Sierra (AD 18) - Naval Cruise Book

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,,., , , s- F Y, . 'Qi,4,'. f I vl 'fF' - ir ' I .5 ' 5 A ' 1 I A W ar - A fs s.. gi- .4 4 we f . .. . , -, w - . , :U mm f ,. - ' - V USS SIERRA. Sl1.myh.si, Cllr IQ l USS. Sierra tin replica of naiqy yard ' says Shanghai Herald, Tuesday, Nov 5 1 945 SIERRA celebrated her 4bth birthday. as the voungest and oldest crewmembers cut the commemorative cake on March 20. 1990. Eighteen-year-old SN Connie Mason and 48fyear'nld ICI Gary Wentworth lwho was two years old when SIERRA was com- missioned in 1944i were all smiles when they sliced the icing dur' ing the ships first steel beach picnic. The brief ceremony spotlighted the role SIERRA has played as Battle Group Tender to both the Pacific and Atlantic fleets over the decades. She was recognized early on as a top-notch Navy ship. Visiting China in 1945. SIERRA was described in the Shanghai Herald as a crack destroyer tender . . . a floating repli- ca of Pearl Harbor Navy Yard. Following the legacy of her like-named predecessor. a troop transport in World War I. SIERRA was outfitted after commis- sioning to take part in World War ll - with four 52538 gun mounts and two heavy-duty cranes. That period was remembered by plankowner Roger G. Cas- per - I think back to how heartsick most of our green crew was when we passed under the Golden Gate and not knowing when we would return, he said. The first crew, I can report, was so

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Departure . . . watched from browside while they wa ved from below. streaming down many of their faces. They tried to for our sakes, to make us proud. We were just hoping TE lfrhqfere proud of us as we tried to stifle our emotions. We ahead. They are the ones who have to make up the slack that our absence entails. They are our families and loved ones. We, the crewmembers of USS SIERRA, thank them for their support: for without them we wouldnt be as strong. We them to see and remember our dignity, but they sa w what wanted - our hearts. thank them for understanding the Navy life that calls us away at times: this time for a six-month deployment to the Mediterra- ' Who are these bra ve 'soldiers of separation '? They are the ,ings we left behind. They are the ones with the most difficult tasks nean. -JOSN Lisa Cromer .H .2-,., Q, , Km, 2, ,V Q -,ka V-. ...QV , '-M. . ..... .11 f --W WWW' , i 1,,., 1 I :il i ui-meer. in , ' M. 'W-MWQW4' 5 ' N-M 'WQQPU i it K h -ti N 5 in 'Q' sq. 1 -Q' k , 1 'few 'Lil' . 1 ' K ' iii: f V 'J .ai . , iivfiw . vw t new I 1,411 V J- wf ' -9 as -if ff wi 4' hx' Nw, , 4' 3214 tk 5 Ph 1 by ENSMIK lsk vel i A 9 I M 0 D V 1 u 1 ff ., K , y Y'PY4-4, F 4' e 'f ' '

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,f , 7 7 N -vs. -Q! IIII ties also updated, SIERRA gained the ability to do even more since '44. Moving to her present home port, Charleston, SC in 1974. SIERRA joined NAVSURFLANT and handled 24.000 work or- ders, with a half million manhours to repair SURFLANT units. Her productivity rating for 1975 was a remarkable 10996. SIERRA continued her dual function as tender and flagship lor COMCRUDESGRU TWO and she was kept busy with deploy- ments in 1977, 1978, 1985 and 1987. ln 1989 SIERRA faced the challenge of Hurricane Hugo bv lending a helping hand to the Charleston community after that storm's devastation. ln that same year she played a part as the community Business Education Partnerships were signed on board. SIERRA'S later years have been just as productive as her early ones. She completed 6,358 jobs in 257,579 manhours this d9Pl0yment. The result is a successful Mediterranean deploy- ment, Qiving credence to the phrase some things get better with age. -SK2 Kenneth Cebrun gL.sf,4Q1. V 2 Heritage from the past . . . HI SN Illrisun rind ICI Wentworth Cu! SIERRA 'S 46th B1r!Iid.iy cake, March 20. I 'Z -USS SIERRA high .md dry in thc floating drydock. H3 -In 1972, putvririnl fvm.aIv crcwmvmburs COITN3 aboard. H4 Headline from 1945 SIERRA newspaper - overlayed with .i map of thc ships cruise .area in World War II. Thv phnmgr.ipI1 5Imws Plankowncr Roger G. Casper on duck with his sIirpnm!cs. RADIO PRESS NEWS - H . .ae ...Ea ,, ,V W-, ,Am W, M4 ia 1 U. s. s. srumn, AD-I8 N.. in ' .laps Seek Peace. g E ANI, rf .I 6 Semi 11 E