Criteria The Navy Good Conduct Medal (NGCM) is a decoration presented by the United States Navy to recognize members who have completed three years of honorable service. Medals awarded before January 1, 1996 r... The Navy Good Conduct Medal (NGCM) is a decoration presented by the United States Navy to recognize members who have completed three years of honorable service. Medals awarded before January 1, 1996 required four years of service. MoreHide
Other Memories
USS Moale (DD-693) was the second Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer of the United States Navy. She was named for Lieutenant Edward Moale, Jr. (1866?1903), who performed heroic duty during the Spanish-American War.
The Moale was laid down 5 August 1943 by the Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J.; launched 16 January 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Edward S. Moale, daughter-in-law of Lt. Edward Moale, Jr.; and commissioned in the Brooklyn Navy Yard 28 February 1944, Commander Walter M. Foster in command. Executive officer was Lt. Cmdr. Egil T. Steen
Following a Bermuda shakedown, Moale remained on the Atlantic coast conducting experimental tests and training precommissioning destroyer crews. On 21 August, she rendevouzed with the newly-commissioned Missouri (BB-63), Alaska (CB-1), and Destroyer Division 120 (DesDiv 120) and got underway for Trinidad in the British West Indies, whence she continued to the Panama Canal Zone, and, thence to San Pedro, California. Reporting to the Commander Destroyers, Pacific Fleet (ComDesPac), at Pearl Harbor, 15 September, she underwent carrier screening, night firing, and shore bombardment exercises until 23 October. She then departed for the Western Carolines as a unit of Destroyer Squadron 60 (DesRon 60). Arriving at Ulithi 5 November, she joined the 3rd Fleet's fast carrier task force (TF 38, later 5th Fleet's TF 58), and got underway the same day to screen the carriers as their planes conducted strikes against Japanese targets on Leyte, Luzon and Mindoro. Returning to Ulithi 22 November, she was underway again on the 27th to report for duty with the 7th Fleet.
Joining Task Group 77.2 (TG 77.2), 29 November, in San Pedro Bay, she patrolled Leyte Gulf and participated in strikes against enemy forces in Ormoc Bay. On 2 December 1944 she was joined by Allen M. Sumner (DD-692) and Cooper (DD-695) for a midnight raid of enemy troop reinforcement at the western Leyte port of Ormoc. The three destroyers found themselves in confined waters, battered by continuous air attacks, two Japanese destroyers, several PTs or fast motor launches, and one or more submarines, plus shore batteries. The enemy destroyer Kuwa was sunk by gunfire from the three ships but Take torpedoed and sank Cooper with the loss of 191 crewmen and 13 officers. Moale suffered three dead and twenty-five wounded. Sumner recorded no fatalities but had 11 wounded.
On 12 December, Moale shifted to TG 77.3 and took up a screening position with the Mindoro assault force. On the 15th, she provided fire support for the troops and antiaircraft protection for the ships in the transport area of Mangarin Bay. About ten kamikazes attacked the LSTs of the landing force. At least one plane was shot down by Moale's gunners, but two ships were hit. Moale went alongside LST-738 to assist fighting the resulting fire, suffering damage, but the LST had to be abandoned and sunk. Moale suffered one fatality and thirteen wounded. Moale picked up 88 survivors from LST-738 including the ship's captain.
Moale set sail for Leyte Gulf 17 December. Arriving on the 18th, she completed a high speed cargo run to Ulithi and back by the end of the year. On 3 January 1945, she was once again en route to an assault area. Steaming with Admiral Jesse Oldendorf's Bombardment & Fire Support Group TG 77.2, she arrived off Luzon on the 6th and commenced screening the heavy ships to seaward as they bombarded San Fernando and other enemy concentrations in the beachhead area at Lingayen Gulf. On the 9th, she took up gunfire support duties, alternating such duties with antisubmarine and antiaircraft operations. The destroyer operated with the Luzon covering group until the 22nd. She then returned to Leyte, whence she joined the 5th Fleet and steamed back to Ulithi to resume operations with the fast carrier forces, now designated TF 58.
