USS Enterprise (CVN 65) - Naval Cruise Book

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Japan, the USS PUEBLO was seized by North Korea. ENTIR- PRISE was immediately ordered to the Seaof Japan andon January 25. President Johnson ordered thecall-upof Mill? Navy and Air Force Reservesas well as AirNatioml Guard. ENTERPRlSEremained intheSmofJapanforamomh as the flagship for the specially-created Task Force 7l. Man- while. on January 30, the North Vietnamese initiiedthe l'et Offensive. attacking Saigon atrdall towns in South Vietnatn. , On February I6. EN'l'ERPRlSEIefttheSaofJq:anand proceeded to Yankee Station. commencing combs operiionson February 22. But on March 3l. Presidentlohtrsonamounceda halt of all airand naval bombatdmentof North VUUHBISI precondition for initiating peace negotiations Although theTet Olfetrsive wasa rrrilitzydisstsfor Nonh Vietnam. it did succeed in strengthutingthelli-wl movement in the United States. Anti-warprotests incrusedand became much more visible and debate over the wlbeclne a - major issue in the Democratic primaries. Other tragedies ofthe year included theassassitmionsof two important leaders. On April 4. DL Mmin Ltlher King.Jl'.. was shot in Memphis. Tennessee. An escaped convict. .lanes Earl Ray. pleaded guilty to the killing and wassenl:noedb99 years. The shooting. however. set offa wave of riots in l25 cities in 29statesfrom April4-I l.TlICSCCIlKiWlSS8lll'RdE1E Kennedy. while campaigning forthe Democriic nonilion it Califomia. He was shot in the Hotel Atnbassadrr, Los AIQKJII Junehnddiedthenextdayfromagtmslrotwotlrdinllicedbya Jordanian. Sirhan Bishara Sirhan. EN FERPRISE retumed to hotneport July I8 mdtb- paned nine days later for a minor overhaul tu the Puget sllld Naval Shipyard in Washington. The shipdepmed Bremerton on September 20. X969 On January 6. I969. ENTERPRISE leli Alarnedaetr route to Hawaii. The Big E arrived in Pearl Htlborottllaray I I and started preparations foran Operational Readiness Inspec- tion. Three days later tragedy struck when a Zrmi rocket acciden- tally exploded on the flight deck. 'lheensuirtg liremrlexplosiorrs killed 28 men. destroyed I5 aircralland lelt horrendousholes in the flight deck. ENTERPRISE retumedtoPearI Harbortobeginexten- sive repairs. It was ready for sea again in less thrm two months andon March l l.lIdEPiII1Bdf0l'ilSf0lll'li'lv'I8UHllllllll'3Y3IlkG Station in the Gulf of Tonkin. Richard Nixon was now the 37th Ptesidentof the United States. ln March, he authorized intensive bombing raids over Cambodia. That same month, U.S. troop strength in South Vietnam reached a peak at S4I .500. ln June, however. the President announced the lirst U.S. troop withdrawal tobegin in , Augtuzt. I rs , V , 951 1'r 7 xt On April I6. Nortlt Korea shot down a Navy EC- I 2l recorluissanee aircraft and ENTERPRISE was once again ordered tothe Seaof Japan. The Big E became the flagship of the recreated Task Force 7l and was joined by three other cariers, becoming the largest task force assembled in 25 years. On July 20. Neil Amrstrong became the first man to walk on the nroon. Annstrong was commander ofthe 'Apollo l l tnission. E retumed to Alameda in July and depart- tnetl soon agin for its birthplace. Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company. xQ70 In l970, ENTERPRISE remained at the shipyard for overlnrl atrd refueling the entire year: While in the yards, a federal july found the 'Chicago Seven innocent of conspiracy to incite riotsduring the I968 Democratic Convention lFeb. I Slg U.S. and South Vietnamese forces crossed the Cambodian border to strike enemy Strongholds lApr. 301: and four students were killed by National Gttardsmen at Kent State University lMay 41. x9 ' ln I97 I . ENTERPRISE completed its sea trials in January and departed the Norfolk area enroute to its homepott, Alameda. The same month, Charles Manson and three of his followers were convicted of first-degree murder in the l 969 slaying of Sharon Tate and six others. ......-'f'f . - ' 5 5 V ' ' .L . -,4 U N A I ' tg Q h Q, ,-,,..,,T-.' h ,-'ij 1 -. . L' . V' f., 5' . . ---- W .e ,., C..- S ., M I I i I r l lnllarch. lhcHousea1rdSe llilliunrlfalley lata! murderof IQ March I6. 1968. lnlunel WESMQ Ltr. Tonkinkleruri ' ENTERPRISM 059311 and cundu lllllcrtrlt llkGulftrt'T0nkil E on Une fwtl lo Ihc Mlm jlllllftl wclul force. Set ruth 5 llltlirnu :dll .l lm dh Ollmtn Alum-1, . . PV. A ttrlcntxi i .ju I ewlttn , - A ltll MQWW. I 'N

