Kearsarge (CVA 33) - Naval Cruise Book

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.ff I I Vit 'L .f.' f .Q PTAIN When I came out of Bremerton inthe beginning of l957, my legs were a bit shaky. l had undergone a maior face-lifting , and l hadn't been out to sea for quite a while. I was anxious to test my new additions...a hurricane bow, angled deck, and a deck edge elevator. But even more I was anxious for my men to get acquainted with the new me, to iron out the kinks accumulated during my long stay in dry dock, and to form the best training habits. l knew that in the summer I would be sent on a long cruise to the Far East and there was much to be done before deploy- ment. The man who guided me out ofthe U. S. Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wasington was Captain Ward Thornton Shields. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, class of l932, Captain Shields had 25 years experience in land, sea, and air billets. Training and more training was the watchword during the months prior to my departure for WesPac. Every week Capt. Shields took me out to sea, oft the coast of California, to work my men into shape. lt was hard work requiring long and hard hours, but my sea legs were returning and I was feeling more confident. l was begining to qualify pilots on my new deck, and later there were important operations. PACTRAEX and Operation HOMERUN were the culmi- nation of the training period that was turning me back into an efficient, combat-ready ship. ln August when I reached Hawaii, l knew that Captain Shields had put me into the best shape possible. For after three days of grueling work the ORI was over and I had passed with Hying colors.

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THE EXEC ,I gl The man designated as second in command in any organization is a key figure. lt is his iob to put into effect the orders of his superior, supervise the daily activities of the organization, and thereby take the great burden of details off his commander's shoulders. lt requires a man of great drive and ability. Commander Frank L. DeLorenzo per- forms these duties as my Executive Officer. After earning BS and LLB degrees from Marquette University, Cdr DeLorenzo entered fiight training at Pensacola, Fla. on .lune 15, 1939 and was commisioned Ensign in April 1940. After serving in several VP and VR squadrons he was named Senior Engineer Instructor and Assistant Academic Director at Pensacola in 1948. He was Fleet lnformation Officer on CINCLANTFLT staff in 1951 and from November 1952 to March 1953 underwent antisubmarine warfare training and took an instructor's course with the Fleet All-Weather Training Unit Atlantic. ln March 1953, Cdr. DeLorenzo took command of VP-34 in Trinidad, B.W.l., and led this squadron to a Navy E in 1954. He returned to Pensacola in .luly 1954 as Administrative Officer and then, in August 1956, became my Operations Officer. Thirteen months later, Cdr. DeLorenzo took over as my Exec . Among his many campaign and service decorations is included the Air Medal, which he won four times for World War ll action in the Pacific. 17

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THE EXE To the men that came aboard me while l was in the dry dock at Bremerton during my big conversion, I did not even resemble a ship. With scattolding surrounding me, work- men's shocks cluttering my flight deck, and high pressure air hoses streamed throughout my interior, l seemed more like a building in the last stages of construction than a man-of-war. Captain lthen Commanderl Gerald H. Duffy was my Executive Officer during that crucial period. Captain Duffy, working closely with the shipyard officials, was the overseer of the conversion. But even as he was supervising the general nature of the alteration, he had to think ahead and plan forthe time when I would return to sea. For it would be his job as Captain Shields' right hand man to set up and administer the training program that would make me ready for operations. The high score l attained for myself on my Operational Readiness lnspec- tion and the fine reputation I won while in the Far East are testimonials to the ability and foresight ot the Executive Officer that served aboard me during the early phase of my WesPac cruise. 19