Soley (DD 707) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 8 text:

To all llllllllri - Each of us on the Soley has been given one ul the most pleasant challenges a man may encounter during his liletime - to be one ofa small crew to steam a ship around the won ld. Steel and steam are exploited to accomplish this but to the man an the helm, tothe mantending boiler burners, to the men scanning the ro- dar scope belongs the true credit. It is onthe nerves and mind and sinews ofthe tincan sailor that his ship is brought across the world's great seas. Having met and overcome this challenge is o deed al which each one of us should be iustly proud. And for you men with year, gl Cruises showing through your hashmarlcs additional credit is due lor your efforts during the pasteight months in helping to shape the less experienced man to the tasks of the sea. CQCIWMMANIYIYNIIZZ CYTICIR

Page 7 text:

I TUR In December of 1945 Soley was ordered to Yokosuka, Japan, for duty with the occupation forces. In February 1946 she started home - and fourteen months later was decommissioned inChar- Ieston, S.C. On January 5, 1949, the Chief of Naval Op- erations ordered Soley to be reactivated as a test case based on simulated war conditions. Twenty- four days later she had a captain, a crew, and was back in the fleet. Her greatest honor duty was in representing the United States at the funeral of King Gustavus V of Sweden in November 1950. She entered Stockholm carrying Commander in Chief, U. S. Naval Forces, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, RADM Walter F. Boone, USN, part of his staff, the Marine Guard and a Navy band. Next there was Korea. On May l5, 1952 -a day not unknown to many of her present crew- Soley got underway for Yokosuka, Japan. When Task Force 77 launched big strikes against North Korean hydro-electricplants in late June of 1952, Soley was there. And on July 1, in company with the cruiser Helena, she moved up to the Bomb- Iine for shore bombardment su port of our troops. Herfirst shot in action was firedaon the 2nd of July against a supply area near Kosong, Korea. In a few short days she fired 876 rounds from her mflln battery and before the action was over provided shore bombardment support from Hungnam to Cheio. On August 5, 1952, while with Task Force 95, Soley sighted foursampans with white flags waving, thirty-one North Koreans were taken aboard. In the next four da s thirty more persons joined this number. In micflOctober of 1952 Soley departed for home. Her next log entries begin on January 4, 1954 and formthe story which this book attempts to tell.

Page 9 text:

THE CAPTAIN Commander John G. Messer was born in Boston, Mass., on April 10, 1918, and was graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy in the class of 1941. During the war years 1941 - 1942 he saw destroyer duty escorting convoys in the North Atlantic and working with the British Home Fleet out of Scapa Flow. In 1943 and 1944 more des- troyer duty took him to the Pacific Theatre for the battles of Makin and Tarawa, and later operations brought him to the Aleutian Islands. Post GraduateSchool in Ordnance Engineering occupied most ofthe ears 1945 and 1946. This was followed by three years of sea duty divided between a destroyer mine- layer, a high speed destroyer transport, and a heavy carrier, then two years of shore duty at the Naval Mine De ot, Yorktown, Va. After being transferred, from duty on the Staff ofthe Commander in Chief, U,S. Naval Forces, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean at London, England, Commander qflesser returned to the United States to assume command of U.S.S. Soley on December 5, 1953. .,,1 1