Sterett (DLG 31) - Naval Cruise Book

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THE TRADITIO LIIEUIHIIIIIII fllItll'l'1l' Sn-rc!! ta., i,.,,-,, ,, John and Dt-horah Ritlgt-ly Stt-rt-tt. .Xntlrt-w Stt-rt,-tt's fathcr, a sutfccssful shipping merchant and owner of a large t-state. st-rvt-tl as captain ol' a company during tht- Revolutionary VVar. The fourth of ten n Z7 .lanuaiy 1778 in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Children. AlNll't'W inht-ritt-tl suhstantial propt-rty lironi his fatht-rg howcvcr, his intcrcst led him tothe sea, and he entered tht- Navy as a 1.it-utt-nant on 25 March 1798. 'l'hc ncwly t-ommissiontztl c'0lI5fl'1lLlfflII1 had just gotten to st-a as tht- lirst of st-vt-ral lirigatt-s ortlt-rt-tl hy tht- fledgling llcpartmcnt of the Navy, and Andrew Ste-rt-tt hccamt- ht-r '1'hirt1 l.it-utt-nant. I.t-ss than a ycar latt-r ht: trommandt-d a battery of the Constellatimzfv grt-at guns ina hattlt- against tht- 1141-gun 1 rt-nch frigatc L'ln.surgt'n1t'. The outcome marked the first victory at st-a for tht- lfnittetl Statt-s Navy and inspirctl tht: nation in its undeclared war with France for frt-t-tloln of tht- st-as. By February 1800 Stt-rt-tt had rist-n to 1 irst 1.it-utt-nant on hoartl tht-t'w1.m'Il11t1'mi. llis ship's stunning triumph over tht- powt-rlul 53-gun 1'lrt-nch liritgatt- 1,41 lv't'II.Q't'tlIIl'l' in that saint- month won a Congressional vote of thanks and incrt-asctl rt-spt-ct lor tht- nt-w nation throttgliout tht- world. 1.att-r in tht- yt-ar Sic-rvtt left the C'0nxtt'lltzt1'on to st-rvc as tfotnniotlort- '1irnxtnn's 1 irst 1.it-utt-nant in tht- frigatt- 1,l't'.Nl'tll'lIf. and hy the end of tht- yt-ar ht- had his own coinntantl, tht- schoont-r l':llft'l'fJl'I..W', tht- lirst of tht- Navy's wrirships to bear the namt-. After capturing two lirt-nch privatt-t-rs in st-paratc t-ngatgt-int-nts, tht- young captain st-t sail for the Mediterranean in a squadron connnantlt-tl hy t'onitnotlort- Richard llalt-, '1'ht-ir aim: to forct- tht- 'liripolitan pirates to ceast- tht-ir attacks on 1Xint-rican ships, ln a furious t-ngagt-int-nt against tht- pirate warship Trzfoli, commantlt-tl hy Ras Mahonit-t lions, Stt-rt-tt fought till' thrt-t- attt-nipts to hoard his ship and twice skirted disaster wht-n tht- piratt- captain lialst-ly struck his colors to makt- tht- .Xmericans put down their arms in expectation ol' surrt-ntlt-r. lfinally, thrt-t- ol' his ship's masts shot away. Ras Mahomt-t Rous threw his flag into tht- st-a and ht-ggt-tl lor qttartt-r. Stt-rt-tt pt-rsonally hoardt-tl tht- t-nt-my ship and had her guns. anchors. and cahlt-s thrown ovt-rhoartli l.t-:tying ,l'l'lif'0lIi with a singlc spar and sail. Sterett sailed on. He was prt-st-ntt-tl a swortl hy l'rt-sitlt-nt lhonias .lt-1'1't-rson and his mt-n won a month's extra pay for their heroic action. ln following yt-ars Stt-rt-tt cotninantlt-tl tht- l'f11tt'rpri.w' in a hlockatlt- of tht- coast of Tripoli and parti- cipated in convoy opt-rations in tht- Mt-tlitt-rrant-an, llt- lantlt-tl linitt-tl States Consul James Simpson at Tan-giers for nt-gotiations that rt-snltt-tl in tht- lirin t-stahlishnit-nt of pt-acc with Morocco on 15 August 1802. Ste-re-tt continnt-tl to carry tliploniatic tlt-spatcltt-s antl to allortl prott-t-tion to the growing American merchant traffic in tht- Mt-tlitt-rrant-an. .Xltt-r an t-ngagt-int-nt in which I'fntt'rpr'i.w' captured an enemy ship Dying the imperial flag ol' tht- lit-y til' lnnis, Sit-rt-tt rt-tnrnt-tl hotnt- in March of 1803. Re-signing from the Navy in 1805, ht- ht-gan a t-art-cr in tht- nit-rchant tnarint- which was tt-rminatt-d by his premature death, at Lima, l't-ru, on 9 ,lnnv 18117 Andltw Ste-rt-tt's re-pntation thtl not tlit- with hiin. 'l'ht- llnitt-tl States and its young Navy had BCCGBR- Plisbed what tht- gre-at powt-rs ol' lfnropt- had ht-cn powt-rlt-ss to do: tht-y had humhled the Barbary piratm lad Bild! ponsihltt pt-an-ltil tratlt- in tht- Nlt-tlitt-rrant-an. ln tht- yt-ars to comt- names like Andrew Suefttl, Ricblrd Dale, and Stt-pht-n llt-catnr would gain in staturt-3 and tht- tlauntlcss spirit that triumphed in the miwl'l'll18Qfl would livt- on in tht- suhniarinc-inft-stt-ti watt-rs of tht- North Atlantic. at Midway, in h C931 S, If lm'htm, and totlay in tht- tinll' ol' il-Hllliill. ,Qty .. f., . .fa , I 15,1 I ta -,Q , ' ' 3 3' , K - -is , Lf. ,., . ,.. ,bfi ia. if i 55 -H. , sw. ' fr,-. 5 ,I s, H fa-H

