Higbee (DDR 806) - Naval Cruise Book

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' On 13 April 1950, Commander E. MOORE, USN, assumed command of the ship and shortly thereafter the HIGBEE deployed once again to take her place with the Ear Eastern Naval Forces. Enroute, word was received that fighting had broken out in Korea, and the HIGBEE was ordered to proceed to that area with all possible speed. Upon arriving she was ordered, along with the U. S. S. IAMES E. KYES, to proceed to the East Coast of Korea to act as a gun fire support ship in the amphibious invasion of Po'l-long Dong, and to act as a harbor patrol vessel as the landing progressed. On August 1950, the HIGBEE rendez- voused at sea with Carrier Task Force 77 which was engaged in launching air strikes against the forces of North Korea. She was detached from Task Force 77 on 3 September 1950 and proceeded to Sasebo, lapan for repairs and upkeep alongside a tender. On 11 September 1950, she rejoined the Task Force 77 and later proceeded to the Korean Combat Zone where she supported the historic landing of United Nations troops at lnchon on 15 Septem- ber. The l-HGBEE remained in the Ear Eastern Waters until 19 Ianuary 1951, arriving back in the United States on 26 March 1951 to proceed to the Mare lsland Naval Shipyard for a routine overhaul, returning to San Diego in luly. Cn the morning of 27 August 1951, the l-HGBEE got underway with Destroyer Divisions 31 and 72 and set course for Pearl l-larbor, arriving there 1 September. During the ship's stayin Pearl, Commander V. 1. SOBALLE, USN, relieved as commanding officer. Dest- royer Division 31, including the l-HGBEE continued on to WestPac and arrived in Yokosuka, lapan on 17 September 1951, thus commencing her second Ear Eastern tour since the outbreak of hostilities in Korea. On 20 September 1951, HIGBEE joined the Destroyer screen of Task Force 77, in the Sea of lapan. Cn the 24th, there occurred a unigue struggle between the destroyer and a denizon of the deep. A huge hammer head shark become tangled in the ship's propeller shafts, and both enQi11GS hild 'EO be backed down to disengage the intruder. The HIGBEE reported on 19 December 1951 for duty with Task Group 72.2 as one of the vessels patroling the 'Formosa Straits with orders to prevent aggression against Formosa by the forces of Communist China. Christmas Day was celebrated at sea with holiday routine and turkey dinner.. When the HIGBEE returned to Korea shortly thereafter, a l-HGBEE boarding party embarked in the ship's motor whaleboat and scored several hits with small arms on an enemy vessel. The l-llGBEE's boat was forced to withdraw when taken under fire by enemy machine gun fire. The HIGBEE cruising 3,000 yards off shore guickly silenced the machine gun with her 5 inch guns, and recovered the motor whaleboat. The boat sustained four hits, but none of the embarked were in- jured. On 20 March 1952, the HIGBEE was relieved on station and proceeded via Yokosuka east- ward across the Pacific, arriving in San Diego on 14 April 1952. Cn 29 August 1952 the HIGBEE left for Long Beach, her newly assigned home port, where she spent a well earned upkeep period. . -3-

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v Ship,S History The U. S. S. I-IIGBEE CDDB 8061 was the first combatant vessel in the history of the U. S. Navy to be named in honor of a woman who served in the Armed Forces. This woman, Mrs. Lenah S. Higbee, was Superintendent of the Navy Nurse Corps during World War I, and earned the singular honor of being the only woman to receive the Navy Cross while still living. The keel of the I-IIGBFIE was laid 26 Iune 1944 at the Bath Iron Works Cor- poration in Bath Maine, and was com- missioned 27 Ianuary 1945 with Com- mander Lindsey WILLIAMSON, USN, as Commanding Officer. Immediately after being commissioned, the vessel proceeded to Boston, Massachusetts where she was converted into a radar picket destroyer, at that time a new type of naval vessel. After her shakedown cruise, the I-IIGBFFI departed from Boston for the Far East where she joined the famous Carrier Task Force 38 on 19 Iuly 1945. Six days later during a Iapanese air attack, a suicide plane narrowly missed striking her number one gun mount. The new destroyer proved her worth as a combat unit during the engagement by shooting down six enemy planes, four of them in a period of 22 minutes. Later, the HIGBBE supported the air strikes against the Iapanese mainland and was operating off Iapan when that country capitulated. Although the war was ended, floating mines in Iapanese coastal waters remained a menace to navigation, so the I-IIGBFE and other ships of the Task Force were assigned the duty of searching for mines and l exploding them with gunfire. After a brief respite in Tokyo Bay, the vessel ' . departed for San Diego, and arrived there on 11 April 1946, having been away from the United States for almost a year. Underway again on 12 September 1946-with Commander Bruce L. CARB, USN, in command- the I-IIGBEE underwent refresher training and then departed for a tour of duty in the Western Pacific. This cruise took her to various Asian ports, including I-long Kong, Okinawa, and TsingtaO- She' then departed Yokosuka on 31 Iune and after the trans-pacific cruise, moored in San DiGQO I-Iarbor on 6 Iuly 1947. Commander Iames E. I-IANSFN, USN, relieved as Commanding Officer and the ship sailed to San Francisco for an overhaul at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard. The overhaul completed, the HIGBEE steamed once again for the Orient in company with the heavy cruiser TOLEDO to PGY official visits to the governments of India and Pakistan. Ports of call on this cruise included Singa- pore, Trincomalee Con the island of Ceylonl, Karachi, and Bombay. The HIGBEE returned to her home port, San Diego, in February 1949, having logged more than 43,000 miles in a little less than eight months. S The I-IIGBEFI departed in Iune 1949 in company with several other vessels on a Beserve Midship- man Training Cruise to Panama, conducting drills and maneuvers, and providing general indoctrin- ation for the officer candidates. -ZM