On 10 February, the force sortied from Ulithi and on the 16th and 17th strikes were conducted against the enemy's capital to prevent aid from being sent to the Japanese defenders on Iwo Jima. Two ships of DesRon 60, Barton (DD-722) and Ingraham (DD-694), were damaged when they collided on the 16th and on the 17th Moale was detached to escort them back to Saipan. While en route, DD-693 assisted in the sinking of an enemy armed merchantman and a small coastal vessel. Ordered back on the 18th, she rendezvoused with TG 58.4 on the 19th and, on the 21st, screened the carriers as they provided air cover for the marines on Iwo Jima.
Having sustained extensive damage to her deck and No. 1 mount during heavy seas with 40-foot swells, Moale departed the Volcano Islands, 25 February, and sailed eastward for repairs at Pearl Harbor. On 3 June, she returned to Ulithi, getting underway for the combat area the next day. Arriving at Hagushi Anchorage, Okinawa, 7 June, she reported to CTG 31.5 and immediately became part of the antiaircraft defenses of the area. Through the 27th she served on radar picket stations, where danger remained present and alerts still frequent, even though the pressure was not as great as in April and May. On the 28th, Moale departed for Leyte, where she joined Task Group 32. 12 of the Third Fleet and returned to Okinawa to act as part of the covering force for minesweepers in Operation Juneau.
At the end of the month, DD-693 once again anchored in San Pedro Bay, Leyte. There, on 15 August, she received word of the Japanese surrender. On the 20th, she sailed to rendezvous with TG 38.4 off the coast of Japan, and for the next month she steamed off that coast, serving as a weather ship and air route radio beacon. On 27 September she departed Tokyo Bay, proceeding, via Guam, to the west coast and peacetime duty.
[edit] 1945 ? 1973 Following the end of WWII the assignments of the Moale were varied. She had the honor of escorting the first ship bearing war dead back to the U.S. Moale remained in operation off the west coast until 21 May 1946, when she sailed for Bikini to join TF 1 for Operation Crossroads, the atom bomb test at Bikini Atoll, returning to the west coast for overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard 22 August. Overhaul completed in January, 1947, she conducted operations along the California coast until March. She then deployed to the western Pacific for 6 months prior to reporting to the Fleet Sonar School at San Diego for duty as a training ship.
In the spring of 1949, Moale, with DesDiv 72, was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet. Arriving at Norfolk at the end of April, she participated in training exercises in the western Atlantic until November, 1950, when she sailed eastward for her first 6th Fleet deployment. Similar operational schedules, alternate east coast and Mediterranean duties, were followed until 24 April 1953, when Moale departed on an around-the-world voyage. During that cruise, which ended at Norfolk, Va., 27 October, the destroyer spent 4 months with the U.N. forces off the coast of Korea. During June and July, she operated with TF 77 and TF 95, remaining after the truce as a unit of the security patrol.
From 1954, into 1969, Moale's employment schedule has included operations in the Atlantic, North Sea, and the Caribbean, with regular rotation to the Mediterranean for duty with the 6th Fleet. Highlights of her career during this period were patrol duty in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Suez Crisis of 1956; duty as a recovery ship for the Mercury 7 mission of astronaut Scott Carpenter, May 1962; participation in the American blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis, October?November 1962; and standby duty for the evacuation of American nationals from Cyprus in 1964.
In 1967, Moale was recognized as the outstanding ship in the fleet by winning the Anti-Submarine Warfare trophy for the Atlantic Fleet. She also won the Battle Efficiency "E" Award for Destroyer Squadron 10.
DD-693 received five battle stars for service in World War II; one for the Korean War. The last commanding officer of the USS Moale was Lt. Cmdr. Edward F. Schlichter. Moale was decommissioned on 2 July 1973.