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1 1 1 1 v I Y S i A B . F v,' 4 L ,Q 3,5 , I Q r J 1 4 on its I com- I masi-war i :hant- E editer- It ' rding ? vli ' vra 1 I S Q 1' the Gulf I es. 9 nmis- 23 foot Q ne I an made nth 4 ri 1, 1877. sphct' v ....--..-.1 ,,?E I '. QQ y t7t..5f::.f:eL- 1 ' Q-8 J-4 Q - E D 351 A? ,fa 7? - The next year, ENTERPRISE was sent to South America to survey the Amazon and the Madeira rivers. The survey took the ship 1300 miles inland from the rivers' mouth. On January 2, 1883 ENTERPRISE sailed from Norfolk to join the Asiatic squadron. The route selected by the Navy Department was via the Cape de Verde Islands and the Cape of Good Hope. From the Cape, it was to cruise along the coast of South Africa, then to Madagascar, the Comoro Islands and Zanzibar. From Zanzibar, ENTERPRISE was directed to cross the Indian Ocean by way of the straits of Sunda and proceed to China, touching Bomeo en route. During this 38-month cruise, ENTERPRISE also visited all the Chinese treaty-ports, and was present during the French bombardment of Foochoo Arsenal, Pagoda Anchorage, witness-. ing the destruction of the Chinese fleet. Upon its return in 1886, ENTERPRISE was refitted and sent to the European squadron, 1887-90. In 1891 it was sent to the U.S. Naval Academy for midshipmen training. The following year it was assigned to the Massachusetts Nautical Training School where, for many years, it helped teach seamanship to Massachusetts youths. ' The ship finished its service in 1909, when it was sold out of the Navy. - The sixth ENTERPRISE was a 660 foot motor patrol craft purchased by the Navy on December 6, 1916. It was placed in service at the Second Naval District and performed harbor tug duties at Newport, Rhode Island. On December ll, 1917 the patrol craft was shifted to New Bedford, Massachusetts for operations inside the breakwai Bureau of'Fis11ef15 1. Its overall length was 827 feet and had a maximum breadth at the flight deck of 114 feet. Its full-load displacement was 25,000 tons and had a trial speed of 33.6 knots. When ENTERPRISE was first commissioned, it was manned by 82 officers and 1447 men, exclusive of its four-squadron air group. At the outbreak of the World War II. ENTERPRISE was retuming to Pearl Harbor from delivering Marine Corps fighters to Wake Island. It launched aircraft in an unsuccessful attempt to locate the Japanese carrier force. 1 ENTERPRISE was flagship for Vice Admiral Halsey and later for Vice Admiral Spruance. It accompanied USS HORNET and the Doolittle raid against Tokyo and canied Admiral Spruance into the Battle of Midway. With Rear Admiral T.C. Kinkaid aboard, it supported landings at Guadalcanal and Tulagi and took part in the battle of Santa-Cruz. In both actions it received considerable battle damage, but kept operating. ENTERPRISE was the first carrier to receive the Presi- dential Unit Citation. The ship pioneered night air operations and its torpedo bombers made the first night radar bombing strike by U.SL9arrier planes when they attacked Truk on February 17. 1944. , . ENTERPRISE planes were in on the Marianas Turkey Shoot, the Battle for the Philippine Sea and was in action against Japanese forces in the'Battle for Leyte Gulf. It was decommissioned on Februzuy 17. 1947. 9 ters and was subsequently on August 2 I is R

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ide L, and :r 28, ie mr Lremlin :n the would re a outh nd Dr. apitolg with an i was CHI. v the Jn May d with NTER- k Force xyage begin- v fo- oyers North On August 7, Congress passed the Tonkin Resolution authorizing the President to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attacks against forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression... In October, ENTERPRISE returned to Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company for its first refueling and overhaul. It would be ready for sea again the following spring. X965 In l965, troop strength in Vietnam would increase from 23,000 to over l84,000 and in February, President Johnson ordered continuous bombing of North Vietnam. Other American troops C 14,0003 were sent to the Dominican Republic on April 28, during its civil war. Domestically, the nation was shaken by a riot in one of our nation's largest cities. During the sweltering heat of August, riots broke out in the Los Angeles ghetto of Watts. For seven days, August l l- l 6, the nation watched buming, looting and killing on their television sets. When it was over, 35 people were dead and property damage was estimated at S200 million. Also during the year, ENTERPRISE, LONG BEACH, and BAIN BRIDGE transferred to the Pacific Fleet. With Carrier Air Vihng Nine reporting aboard in September, the Big E joined the Seventh Fleet on November 2l and became the first nuclear- powered warship to engage in combat. ' X966 During the next six months, aircraft from ENTERPRISE carried out bombing raids against North Wetnamese supply lines and on June 21, l966, after completing its first combat tour, ENTERPRISE anived at its new homeport of Alameda, Califor- ma A Eight days later, the U.S. escalated its bombing of North Vietnam to include Hanoi. By the end of the year, U.S. troop strength in Vietnam increased to 385,300 with an additional 60,000 off shore and 33,000 stationed in Thailand. ENTER- PRISE left Alameda on November 19, for its second combat tour in the Gulf of Tonkin. i ,. .. ,.., ' I . Vg --1 pr 'vt gg-I F. 1 9... . - Ia . - sir 7 F ' 5 ri ? I t X967 In 1967, criticism of U.S. involvement in Vietnam took place on both Capitol Hill and on campuses across the nation. In Congress, the doves wanted to de-escalate the war and the hawks pushed for more military involvement. At the same time, public dissent increased from university teach-ins to anti-war parades and demonstrations. Q A While the anti-war sentiment was growing, Air Vtdng Nine aircraft continued to operate over North Wetnam air space bombing enemy targets. On March 27, ENTERPRISE was given its first Battle Efficiency E award. ENTERPRISES second combat tour ended in June with 13,400 battle missions flown and the ship retumed to Alameda on -July 6 months later the Secretary of the Navy announced Unit Commendation for it deployment. But on October I4, Mc reported to the Presi N - nurthe air war against sail again for its llesuof Q