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The HIGBEE steamed for WestPac for her third Korean Combat tour, joining Task Force 77, cn the 4th of December 1952. She was assigned to screen carriers against possible air and submarine attacks. This duty completed, the HIGBEE was ordered to join the Formosa Patrol. During this period, President Harry S. Truman announced that the patrol was no longer to defend the mainland of China from invasion by the Nationalist Chinese Forces. While on this patrol, the HIGBEE visited Takao, Formosa and the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong. After another short in port stay in Iapan, the HIGBEE was assigned to Task Force 95 on the West Coast of Korea. There the HIGBEE acted as a screening unit during task force combat maneuvers, and also patrolled far North of the front lines, observing enemy movements and shelling troop con- centrations in support of the United Nations Forces. On 12 Iune 1953, she left Yokosuka for the United States. She arrived in Long Beach on the 3Oth of that month and entered the shipyard to undergo a six month face lifting designed to increase the combat capabilities of the vessel. Major structural alterations were made to the ship, a new height finding radar was installed, along with an enlarged Combat Information Center, and im- proved fire control system, and 3 !5O caliber antiaircraft batteries replaced the 4OMM mounts. On September 13, 1953, Commander Maurice H. PLINKSKOPF, USN, assumed command of the HIGBEE. After a period of refresher training on 9 February 1954, the ship deployed once again to the Western Pacific. During this overseas tour, the ship participated in Operation Flaghoist, a realistic reenactment of the original landing on Iwo Iima during World War II. The HIGBEE was one of the many ships that-together with the Air Force, Army, and Marine units-took part in the operation. The HIGBEE joined Task Force 95 in the Yellow Sea and operated with the Australian aircraft carrier SIDNEY, and then cruised to the water adjacent to Okinawa for Hunter-Killer exercises with the HMAS SIDNEY, U. S. S. BENDOVA, and a division of Canadian destroyers. The HIGBEE was then ordered to Formosa Straits where the ship engaged in routine patrol duties, and the ship's personnel performed the collateral function of training men of the Chinese Nationalists Navy in various technical skills. Other ports of call of the HIGBEE before returning included Hong Kong, Sasebo, and Subic Bay, where several of the ship's company enjoyed a brief rest at the Bagio Best Camp. The ship returned to the United States, arriving in Long Beach on 7 August 1954. The HIGBEE was selected to attend the Centennial Anniversary of the Mare Island Shipyard in Vallejo, California. On the return voyage to Long Beach, the ship joined in the search for a downed pilot in the ocean area of Monterey, Calif. The HIGBEE spent Christmas holidays in Long Beach, then on 3 February 1955, the ship deployed for the Far East, crossing the Pacific in company with CruDiv 5, DesDiv 91, and the other ships of DesDiv 31. The ship along with two other ships rendered a courtesy call to the port of Bangkok, Thailand. She rejoined Task Force 77 for operations. The HIGBEE was then ordered to take part in extensive joint maneuvers involving U. S. surface and air units in Operation Point Blank. For her performance while on picket station during this operation, the HIGBEE was commended by several higher commands. On 27 May 1955, Commander William R. KUBTZ, USN, assumed command in Yokosuka, Iapan. After brief operations near Okinawa, the ship spent a short period in Iapan, during which time she was called on a Search and Rescue mission for a downed plane. The ship then visited Hong Kong, and proceeded through extremely heavy seas during the return trip to Yokosuka. On 31 Iuly 1955, the ship returned to her home port, Long Beach, where she entered the shipyard for a period of about three months. During the overhaul, the crew's mess was extremely modernized as a part of the Navy's increased emphasis on habitability. On 15 December 1955, the HIGBEE completed her alterations and repairs and prepared for a brief but intensive refresher training period as a prelude to deployment to the Far East. On 7 February 1956, the HIGBEE again departed for a Far Eastern cruise as a unit of Destroyer Division 212. The ship arrived in Yokosuka after a week's stay in Pearl Harbor. Following a tender availability the HIGBEE departed for Okinawa to join a Hunter-Killer Task Group. Upon completion of this operation she escorted the USS SHANGRI-LA CCVA-385 to Hong Kong for a week of rest and recreation. Following Hong Kong the HIGBEE participated in several carrier task force operations and a two week stay in Subic Bay, P. I. Following Task Force operations she had a ten day availa- bility in Sasebo, Iapan, Commander Ray H. MILLER, USN, relieved as Commanding Officer. Com- pletion of patrol duties marked the end of operations for the HIGBEE and she was sent to Kobe, Iapan for three days of rest and recreation. 17 Iuly 1956 found the HIGBEE. back at Yokosuka for a tender availability prior to departing for Long Beach. On 12 August 1956 she arrived back in Long Beach for another state side tour. On 7 Ianuary 1957, the HIGBEE, a member of DesDiv 31, again departed for Qngther WeStPqC cruise. Seven days later the ships departed Pearl Harbor bound for Suva, Fiji Islands: Brisbane, Cairns and Darwin, Australia on a good will tour. A few hours before arriving at Suva, the division m4..