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Q' ix I . . 1 151 . 9,4 Q tel' ' H: 4 it 1 I if tt EEE . ,, if ii? -:ii gi i2 gr, 1: ii 555' S5 I it 1,. iq' KK' ' lf pl I 1 1 ii l 5 'f . .5 , i 3 i Q52 1115: ., 1 L l 1 ',., Qi ffl .1 'I 1 SHIPS N MED TERETT The first S'1'FRE'1'T 117197-971 was commissioned at liosttltl on Iii lieeeinliei 111141 'lihe new hllll' was 293 feet long and displaced 7-12 tonsg with a tlesiglwtl fiI l uf ifll 5' linots, st lgltl-,l l was armed with five three-inch guns. three .130 caliber machine films- illlll Mx lb Hull' lulilmll' lullw Homeported in Boston S'l'ERlf'liT patrolled the waters of the east coast with other 'flute 'rf the Ninth Torpedo Division Oper-oiiiig iii aio ciii-ititioiiii, s'1'i-:tu-:'r'r t-ov.-i-.-it nit- iiioitiiie -it l' H Mari'-es in Hoiii on 1 ,lune 1916 when chaotic conditions in the troubled t'aribhean country retpurt-il liuitetl States inter- vention to restore order. VVith America's entry into VVorld VVar 1, Sllzlilz l l l ll t intomin' convoys and sltepliertletl them along 'lvl' was one til' the first 11.5. ships to sec action overseas. STERETT, based at Queenstown, re ant, 1 e ' 5, the U-boat infested Irish and English coasts. S'lilCl.Qli'l1'li frcipiently drove the tierman subs from the tracks of the convoys and followed a grueling routine of a weelt or more on convoy, two days in port to replenish ammunition and supplies, and then back on convoy. lior resolute action in an all-night pursuit of a German submarine which had threatened a convoy, S'lilflQl'f'l'l received a commendation from the Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland, in ,lune of 1918. ln the last summer of the war, S'lilfR1iTT Worked with patrol aircraft in the tentative beginnings of today's hunter-liiller anti-submarine warfare methods. The first STERETT was decommissioned on Sl llecember 19151 and remained inactive until struck from the Navy List in 1935. The second STERETT CDD-4071 was built by the Charleston Naval Shipyard, t'harleston, South Caro- lina, and commissioned on 15 August 1939, 13111 feet long with a displacement of 17135 tons, 1317,-107 was designed to make 38.5 knots. Four 5-inch 138 caliber guns, four .511 caliber antiaircraft guns, and sixteen 21-inch torpedo tubes constituted the ship's initial armament. After a shakedown cruise STIiRE'1 1' was assigned to the l'aeifie to plane guard for the carrier ENTER- PRISE QCV-61, the famous namesake of Andrew S'lilflQlf'li'l s own ship. Proceeding to the North Atlantic in 1941 STERETT convoyed transports of the first American lfxpeditionary lforce and tlicQ111i1iN MARY to their rendezvous with British escorts for the second portion of the transatlantic journey. ln March, 1942, as the flagship of Destroyer Division 15, S'l'1ilQlQ'li'l' participated in the defense of Malta, receiving a battle star for her actions. By June of 1942 STERETT was enroute to the South Pacific for final battle rehearsals preparatory to the invasion of Guadalcanal. In the pre-dawn hours of 7 August 15142 S'l'lilQlC'l l' saw the beginning of the Battle of Savo Island. Guarding WAS1' CCV-71, S'lilCRl'l'li'l' patrolled supply lines to the beachhead and later assumed duties as escort for troop and logistics transports. ln September, 19-12. the ship came under attack from Japanese aircraft but fought them off without damage to herself or the transports. Joining in the shore bombardment of Guadalcanal later in September, S'l'lilQli'l l' and other American units ravaged Japanese batteries, supply dumps, and troop concentrations. Un ll! November, 513 enemy aircraft attacked a concentration of transports, guarded by S'lililQlC'l li and other units, which Were unloading troops and supplies on Guadalcanal. S'l'lilQli'l l', in direct line of approach between the plal19S and the transports, shot down four of the enemy raiders and damaged a liftli. The attackers fled. 32 Of their planes destroyed, and the transports resumed unloading. The fiercest battle was yet to come. The night following S'l'lilQl'Q'li'l s antiaircraft action found the ship in formation with five cruisers and seven other destroyers under Rear Admiral t'.fXl.l,AtillAN. Their mission was to intercept and destroy a Japanese raiding force of two hattlesliips, tint' light cruiser. and 14 destroyers, then steaming southward to bombard American forces on titiatliilt-untill ln the resulting engagement STERETT single-handedly sank one enemy vessel and inflicted numerous hits on othel' enemy vessels, including the huge battleship llllil. S'l'lClQli'li'l' sustained eleven hits and 28 battle cielaltllrfiirlbrtiitsthfemblavallBattle of ffiuaclalczanal was won: the woultlflic raiders fled to the north. Many . ' .Y cers ant mxenxlater received medals from ,'Xtlnural ll.Xl.S1-fY for their part in this aCt10n. In December 1942 511312121-'I' arrived at Mare lslaiirl, flalilotnia, fox repairs and rt-niaint-cl them until February 1943. i . -g--A hh ' .