Criteria The Navy Good Conduct Medal (NGCM) is a decoration presented by the United States Navy to recognize members who have completed three years of honorable service. Medals awarded before January 1, 1996 r... The Navy Good Conduct Medal (NGCM) is a decoration presented by the United States Navy to recognize members who have completed three years of honorable service. Medals awarded before January 1, 1996 required four years of service. MoreHide
Criteria The Navy Good Conduct Medal (NGCM) is a decoration presented by the United States Navy to recognize members who have completed three years of honorable service. Medals awarded before January 1, 1996 r... The Navy Good Conduct Medal (NGCM) is a decoration presented by the United States Navy to recognize members who have completed three years of honorable service. Medals awarded before January 1, 1996 required four years of service. MoreHide
Criteria The Sea Service Deployment Ribbon is awarded to members of the Navy and Marine Corps assigned to U.S. homeported (including Hawaii and Alaska) ships, deploying units, or Fleet Marine Force commands, f... The Sea Service Deployment Ribbon is awarded to members of the Navy and Marine Corps assigned to U.S. homeported (including Hawaii and Alaska) ships, deploying units, or Fleet Marine Force commands, for 12 months accumulated sea duty, or for duty with the Fleet Marine Force that includes at least one deployment of 90 consecutive days. MoreHide
Other Memories
USS Columbus, a 13,600 ton Baltimore class heavy cruiser built at Quincy, Massachusetts, was commissioned in June 1945, just over two months before the end of World War II. She deployed to the Far East between January and April 1946, participating in the occupation of China and Japan. Columbus made another Western Pacific tour during the first half of 1947.
In the spring of 1948 Columbus was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet. She served as the U.S. Navy's flagship in European and Mediterranean waters from September 1948 to December 1949 and again from June 1950 to October 1951. In September and October 1952 she was flagship for Operation "Mainbrace", a major NATO exercise in the North Atlantic, and operated with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean for the rest of the year. The heavy cruiser made one more Sixth Fleet deployment, from September 1954 to January 1955.
Columbus returned to the Pacific Fleet in December 1955 and early in the new year began another Western Pacific cruise, which lasted until mid-1956. She also served in the Far East in 1957 and again in 1958, when she operated off Taiwan during the crisis over the islands of Quemoy and Matsu. In May 1959 Columbus was decommissioned for conversion to a guided missile cruiser. Stripped to the main deck over the next few months, she received the new hull number CG-12 at the end of September 1959 and spent the next three years being massively reconstructed at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington
Criteria The Sea Service Deployment Ribbon is awarded to members of the Navy and Marine Corps assigned to U.S. homeported (including Hawaii and Alaska) ships, deploying units, or Fleet Marine Force commands, f... The Sea Service Deployment Ribbon is awarded to members of the Navy and Marine Corps assigned to U.S. homeported (including Hawaii and Alaska) ships, deploying units, or Fleet Marine Force commands, for 12 months accumulated sea duty, or for duty with the Fleet Marine Force that includes at least one deployment of 90 consecutive days. MoreHide
Criteria The Navy Good Conduct Medal (NGCM) is a decoration presented by the United States Navy to recognize members who have completed three years of honorable service. Medals awarded before January 1, 1996 r... The Navy Good Conduct Medal (NGCM) is a decoration presented by the United States Navy to recognize members who have completed three years of honorable service. Medals awarded before January 1, 1996 required four years of service. MoreHide
Criteria The China Service Medal was awarded to Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard personnel who: Served ashore in China or who were attached to any of the vessels that operated in support of the operations in... The China Service Medal was awarded to Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard personnel who: Served ashore in China or who were attached to any of the vessels that operated in support of the operations in China between July 7, 1937, and September 7, 1939; or who Served ashore in China or were attached to any of the vessels that operated in support of operations in China between September 2, 1945 and April 1, 1957. Military services performed in the Asiatic-Pacific area between September 2, 1945 and March 2, 1946 could be credited for eligibility for the China Service Medal unless the individual was eligible for the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal based on service performed prior to September 2, 1945. MoreHide
Criteria The National Defense Service Medal is awarded for honorable active service as a member of the Armed Forces during the Korean War, Vietnam War, the war against Iraq in the Persian Gulf, and for service... The National Defense Service Medal is awarded for honorable active service as a member of the Armed Forces during the Korean War, Vietnam War, the war against Iraq in the Persian Gulf, and for service during the current War on Terrorism. In addition, all members of the National Guard and Reserve who were part of the Selected Reserve in good standing between August 2, 1990, to November 30, 1995, are eligible for the National Defense Service Medal. In the case of Navy personnel, Midshipment attending the Naval Academy during the qualifying periods are eligible for this award, and Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) Midshipmen ae only eligible if they participated in a summer cruise that was in an area which qualified for a campaign medal. MoreHide
Criteria The Sea Service Deployment Ribbon is awarded to members of the Navy and Marine Corps assigned to U.S. homeported (including Hawaii and Alaska) ships, deploying units, or Fleet Marine Force commands, f... The Sea Service Deployment Ribbon is awarded to members of the Navy and Marine Corps assigned to U.S. homeported (including Hawaii and Alaska) ships, deploying units, or Fleet Marine Force commands, for 12 months accumulated sea duty, or for duty with the Fleet Marine Force that includes at least one deployment of 90 consecutive days. MoreHide
Description Communist efforts to divide the South Koreans against themselves having failed, the North Koreans decided to attempt their subjugation by military force. At 0400, Sunday, 25 June 1950 (Korean Time), NCommunist efforts to divide the South Koreans against themselves having failed, the North Koreans decided to attempt their subjugation by military force. At 0400, Sunday, 25 June 1950 (Korean Time), North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel into the Republic and launched their main effort toward the South Korean capital city of Seoul, down the P'och'on-Uijongbu and Yonch'on-Uijongbu corridors. Strong attacks were also directed through Kaesong toward Munsan on the right, and toward Ch'unch'on on the left. On the west coast the Ongjin Peninsula was quickly captured. On the east coast a land column and a small seaborne detachment met near Kangnung.
