King (DLG 10) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 9 text:

TO THE S THER CROSS Is dedicated to: Those who were responsible for the very lives of numerous pilots over Vietnamese lands and watersg Those who ensured that our guns and missiles were always ready to down any potential foes, Those who oft-times spent their total time in liberty ports refueling the ship andfor repairing boilersg Those who stood countless hours of watch on the bridge, in the main spaces, on the weather decks, and within the ship, thus insuring the safety and well-being of us all, And to those who shuffled endless reams of paper to ensure that our existence aboard KING was not forgotten by those who support us on land and at sea. In short, this book is dedicated to every KINGSMAN who steamed with her on this epic journey. G. H. STELLING

Page 8 text:

Foreword . Dedication .... C. O.'s remarks . . C.O.. X.O.. XN..... Operations . . Weapons . . . Supply . . . Engineering Jw- . , 5 H Q-15 5' .,. TABLE OF CUNTENTS . 2 Khaki candids . . . . . 52 - 4 The cruise . ............. , . . 57 - 5 Dependents' cruiseg leaving S.D. . . . . . 58 - - 5 Seatt1egAdak . . . . . 59 --- 10 Bering Sea .. . . . 60 ---11 Japan .... ...61 14 SeaofJapan. .... 63 - - ' 24 Change of Command . . . . . 64 - - - 35 Gulf of Tonkin . .. . . 65 - - - 42 Subic Bay ...... . . 69 Strait of Malacca . . . . . 70 Indian Ocean . . . . 72 Singapore . . . . . 77 Pollywog Day . . . . . . 78 Shellback Initiation . . . . 79 Manus Island . . . . . 80 Australia . . . . 81 New Zealand . . . . 87 Pago Pago . . . . 92 Hawaii ......... . . 93 Arrival, San Diego . . . . . 95 Credits.. ..96

Page 10 text:

FROM THE CAPTAIN A very special effort has gone into this cruise book, commemorating a cruise unu- sual in its character from be- ginning to end. Steaming to- gether for nearly 65,000 miles, you, the KINGSMEN, have reached peaks of professional excellence on numerous occa- sions. From intensive surveil- lance operations in the far northern reaches of the Bering Sea and northern Pacific Ocean, to support of attack carrier operations in the Gulf of Tonkin, to demanding and prolonged efforts in support of America's largest Indian Ocean Force, Task Force 74, the crew of KING put forth sustain- ed superior performance not usually demanded of most ships deploying to WESTPAC. The superlative job has not gone unnoticed, various praises have been received from many quarters, including the pilots who benefited from KING's fine air-controlling, the helo detachments we had assigned to KING, Commander of Task Force 74, COMCRUDESGRP- SEVENTHFLT and Commander Seventh Fleet. It was acclama- tion well-earned. It is also interesting to note that we, in KING this cruise, have transitted l5seas, 2 gulfs, several straits, and 3 oceans. We have spanned the Pacific from East to West, North to South, not to mention half of the Indian Ocean. Al- though unfortunately cancelled out of our I-long Kong Christ- mas, we had an exceptional opportunity for people-to- people diplomacy down uri- der in both Australia and New Zealand. These visits were a delight and a complete success in all respects. The ship's ap- pearance was spotless and striking. Many thousands of Aussies and Kiwis visited KING - you can be sure that the numerous friendships and fine impressions you as Amer- ican ambassadors made are of real, though intangible, value to our Navy and our Nation. It is these personal ties and experi- ences between our respective peoples that constitutes the real nature of alliances. It is my very strong feel- ing that this crew has and will continue to respond to every demand and every challenge in ways that do credit to our Navy and to KING herself. It has been a singular pleasure for me to be your Commanding Of- ficer during much of the work and fun of KING's eleventh, and m o st interesting, deployment from home. My cap is off to you!