Hissem (DER 400) - Naval Cruise Book

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Gatun Lake. Before entering the Pacific Hissem visited the Rodman'Naval Base and nearby Panama City. Highlight of the trip to New Zealand was crossing the Equator and initia- tion into the Royal Order of Neptunus Rex. Two memorable days were filled with the daring but short-lived Pollywog Rebellionn, the arrival of Davy jones and the selection of an exotic queen. The ceremonies reached a climax with the frightening, final initiation into the Order of Shellbacks. After a brief visit to Lima, Peru, Hissem set course for the Pacific crossing. 4200 miles later, in mid-Pacific, Hissem called at the legendary Isle of Tahiti. Native dancing, fine food and cool drink were enjoyed on that Polynesian Paradise. On 24 September Hissem arrived at Dunedin, New Zealand to commence five months of picket duty in support of Operation DEEP FREEZE. On ocean station at 60 South, 160 East, midway between New Zealand and Antarctica, Hissem supplied valuable weather information for the aircraft flying men and equipment to the Navy supply base Hon the ice . While on station Hissem also provided communications relay services between aircraft, Antarctic stations and DEEP FREEZE Headquarters at Christchurch, New Zealand. On each trip south Hissem stopped at Campbell Island to bring mail and supplies to that lonely New Zealand weather station. After each of her five pickets Hissem re- turned to Dunedin, her homeport away from home. ew Zealand ' l 1 4 I ,,,,, A iq , 1 ,z , pl fgfmm tt.......f1?t.'r.zgtzx,Qi'max.z.,f..w.ttf' i is c Z f- 'M ,,.,. ,. .,.1 ' - . . . 'gg'g-J L J U Z A 1 amt, w .Jw ,f 5 I' fwffeauffg-f-1111-EM - HI., TQ-.. . .3,,r..,f,j.i,,,,,,,Q. K

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USS Hissem was built and launched at the Brown Shipbuilding Company, Houston, Texas. The ship was commissioned asa destroyer escort on 13 janu- ary 1944. During World War II Hissem served as a unit of Escort Division 58 escorting convoys from New York to North Africa and Italy. After the German surrender in june 1945 Hissem was ordered to join the Pacific Fleet where she remained after the war as part of the Occupation Forces in the Far East. Returning to the United States in February 1946, Hissem was decommissioned and went into retirement as part of the Reserve Fleet. Q On 31 August 1956 Hissem was recommissioned and designated as a DER, signifying Destroyer Escort Radar Picket. She was assigned as a unit of Escort Squadron 16, homeported at Newport, Rhode Island, and began duty on the significant, lonely and often dangerous North Atlantic Barrier. As a unit of the North Atlantic Barrier Forces, Hissem performed her duties with distinction winning the Escort Squadron 16 Battle Efficiency HEP award in 1957, 1961 and 1963. Hissem kept herlonely watch in the North Atlantic near Iceland and in the Straits of Florida. She was also one of the first ships uOn Station 'during the Cuban Crisis in October 1962 and since then has returned to Key West, Florida as FleetSonar Schoolship and as a unit under Command- er Key West Force engaged in special operations in the Caribbean Sea. In February 1963 Hissem was informed that she would participate in Operation DEEP FREEZE as an ocean station weather ship operating from Dunedin, New Zealand from September until the end of February 1964. Almost immediately plans were made to load sufficient repair parts and stores to sup- port the extended deployment. Plans were also laid to return to the United States by continuing west from New Zealand and completing an Around the World Cruise. The total nine-month cruise marked a unique event because in- dependent circumnavigation of the globe is very infrequent for a ship of Hissem 'S size. To the accompaniment of the Cruiser-Destroyer Force Band playing uAround the World in Eighty Days , Hissem departed Newport on 12 August enroute Dunedin amid the farewells and well wishes of friends and families. Hissem steamed south and arrived at Panama on 17 August. During the eight-hour transit of the Canal. the crew enjoyed a 'gfresh water wash-down in

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' ' ..., ,..,..-........Ll,....-- ,, ml-.. Ll .. .A U. S. S. H I SSEM CDER-4007 CARE OF FLEET Posr OFFICE ' NEW YORK, N. Y. V 15 May 196D This book is a record of a cruise. But it is more than that. It represents, to the men concerned, 15 months of concentrated maximum effort, extremely detailed long range planning, endless hours of hard work, enumerable watches, rough cold weather, good times ashore, emergencies at sea-- some dangerous some not so dangerous, and so ad infinitum. This book is all of these but, far more importantly, it is a record of accomplishment of the sons, husbands, fathers and loved ones missed so much for so long. The cruise was a long one, nine months in all, but it was priceless in the experiences offered to each man aboard. From Lima to the Azores new friends were made, new and delightful customs were encountered and, significantly, a maturing and broaden- ing of outlook was achieved by everyone. We worked hard, we played hard, we learned. A r For those we left at home we know that our deployment seemed intermidable, but we hoped that your loneliness was eased somewhat by the knowledge of the important work being l done. It would be most fitting and proper that this book be dedicated to you. On the other hand would you love us less if we dedicated it to something else--a concept which w has welded us into a taut, smooth wcrking team. fThis concept is intangible but it is there none-the-less., We like to call it professional pride. This evoked the caliber of performance of ship's company that enabled our small ship to undertake an independent nine month deployment that included circumnavigating the globe. We were away from home- port a total of 277 days of which 214 were spent at sea under some of the worst weather conditions in the world. To - successfully complete such a cruise required, in the final analysis, a high degree of character, maturity, and above all, dedication to duty and just plain hard work. You have every right to feel extremely proud. We do. ' NNow these are the Laws of the Navy nAnd many and mighty are they. WBut the hull and the deck and the keel HAnd the truck of the law is - OBEYH from nThe Laws of the Navyn by Captain Hopwood, R.N. 45 KJ' FONTAINE Commanding