By 28 June Seoul had fallen, the North Koreans had closed up along the Han River to a point about 20 miles east of Seoul, and had advanced as far as Samchok on the meat coast. By 4 July enemy forces were along the line Suwon-Wonju-Samchok. In withdrawing, the Republic of Korea ("ROK") forces had suffered such serious losses that their attempts to regroup and retain order were almost futile.
On 25 June 1950 the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution calling "for immediate cessation of hostilities" and "upon the authorities of North Korea to withdraw forthwith their armed forces to the thirty-eighth parallel." When the North Koreans failed to accede to these demands, the Security Council passed a second resolution recommending "that the Members of the United Nations furnish such assistance to the Republic of Korea as may be necessary to repel the armed attack and restore the international peace and security in the area."
President Truman announced on 27 June 1950 the t he had ordered American air and naval forces to give cover and support to the South Korean troops (UN Defensive-27 June to 15 September 1950). On the 28th he authorized the Commander in Chief Far East to use certain supporting ground units in Korea, and authorized the U.S. Air Force to conduct missions on specific targets in North Korea. On the 30th the President further authorized the C. in C. Far East to use all forces available to him to repel the invasion, and ordered a naval blockade of the entire coast of Korea.
A Security Council resolution of 7 July 1950 recommended the establishment of a unified command in Korea and requested the United States to designate a commander of these forces. On 8 July President Truman announced the appointment of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur as Commander in Chief, United Nations Command (CINCUNC). On 14 July President Rhee placed all ROK security forces under the United Nations commander, an act which consolidated the anti-Communist forces under the United Nations Commend for the purpose of repelling the Communist aggression.
The U.S. forces at MacArthur's disposal included the four divisions in Japan-the 1st Cavalry Division and the 7th, 24th, and 25th Infantry Divisions-and the 29th Regimental Combat Team in Okinawa. The divisions were lacking a third of their infantry and artillery units and almost all their armor units. Existing units were far under strength. Weapons and equipment were war-worn relics of World War II, and ammunition reserves amounted to only a 45-day supply. None of the divisions had reached full combat efficiency, since intensive training had been largely neglected because of occupation duties.
Initial U.S. strategy, dictated by the speed of the North Korean drive and the state of American unpreparedness, was one of trading space for time. On 2 July 1950 Task Force Smith, composed of two rifle companies and a few supporting units of the 24th Division, was flown from Japan to Pusan and moved by train and truck to defensive positions near Osan, 30 miles south of Seoul. Its mission was to fight a delaying action to gain time for the movement of more troops from Japan. On 5 July this small force was attacked by a North Korean division supported by 30 tanks and compelled to withdraw, after a stubborn defense, with heavy losses of men and equipment.
By this time the remaining elements of the 24th Division had reached Korea and were in defensive positions along the Kum River, north of Taejon and 60 miles south of Osan. ROK elements held positions to the east, some 50 miles above Taegu. By 15 July the 25th Division had arrived in Korea and was positioned east of the 24th Division. The 1st Cavalry Division arrived and closed in the P'chang-dong area on 18-19 July. Lt. Gen. Walton H. Walker, Commander of the U.S. Eighth Army, had been placed in command of all U.S. ground troops in Korea on 13 July, and, at the request of President Rhee, of the South Korean Army as well. As the ground troops of other U.N. members reached Korea, they also were placed under Walker's command.
