Renville (APA 227) - Naval Cruise Book

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CAPT GRADY H. LOWE Captain G. H. Lowe entered the Navy in July 1940. He was commissioned in June 1941 and then served in the OffiCC of the Chief of Naval Operations and later on the USS INDIANA CBB 581 in the Southwest Pacific. His World War II actions were not limited to the Pacific, however. From 1943 until the end of the war he served as Opefations Officer for Amphibious Flotillas 4, 12 and 38 taking part in landings in the Mediterranean Sea and in Normandy. After the war he was stationed at the Naval Personnel Separation Center, Bainbridge, Maryland, as Operations Control Officer. When Korean Conflict engaged the United States Captain Lowe served as Executive Officer of the USS MCCAFFERY QDD 8601, and later served on the staff of Commander Task Force 90 fComPhibPacj as Force CIC Officer and AS- sistant Gunnery and Readiness Officer. Following the War, 1954-1955 he was commanding officer USS HOLLISTER KDD 788 . C ' ' J aptaln Lowe served as O1nC Nuclear Weapons Courses at Nuclear Weapons Training Center Pacific until 1958, where he was principal instructor in Nuclear Ph sic F ll ' y s. o owing a year at the Naval War College he served on the staff of Commander in Chief, U. S. Pacific Fleet, as CincPacFlt Representative for the Pacific Missile Range until 1962. He relieved Captain W. L. Savidge as Commanding Officer USS RENVILLE QAPA 2272 in June 1962. Educationally, Captain Lowe has attended Catawba College, The University of North Carolina, The University Of Rhode Island, and Ventura College. He received a Bachelor's Degree from San Diego State College in Chemistry in 1958. He also is a graduate of the General Line School, Monterey, California, and the course in Naval Warfare at the Naval War College, Newport, R. I. Captain Lowe is married to the former Daisy Martin of Plymouth, Florida. They were married in 1946. They have iW0 children, Linda .lean and Gary Howard. Presently the Lowes reside in Bonita, California.

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x, , -if 9 0, Q ? 1 l 5 3 Q1 4. as Q t After the truce was signed in Korea the Renville returned to peacetime training. This has included large scale am- phibious operations and several tours of duty in the Western Pacific as part of the Seventh Fleet, demonstrating :Tower for Peacef, In January 1959 she cruised to Eniwetok in the Pacific and remained 4 months at the Eniwetok Proving Grounds assisting with atomic testing. Since then Renville has made many more WestPac deployments, returning from 8 months in the Far East on 5 De- cember 1961. The Renville remained in the San Diego area, occasionally going to sea for local operations. Between February and May she was awarded the Red Engineering E, the Amphibious Assault Award, and the White Gunnery E. On 21 May she left San Dieffo for Seattle Washington to attend th W ld' F ' D , . g , . e or s air, returning to San Diego on 30 May. Captain G. H. Lowe relieved Captain W. L. Savidge as commanding Officer on 7 June 1962. During July and August Renville was overhauled at the Todd Shipyards in San Pedro, California. Upon her return to San Diego she conducted readiness exercises and battle problems. On 22 October 1962 the Renville was alerted to the trouble in Cuba, and immediately set out to load troops and ff b cargo to e transported to the trouble spot. On Saturday morning 27 October the Renville sailed out of S D' ff h b , an iego ar or with other units of the Pacific Fleet for the Panama Canal. It was during that trip south that this story begins.

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'4We made a slow start on our WeslPav Deployment, what with the trip to the Caribbean and being home for Christ- mas, but once we started we really made up for lost time. We were able to make niany friends with our dependents cruise, and to accomplish many needed repairs to the ship. We also managed to get in considerable training which iwe- sorely needed. I consider our deployment of great benefit to all of us and certainly a profitable one in terms of experience. Commander H. P. Hansen is a native of Santa Barbara, California, and attended schools in Santa Barbara and Solvang, California. From March 1936 until June 1942 Commander Hansen served in the Navy as an enlisted man on the USS GAMBLE QDM 151, USS OGLALA CCM 41, USS HOVEY CDD 2081, and USS PRESIDENT JACKSON KAPA 181. Pro- moted to Warrant Boatswain in June 1942, and served with the Amphibious Forces in the South Pacific until De- cember 1943. During,1944 Cdr. Hansen was promoted to CWO and also commissioned two new 180 foot minesweepers, USS CLIMAX KAM 1611 and USS FACILITY KAM 2331. Under the LDO program he was made an Ensign in July 1944, and was ordered as CO, USS YMS 422, later renamed USS OSPREY KAMS 281. In 1946 he was promoted to LTfjg1 and during 1946 and 1947 the Osprey cleared mines in Japanese waters and from the Gilbert, Marianas, Truk, and:Pa1au Islands. Took command of the USS PCKC1 1168, and then was ordered to Key West, Fla., as Communications Offi- cer of the Operations Development Station where he remained until December 1951. In July 1951 he was promoted to Lieutenant, be also accepted a permanent commission as an LDO Officer, after being selected in 1948. In 1952 took command of USS SALISH QATA 1871 and in 1954 the USS MOLALA QATF 1061. While serving on the MOLALA Mr. Hansen was promoted to Lieutenant Commander. In 1956 he was detached and ordered to Naval Station, Guam, M. I., as Security Officer and Armed Services Police Officer. In November 1958, he was detached and ordered to Stockton, California, as Commanding Officer, U. S. Naval Reserve Training Center. After a tour of two years, Cdr Hansen was ordered to USS SURFBIRD fADG 3831, stationed in Sasebo, Japan, as its Commanding Officer. The SURFBIRD is the only degaussing ship in the world. On 1 August 1961 be was promoted to Commander. Commander Hansen reported to the RENVILLE as its Executive Officer in October 1962. Commander Hansen married the former Lois M. Nicol of Seattle, Washington, in August 1941. CDR HANS P. HANSEN