Morton (DD 948) - Naval Cruise Book

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'67 CRUI E HISTORY' 1967 MORTON WESTPAC CRUISE HISTORY The USS MORTON 's 1967 WestPac Cruise can be summed up in one word: Vietnam. Although much of our time was spent invarious ports such as I-long Kong and Yokosuka, japan, our primary efforts were directed at preparing for and oper- ating in Vietnamese waters. With the in- creased U. S. involvement in Vietnam, destroyers such as MORTON are in de- mand to act as patrol and gunfire support units. Such was the mission during the 1967 cruise. During seventy-four days on the gunfire support line, MORTON ex- pended 13,513 rounds of ammunition and wore out a complete set of gun barrels. MORTON's Vietnam action canbe de- vided into two general areas: Operation Sea Dragon off the coast of North Vietnam and Naval Gunfire Support operations off the Demilitarized Zone. Our first assign- ment was as a unit of the Sea Dragon team. We were called upon to fire at en- emy coastal defense sites, radar instal- lations, and at barges and supply craft heading south to supply the Viet Cong in the jungles of South Vietnam. During this period we received enemy shore fire two times, but sustained no personnel or ma- terial casualities. Working with the USS SAMUEL MOORE CDD 7475 and the USS MC CAFFREY CDD 8605, MORTON spent two weeks patrollingthe coast, and firing at assigned targets. For example, one of our most lucrative targets was a large number of supply barges spotted hiding in the mouth of a river. MORTON's fast and accurate fire inflicted heavy damage on the group of barges. On june 12 we were relieved from our Sea Dragon status and a s signed as plane guard ship for the USS ENTER- PRISE CCVAN 655 and USS BON HOMME RICHARD CCVA 315. Although not as di- rectly involved in the war effort as Sea Dragon o p e r a ti on s , acting as plane guard ship is a vital part of carrier op- erations. Many sorties are launched ev- ery day and there is always the danger of a downed plane or fire. On 18 june we de- parted the Tonkin Gulf and escorted the BON HOMME RICHARD to Subic Bay, Philippines . The remainder of our time was spent on the Gunfire Support Line in the I Corps, Republic of South Vietnam off the Demilitarized Zone . This five mile wide ribbon of land d i vid e s North and South Vietnam and was established as a buffer zone . The strategic importance of the DMZ is based on its use by the North Vi e t n a m e s e as a point for infiltrating troops and supplies into South Vietnam. In addition, North Vietnamese regulars fighting in South Vie tnam use the DMZ as a sanctuary or hiding place when un- der pressure. R e cent ly the Demilita- rized Zone has become a real hotspot of the war in Vietnam. D u rin g our two extended periods as a Naval Gunfire Sup- port Ship at the DMZ, we personally ob- served and were a part of a definite es- calation in the tempo of the fighting there. MORTON r e p o rte d for duty at the DMZ on 1 july as a support ship for the 12th Marine Regiment which is stationed

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l??W' Lieutenant Commander Krumwiede Lieutenant C om mande r james M. Mc- Culloch Was relieved as executive officer of the Morton on 12 August 1967. He served his first tour of duty as weapons officer aboard the USS Ulhman CDD 6875 from 1957 to 1960. After leaving the Navy for a year, he re- turned to serve as Executive Cfficer aboard the USS ConquestCMSO 4885 and then attended postgraduate school in Monterey, California majoring in nuclear physics before reporting aboard Morton on the third of july. LCDR McCulloch is now serving as operations of- ficer on the Destroyer Squadron Five staff. gif, . Lieutenant Commander I. L. Kruniwiede relieved Lieutenant Com- mander I. M. McCulloch as executive officer of the Morton on 12 August 1967. LCDR Krumwiede was born in S t . Paul, Minnesota. He enlisted in the Navy in 1948 and in 1950 he re- ceived an appointment to attend the U.S. Naval Academy. He was com- missioned in 1954 and was ordered to the USS Frank Knox QDD 7421. In 1957 LCDR Krumwiede attended Naval Post- graduate School and he re ce ived a Master of Science in Physics in 1959. He was then ordered to the USS York- town CCVS 105 where he served as re- pair officer until 1961. From 1961 to 1962 LCDR Krumwiede served as an instructor at Nuclear Weapons Com- mand Pacific Force and then he was transferred to D e s t r oy e r Squadron Seventeen Where he served as material officer until 1964. In 1964 he attended the Naval War College and from 1965 to 1967 he served as a Physics instruc- tor at the Naval Academy. SECUHI AREA AUTI-IORIZQ 'ff Pl?211SONNv'x ONLY IQ Klill P llllghxs s- ' ' Z1 7 V , f ,NW c ,ig I , Lieutenant Commander McCulloch

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just south of the DMZ. Our primary tar- gets were enemy troop concentrations, supply and staging areas, troops in the open, and enemy shore batteries. The speed and accuracy with which MORTON supplied fire called for by the Naval Gun- fire Liaison Officer gave us the reputa- tion as an outstanding G un fi r e Support Ship. The ship became a precision team of fighting men, alert and eager to sup- port the 12th Marine Regiment. During the 38 days we were on the line in july and August, MORTON fired nearly 8, OOO rounds at enemy targets . There was little time for rest as most of the crew was standing twelve hours of watches a day in addition to their regular duties. One break did come when Robert Stack, best known as the star of the TV series The Untouchables , came aboard for two days to talk and shake hands with the crew. On ll September we again reported for duty as a Gunfire Support Ship off the DMZ. It was during this period that MORTON really got a taste of the war. Again there were many other Navy ships in the area, this time assembled to exe- cute an amphibious operation known as Operation Fortress Sentry . The pur- pose of the operation was to send ma- rines to search out and destroy enemy artillary sites, supply areas and troop concentrations. MORTON fired in sup- port of the operation, the majority of our targets being active artillery sites shoot- ing at American troops . As the Operation'came to an end and as our time on the line was drawing to an end, the crew expected the last few days on the line to be relatively quiet. Soon after the end of the Operation, however, the two vital Marine outposts of Con Thien and Gio Linh began receiving al- most constant fire from Communist ar- tillery in and north of the DMZ. We were called upon to fire at suspected and known artillery sites in the DMZ and North in the area of Cape Lay. On 22 September, while firing at artillery positions, MOR- TON received enemy fire from the Cape Lay area. A ltho ugh the rounds landed very close, there were no casualities or material damage to the ship. In the days that followed, MORTON received hostile fire from the artillery sites near Cape Lay almost daily. Many times our lookouts on the open bridge ob- served the muzzle flashes at the sites. Air strikes were called in and we ob- served our B-52 bombers heavily bomb