Hissem (DER 400) - Naval Cruise Book

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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

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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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COMMA DI GOFFICER LCDR Fontaine graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy in June 1951 and reported to the Amphibious Forces, U. S. Atlantic Fleet for duty. After serv- inga year in the USS Mount Oblmpus CAGC-85 as Assistant Navigator, he was transferred to the LSMR 405 in which he served an additional year. He attended U. S. Naval CIC School at Gleview, Illinois and then in 1954 reported to the -USS R. A. Owens QDD-827D as Operations Officer. After completing this tour in April.1955 he was ordered to duty as the Prospective Commanding Offi- cer of the USS Parrot which was commissioned in june of that year. He re- mained in command of Parrot for 25 months at the end of which time the ship was awarded the Battle Efficiency HE . In july of 1957, LCDR Fontaine re- ported for Postgraduate Education in Communications Engineering at the U. S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California. Upon graduation he report- ed as Executive Officer and Navigator of the USS Cromwell CDE-10141 Dur- ing this tour Cromwell participated in two Northern European exercises plus several convoy exercises and routine training in the Caribbean. In April of 1961 he reported to the staff of COMDESLANT as Aide and Flag Secretary. During this tour the cruisers and destroyers of the Atlantic Fleet were amalga- mated -to form the command of Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Force, U. S. Atlantic Fleet. LCDR Fontaine assumed command of USS Hissern QDER-400D in February 1963. From February through May of 1963 Htssem played an ac- tive role in the shipping surveillance operations off the coast of Cuba. Hissem was awarded the Battle Efficiency ME in july 1963. '