and upon completion of nuclear propulsion training in August 1964 was assigned as Main Propulsion Assistant in the commissioning crew of the USS TRUXTON (DLGN-35). He served in that billet until December 1967 when he was assigned to the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, California. He graduated with distinction and received the Engineer ' s Degree in electrical engineering in March 1971. In June 1971, after a three year absence. CDR Owens was again assigned to USS TRUXTON, this time as Executive Officer where he served until October 1973. While he was Executive Officer, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. In December 1973, CDR Owens assumed command of the USS HEPBURN.