North Korean forces crossed the Kum River and captured Taejon, an important communications center, on 20 July. U.S. and ROK troops continued to withdraw steadily to the southeast under constant North Korean pressure. During the withdrawal our Army's 3.5-inch rocket launcher was used (for the first time on a battlefield) with highly successful results against North Korean tanks. It was in this period that the 24th Division commander, Maj. Gen. William F. Dean, was reported missing when North Korean tanks broke through the forward unite of his division. It was learned later that he had been captured about 35 miles south of Taejon on 25 August.
The final days of July 1950 witnessed a series of hard-fought battles all along the 200-mile front of the United Nations perimeter. The northern front, a line running inland from Yongdok through Andong, Yech'on, Hamch'ong, and Hwanggan to Kumch'on, was defended at critical points by ROK troops and the U.S. 25th Division. The 1st Cavalry Division was battling on the west flank to keep the Yongdong-Kumch'on-Taegu rail line open. To block the southwestern approaches to Pusan, which the enemy was threatening, the 29th RCT advanced to Chinju, but was ambushed by a North Korean division and suffered heavy losses. Enemy pressure continued from Yosu and Chinju in the southwest to Kwan-ni on the Taejon-Taegu railroad, thence northeast through Yech'on to Yongdok on the Sea of Japan.
By the beginning of August the U.S. and ROK forces had withdrawn behind the Naktong River, a position which the U.N. Command was determined to hold. The area held in southeastern Korea resembled a rectangle, the southwestern side of which was guarded by the 24th and 25th Divisions to prevent a breakthrough to Masan. The 1st Cavalry Division was deployed on the western front to guard the Taegu railroad approaches. The northern front was defended by ROK divisions from a point south of Hamch'ang to a point just south of Yongdok on the east coast.
Early in August General Walker declared the strategy of trading space for time to be at an end, and ordered a final stand along this 140-mile perimeter around the port of Pusan, which had become a well-stocked Eighth Army supply base and the hub of a rail and road net leading to the battle front. By now the enemy's lengthened supply lines were under constant air attack, enemy naval opposition had been wiped out, and the blockade of the Korean coast had been clamped tight.
During the next month and a half, fourteen North Korean divisions dissipated their strength in piecemeal attacks against the Pusan perimeter. Walker, by rapidly shuttling his forces to meet the greatest threats, inflicted heavy casualties on the North Koreans and prevented serious penetrations. The enemy, determined to annihilate the Eighth Army and take Taegu and Pusan, massed for a two-pronged attack across the Naktong, one prong from the west and the other from the southwest. The principal actions were fought along the river from Waegwan south through Song-dong and Ch'irhyon-ni to the junction of the Naktong and Nam Rivers, and southwest toward Haman and Chinju.
While U.S. troops were fighting along the banks of the Naktong, other battles took place in the southwest. A veteran North Korean division, which had been concentrated for an assault upon Susan and Pusan, was hit by Task Force Kean. Named for the 25th Division Commander, the Task Force was composed of the 5th RCT, the 35th RCT of the 25th Division, the 1st Marine Brigade, and a ROK battalion. It opened a strong counteroffensive on 7 August 1950 to secure the left funk of the perimeter and prevent the enemy from driving on Pusan. Overcoming initial heavy resistance, it defeated the North Koreans and by 11 August commanded the high ground to the east of Chinju.
On the eastern flank of the perimeter the town of Yongdok was lost by ROK units, some of which then had to be evacuated by sea. On 12 August the port of P'chang-dong was attacked by enemy forces led by tanks which mounted screaming sirens. This force poured through a break in the R0K lines and linked up with North Korean advance agents in the port. These agents, disguised as innocent-looking refugees, carried mortars, machineguns, and other weapons in oxcarts, on A-frames and on their persons. While a force of North Koreans took P'chang-dong, the adjoining airstrip, of great importance to the U.N. forces as a base for tactical aircraft. On 13 August the danger was so pressing that all aircraft were evacuated. Within the next five days, however, ROK troops and a small U.S. task force recaptured P'chang-dong and returned it to U.N. control.
