Nicholas (DDE 449) - Naval Cruise Book

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. . . and Today An aggressor nation of today is capable of launching guided missiles from submarines. Defending against such an attack becomes increasingly important and more difficult as enemy submarines become more nu- merous. To combat this threat to national security, the Navy is placing more empha- sis on anti-submarine warfare. The most effective method thus far devised involves the use of aircraft carriers, aircraft, and destroyers. l l This ship's primary mission is the destruc tion of enemy submarines. To accomplish this mission she is equipped with modern anti-submarine weapons and destruction de vices, including facilities for operating DASH CDrone Anti-submarine Helocopterl and variable-depth sonar. The NICHOLAS, OLDEST AND FASTEST in the fleet, is ready today for tomorrow's challenge. l l e 2 2 1 l

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l Yesterda . . - USS NICHOLAS was commissioned 4 June 1942, the first Fletcher class destroyer to ioin the fleet and the second U.S. warship named in honor of Maior Samuel Nicholas, the first commissioned officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. r X, . ...L Three months after her commissioning NICHOLAS was fighting off Guadalcanal. Some months later, in the Battle of Kula Gulf, she fought for and rescued nearly seven hundred survivors from the cruis- er USS HELENA. For this she was ' awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. There followed a war record of con- tinuous action, including the downing of seven enemy aircraft plus two possible kills. By the end of the war she had earned sixteen battle stars on the Asi- atic Pacific Area Service Ribbon.

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Commandin Officer CDR J M Henson, a native of Corona, California, graduated from the U S Naval Academy In l953 He served on the USS ALGOL CAKA 54D the USS CHOPPERCSS 342D and the USS EPPERSON CDD 7l9l prior to assignment to Operations Division of the Staff of Commander I C O O U C o u 9 Wu, , I - I Q I O I O 2, '-,l,z'.:f,f. - lixyi . . . . 0 in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet. He next served as XO of the USS . DURANT CDER-389D and CO of the USS REAPER CMSO-467l. Following a two year tour of duty in the Officer Distribution Division of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, CDR Henson attended the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School where he was awarded the Master of Science De- gree with specialty in Financial Management. He took command of the NICHOLAS on 3 August l967. ln the future this cruisebook will serve to recall for all of us both the names and Faces of many fine ship- mates. lt's been an excellent cruise inwhich we have performed a wide variety of missions under combat conditions. Formal awards and commendations have been recommended for some whose achievements and devotion to duty have been particularly out- standing. Only slightly less deserv- ingare many others whose steady and reliable competence has been essential to the performance of our mission. Like a chain, a ship is only as strong as the weakest link, and l'm grateful to each of you for the individual contributions yOU have made. ...-at