Moale (DD 693) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 6 text:

SIXTH FLEETS OLDEST

Page 5 text:

USS MOALE DD 693 MEDITERRANEAN 68 CC

Page 7 text:

■$,»; . »oc Bay seemed ect job but the ws had stuck to nplary fashion. When the avvy were there to do the The MOALE of today is a quarter of a century old. In those m her launching January 17, 1944, she has compiled a tradition 1 crew that mans her can recall with pride. MOALE has been changed drasti- cally since the early years when she was a new ship, the pride of the fleet, boasting the armament of a World War I cruiser. She has been overhauled and modernized again and again to meet the changing demands of Sea Power. She boasts of a history including Iwo Jima, Okinawa Gunto and Ormoc Bay, a history of glorious achievement in time of war. But today her mission is a peaceful one in a troubled world. Perhaps the task encumbent upon those who man her today is as difficult as that faced by her crews of earlier years. Today the same ability must be developed and maintained that former crews first welded into her tradition. The best description of this spirit is to be found in the following excerpt from the MOALE pamphlet issued during Navy Day in Longview, Washington, 1945, describing her action at Ormoc Bay: Perhaps because it was a lonesome and unconcealed venture, far removed from aid or succor, or because, deep in the enemy ' s lair, we could not be sure of his strength — or simply because this was our fii a rude baptism. Technically, it may have been ; heartening conviction remained that these green their battle stations and fought their ships in exei occasion demanded, men with the mettle and the « job: the radio techs who averted disaster by locating and remedying a break- down in the fire control radar just sixty seconds before the ' main event ' ; the gunner ' s mate who kept his gang and his guns going though every blast from the five inch rifles over their heads laid them flat and once even split a barrel; the signalman who dove into a flaming ready ammunition box to jerk out the hot stuff in time; the metalsmith striker who had to be carried off after he ' d worked to exhaustion welding patches on the hull during the fight. It was an all hands ' job and all hands felt quiet pride. The MOALE was to face many more protracted and wearying, perhaps more ' dangerous ' operations, but none so trying. Few ships, however seasoned, are called upon to face an enemy ' s combined air, land, surface and submarine attack, all concentrated in one action. The final tally for the division: sunk or downed — one destroyer, one small transport, nine or ten planes, at least six fast motor launches or PT ' s, one destroyer or destroyer-escort, another small transport; some random shore bombardment. Our losses: one destroyer, 172 men, including officers, about 100 wounded. To the SUMNER went the credit for most of the atr action, to the MOALE the lion ' s share of the surface kills . We, the crew of the MOALE, have this to live up to: that 1 our ship be called upon again to perform as in the past — that we are ready to respond with the same spirit and expertise as did her green crews of the past; that the proud new MOALE in the war of yesterday remains a vital instrument in the preservation of peace today.