Moale (DD 693) - Naval Cruise Book

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CDR. Thomas J. Lalorest 0llll7l6lll6bIlg A native of Detroit, Michigan, Commander Laforest graduated from the University of Michigan in 1938. He entered the Naval Service in 1940 and was commissioned as Ensign, US NR, the following year upon completion of Midshipman training. During World War II, he saw action in twelvenmafor engagements in the Asiatic-Pacific Theatre and served aboard the destroyers WHIPPLE, CHARETTE and JOHN D. HENLEY. At the conclusion of hostilities in 1945, LCDR Laforest transferred to the Regular Navyand attended the General Line School in Newport, Rhode Island. In 1947 he assumed his First command, that of the radar picket destroyer escort, U.S. S. ALEXANDER J. LUKE. A year later LCDR Laforest took command ofthe William T. Powell, also a DER. From 1949 until taking command of the MOALE fwith the subsequent promotion to the rank of Commanderj, he served as Assistant Training Officer of the Fleet Training Group at Chesapeake Bay.

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Fl' f USS MOALE QDD-693 Now rounding out her tenth year of active Naval service, the USS MOALE first got underwa fol- Y lowing commissioning ceremonies on 28 February I94-4 at the Federal Shipbuilding Yards, Keamyf New Jersey. . . . Incorporating improvements gleaned from destroyer action reports in the Pacific theatre, the MOALE is second ship of the SUMNER class Cshort-hullj 2,200 ton destroyer. First ship of the fleet to bear the name MOALE, she honors Lt. Edward Moale, a Spanish-American War hero and an T887 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. After the completion of several shakedown and training cruises, the MOALE joined Task Force'38 as a screening ship for the carriers whose planes made heavy strikes against Japanese air fields on Luzon Island in November I944. ' The MOALE received her first rude baptism of enemy action while conducting an attack on Japanese shipping and installations at Ormoc Bay prior to the invasion of Leyte. ln the short space of four hours on the night of 2 December I944, the MOALE, SUMNER lDD692I and COOPER fDD695D returnedthe fire of shore batteries, low-flying planes, and surface craft guns. Unaided by other American forces, the three valient destroyers splashed eight enemy planes and sank three ships. It was during this battle, however, that the COOPER was struck by a torpedo, broke in two, and sank with the loss of I72 men. Shortly after New Year's Day, l945, the MOALE and DesRon 60 assisted in the softening-up opera- tions for the impending invasion of Li,ngqyenGulf-alternating between screening assignments for the bug ships and call- fire duty with shore firecontrol parties. During the followingmonth the MOALE' accompanied the Fifth Fleet fast carrier force while strikes were made against the Japanese homeland. The MOALE also participated in the assault and occupation of Iwo Jima and Okinawa Gunto before steaming into Tokyo Bay on I6 September l945 soon after the war was over. Since the end of World War II, the assignments of the MOALE have been many and varied. She has h d h h s F ' ' ' ' ' a er s are o cruising among the islands of the Pacific and later participated in Operation Cross- roads QAtom Bomb Testi at'Bikini. She had the honor of escorting the first shi b ' d d b li . y p earung war ea ac to the United States, and has been the proving grounds for hundreds of students of the Fleet Sonar School at San Diego. Inthe spring ofI949the MOALE and the other four ships of Destro er Di ' ' 72 ' ' d h A I t' y . vision lolne t e tan IC Fleet. She now is a part of Destroyer Division I6l which also includes the SUMNER and the INGRA- HAM fDD694I. U Forthe MOALE, Atlantic Fleet duty has included Naval Reserve and Midshipman cruises to the Car- flbbecn and Europe, Operations with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean, refresher training at Guan-I fcmvmo Buy, Cl-'50, Gnd The Mncowex and Packex exercises. Her most recent cruise has been the 53,000-mile 'round-the-world trip, the subject of this book. On The bfldge bUlW0l'l4S, the MOALE proudly displays her eight ribbons earned through the yeGfS2 the Asiatic-Pacific Area S ' ' ' ' . ervnce Ribbon with five battle stars QLeyte,' Luzon, Iwo Jima, Okinawa gunto, and Third Fuleet Operations against Japanl, World War II Victory Ribbon, Navy Occupation UefV'Zegllfb0n, China Service Ribbon, European Service Ribbon, National Defense Service Ribbon, nite ations Service Ribbon, and the Korean Service Ribbon with one engagement star.

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EXECUTIVE OFFICERS LCDR. Evans J. Robinson, U.S.N. LT Howard B. Miller became Executive Of- ficer of the USS MOALE in September 1953 having relieved LCDR E. J. Robinson while the ship was in Yokosuka, Japan. He returned to the U.S. aboard the MOALE as she com- pleted her 'round-the-world cruise. LT Miller came to the ship from the Gunnery Officer Ordnance School in Washington, D.C. , where he recently completed 30 months shore duty as Academic andCurricuIar Officer. Born in Philadelphia, Pa. , LT Miller attend- ed Girard College and Drexel Tech, Philadel- phia, prior to enlisting in the Navy as a sea- man apprentice September 20, 1932. After receiving his recruit training at the Navel BUF-ef Norfolk, Va., LT Miller served in several classes of ships including DD's, BB, Gnd AD, rising up through the enlisted ranks to Chief Fire Controlman. He was com- missioned July 15, 1943, as Ensign, USN, and served aboard the USS CAPPS lDD550J through- out the war, finally placing the same ship out of commission in San Diego, California, After a tourofshore duty for rotation in San D' I o lego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, LT ,Mil- ler was assigned to duty in the USS ST PAUL fCA73J. He completed a three-year tour of duty in the Pacific, mainly in Asiatic waters, in November 1950. He was then assigned to the Gunnery Officer Ordnance School. Married to the former Miss Cqbof Flavia D I - enau t of Dallas, Texas, LT Muller has one son, James Denault Miller, age 3, LC DR Evans Jones Robinson served as Executive Of- ficer of the MOALE for the portion ofthe 'round-the- world cruise April through August. Mr. Robinson was originally Operations Officer aboard the MOALE. He later became Executive Officer and was promoted to Lieutenant Commander on 1 March 1952. LCDR Robinson was relieved while the MOALE was in Yolcosuka, Japan, in September, prior to the ship's departure for her homeward-bound journey. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, LCDR Robinson at- tended Maryland State Teachers College from which he graduated in 1940. Entering the Naval Service in 1941, he received training at the NavaIReserve Midshipman School at Columbia University in New York. After being commissioned as Ensign, USNR , in 1943, Mr. Robinson was ordered to the Pacific Fleet Amphibious Forces. During World War II he served aboard the U.S. S. THUBAN lAKA19D and the U.S.S. STARR fAKA67Q, participating in the inva- sions of Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Kwaialein, Okinawa, and Nansei Shotos. He assisted with the occupation of Korea and Kiska Island in the Aleutians. Following the war, LCDR Robinson saw service in the Mediterranean area asClC Officer of the U.S. S. HUNTINGTON fCL107J. He accepted a commission in the Regular Navy in August of 1946, and later at- tended the General Line School, graduating in May 1949. From that time until reporting aboard the MOALE, Mr. Robinson was the head of the Strategy and Naval Tactics Section of the CIC Team Training Center, Boston, Massachusetts. Lt. Howard B. Miller, U.S N . . U - , ' A ,.'f 'i- . y'5f'f' ..:v-1-.gffrw .- .. -.,-. ..,,... ,, ,Nm