During this time a much larger force of North Koreans breached the U.N. positions at some paints in the Naktong River sector, but failed in their attempt to capture the rail junctions at Taegu. To hold a line near the river, Walker rearranged the defensive positions of the 24th and 25th Infantry Divisions, the 1st Cavalry Division, and the 1st Marine Brigade, deploying them in a manner which assigned combat zones of 15-30 miles to each division.
The enemy, continuing his efforts to crack the perimeter, massed several divisions above Waegwan to assault Taegu from the north. Despite a bombing raid in which U.N. air forces dropped 850 tons of bombs on the suspected enemy concentration area, the North Koreans launched a powerful attack which carried through the ROK positions and threatened Taegu. Stalwart defense and swift countermeasures in this area on 19 August saved Taegu from almost certain capture, parried the enemy 's three-pronged thrust at the city, and stopped the momentum of the North Korean offensive.
Shortly before midnight on 31 August enemy forces again attacked the Naktong River Line, this time in tremendous force. Disregarding very heavy casualties from U.N. air force bombing and strafing, they mounted a strong offensive against the entire Pusan beachhead from Haman in the south to P'chang-dong in the northern sector. The port of P'chang-dong was captured on 6 September, but again the Communists failed to capture the airfield. Waegwan and the "walled city" of Kasan were lost as the U.N. defenders fell back for a last ditch stand at Taegu. Between 4 and 11 September the enemy made important gains along the Naktong in some of the heaviest fighting of the war; but U.N. forces blunted the drive on Taegu and began to show slow progress of their own against very strong enemy resistance.
On the southern front the North Korean offensive, which opened with a massive artillery barrage near Haman, struck the 25th Division with tanks and waves of infantry, imperiling its forward positions. However, although the enemy had made impressive gains along the U.N. perimeter and General Walker still had to shuttle his units from one critical area to another, a strong beachhead remained in the hands of the U.N. Command.
By mid-August the offensive capability of the Eighth Army had been augmented by the arrival of the U.S. 2d Division, the 1st Marine Brigade, four battalions of medium tanks from the United States, and the 5th RCT from Hawaii. Before the month was out, five ROK divisions were restored to some semblance of order, and Great Britain committed the 27th Brigade from Hong Kong. With the arrival of these reinforcements an attempt could now be made to end the U.N. withdrawal and to begin a U.N. offensive in southeastern Korea.... More
Criteria The Sea Service Deployment Ribbon is awarded to members of the Navy and Marine Corps assigned to U.S. homeported (including Hawaii and Alaska) ships, deploying units, or Fleet Marine Force commands, f... The Sea Service Deployment Ribbon is awarded to members of the Navy and Marine Corps assigned to U.S. homeported (including Hawaii and Alaska) ships, deploying units, or Fleet Marine Force commands, for 12 months accumulated sea duty, or for duty with the Fleet Marine Force that includes at least one deployment of 90 consecutive days. MoreHide
Other Memories
USS Columbus, a 13,600 ton Baltimore class heavy cruiser built at Quincy, Massachusetts, was commissioned in June 1945, just over two months before the end of World War II. She deployed to the Far East between January and April 1946, participating in the occupation of China and Japan. Columbus made another Western Pacific tour during the first half of 1947.
In the spring of 1948 Columbus was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet. She served as the U.S. Navy's flagship in European and Mediterranean waters from September 1948 to December 1949 and again from June 1950 to October 1951. In September and October 1952 she was flagship for Operation "Mainbrace", a major NATO exercise in the North Atlantic, and operated with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean for the rest of the year. The heavy cruiser made one more Sixth Fleet deployment, from September 1954 to January 1955.
