Mississippi (CGN 40) - Naval Cruise Book

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COMMANDING OFFICER CAPTAIN P.R, OLSON Captain Phillip R. Olson. United States Navy, was born in Elmhurst, Illi- nois on 23 June 1939 and was raised in the town of Reseda near Los Angeles, California. He attended the University of California at Los Angeles for one year prior to entering the U.S. Naval Academy where he received his com- mission in June 1962. Captain Olson has served at sea as Division Officer in the Reactor De- partment in USS ENTERPRISE (CVN-65) as Operations Officer in USS BELKNAP (CG-26). and as Executive Officer in USS SAMPSON (DDG-IO) while the ship was homeported in Athens, Greece. He has also served as Engineering Officer in USS NIMITZ (CVN-68) and was Com- manding Officer of USS PHARRIS (FF- 1094) before reporting to USS MISSIS- SIPPI as Commanding Officer. Captain Olson holds a Master of Sci- ence Degree in Physics from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Cali- fornia. He attended the Command and Staff Course at the Naval War College in 1972 and was an instructor at the Senior Officer ' s Ship Material Readi- ness Course in Idaho Falls. Idaho, be- fore assuming command of USS PHAR- RIS inJuly 1981. Captain Olson is married to the for- mer Marsha Andrea Lippert of Nutley, New Jersey. They have a daughter. Christine, and a son, Phillip Jr.

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HISTORY the old naval base to establish the largest American naval air station. With the outbreak of fighting in Mexico, the USS MISSISSIPPI sailed to Vera Cruz with the first detachment of naval avaitors to go into combat. The ship was decommissioned at Newport News, Virginia, on July 21, 1914. Turned over that day to the Greek government, she served in the Royal Hellenic Navy for the next 17 years. The third USS MISSISSIPPI (BB-41) was also a battleship. Built by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., she was commissioned on December 18, 1917. She served continuously in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for the next 36 years, earning eight battle stars for her World War II service. In December 1941 USS MISSISSIPPI was on patrol service in the North Atlantic, protecting American shipping. Two days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, she left for the Pacific, where she took part in the invasion of the Gilbert Islands, in the Marshall Islands campaign and in the liberation of the Philippines. On the night of October 24, 1944. she helped destroy a powerful Japanese task force during the Battle of Suriago Strait. The battle ended the Japanese ability to mount a serious offensive attack. In early 1945 the ship participated in the landings of Luzon and on May 6 arrived at Okinawa to support the landing forces there. Her powerful guns leveled the defenses at Shuri Castle, which had stalled the entire offensive. Despite a kamikaze hit on her starboard side, USS MISSISSIPPI continued to support the troops at Okinawa until June 16. With the announced surrender of Japan, USS MISSISSIPPI anchored in Toyko Bay, where Commodore Perry ' s USS MISSISSIPPI once had been, to witness the signing of the surrender documents. She then steamed for home, calling on New Orleans as her first stop. USS MISSISSIPPI xhen underwent conversion to AG-128 at Norfolk, Virginia spend- ing the last ten years of her career based at Norfolk testing new weapons. She helped launch the Navy into the age of the guided missile warship when she successfully test fired the Terrior missile off Cape Cod on January 28, 1953. On September 17, 1956, the ship was decommissioned and sold for scrap.

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A TRIBUTE This book is an historical tribute to the teamwork of the greatest cruiser crew in the world. The crew of the MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI, with the support and encourage- ment of their families and loved ones, brought the ship out of a shipyard availability, through an intensive and foreshortened training period and into the Mediterra- nean ready in all respects to work in a potentially hos- tile environment. Through out the work-up period sacri- fices were made by all hands and their families as the ship piloted its way through a myriad of requirements during the short six months between the yard period and deployment. From Seaman and Fireman to the Chiefs Mess and Wardroom, the crew maintained a high degree of readiness during the deployment even though subjected to frequent last minute schedule changes and short notice tasking. Additionally during the seven months the ship was away from homeport it was underway nearly 70 percent of the time. On the following pages you will find the chronicle of events that set MISSISSIPPI during our Mediterranean deployment. The fact that the ship was one of only two cruisers to receive the BATTLE EFFICIENCY Award from the Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Atlan- tic Fleet and was specifically chosen for a sensitive operation (Operation SNAP LOCK), testifies to the out- standing abilities of each individual crew member and their effectiveness as a team. I salute the finest crew that a Commanding Officer could ask for to man his ship.