Columbus returned to the Pacific Fleet in December 1955 and early in the new year began another Western Pacific cruise, which lasted until mid-1956. She also served in the Far East in 1957 and again in 1958, when she operated off Taiwan during the crisis over the islands of Quemoy and Matsu. In May 1959 Columbus was decommissioned for conversion to a guided missile cruiser. Stripped to the main deck over the next few months, she received the new hull number CG-12 at the end of September 1959 and spent the next three years being massively reconstructed at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington
Criteria The Sea Service Deployment Ribbon is awarded to members of the Navy and Marine Corps assigned to U.S. homeported (including Hawaii and Alaska) ships, deploying units, or Fleet Marine Force commands, f... The Sea Service Deployment Ribbon is awarded to members of the Navy and Marine Corps assigned to U.S. homeported (including Hawaii and Alaska) ships, deploying units, or Fleet Marine Force commands, for 12 months accumulated sea duty, or for duty with the Fleet Marine Force that includes at least one deployment of 90 consecutive days. MoreHide
(AKA-95: dp. 6,761; l. 459'2"; b. 63'; dr. 26'4"; s. 16.5 k.; cpl. 247; a. 1 5", 8 40mm.; cl. Andromeda; T. C2-S-B1)
Marquette (AKA-95), built under Maritime Conmmission contract by the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J., was launched 29 April 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Sydney B. Wertheimer; acquired by the Navy on loan charter from the Maritime Commission 19 June 1945; and commissioned 20 June 1945, Comdr. John E. Gabrielson in command.
Two weeks prior to the end of hostilities in the Pacific Marquette, an attack cargo ship, departed the east coast for Pearl Harbor. Arriving there, 23 August, she loaded cargo for the western Pacific and departed for Guam, 20 September. From Guam she continued on to Manus and Brisbane, where she picked up a cargo of food for the Philippines. Upon arrival at Samar, she discovered her cargo was no longer needed and had been transferred to UNRRA for use in Greece. She then proceeded to Piraeus, via Suez, discharged her cargo, and returned to Norfolk 19 April 1946.
Marquette was then assigned to the Atlantic Fleet and for almost 9 years served as a unit of that fleet?s amphibious force. She participated regularly in type, squadron, and amphibious exercises which ranged from Greenland to the Caribbean. Her activities also included periodic deployment with the 6th Fleet and, 15 August to 21 September 1947, a Brazilian cruise with congressional observers for the Rio Conference embarked. This conference resulted in the signing of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, 2 September.
Marquette?s five 6th Fleet deployments, with units of the 2d Marine Division on board, were conducted in 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, and 1954. During these Mediterranean cruises she operated primarily in the eastern and southern sections of that sea. On her first such deployment, in July 1948, Marquette was the scene of a conference between the U.N. mediator in Palestine, Count Folke Bernadotte, and the commanding officers of units of TF 167 as tension under the newly instituted, and extremely uneasy, truce between Israel, Transjordan, and Egypt continued to mount. On each successive deployment she was a source of stability in the troubled eastern Mediterranean.
On 5 January 1955, Marquette departed Norfolk for California. Arriving San Pedro on the 23d, she joined Transport Squadron 7, Pacific Fleet. In mid-January she sailed to San Francisco, where she decommissioned 19 July and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. On 9 January 1960, she was turned over to the Maritime Commission and placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. Into 1969 she is berthed at Olympia, Wash.
Criteria The Navy Good Conduct Medal (NGCM) is a decoration presented by the United States Navy to recognize members who have completed three years of honorable service. Medals awarded before January 1, 1996 r... The Navy Good Conduct Medal (NGCM) is a decoration presented by the United States Navy to recognize members who have completed three years of honorable service. Medals awarded before January 1, 1996 required four years of service. MoreHide
Criteria The American Campaign Medal was awarded for For thirty days service outside the Continental United States but within the American Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946; or,... The American Campaign Medal was awarded for For thirty days service outside the Continental United States but within the American Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946; or, an aggregate service of one year within the Continental United States during the same period under the following circumstances: On permanent assignment outside the continental limits of the United States; or, On permanent assignment as a member of a crew of a vessel sailing ocean waters for a period of 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days; or, For service outside the continental limits of the United States in a passenger status or on temporary duty for 30 consecutive days or 60 non consecutive days; or, For service in active combat against the enemy and awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by the commanding general of a corps, higher unit, or independent force that the individual actually participated in combat; or, For service within the continental limits of the United States for an aggregate period of one year. MoreHide
Criteria The American Campaign Medal was awarded for For thirty days service outside the Continental United States but within the American Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946; or,... The American Campaign Medal was awarded for For thirty days service outside the Continental United States but within the American Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946; or, an aggregate service of one year within the Continental United States during the same period under the following circumstances: On permanent assignment outside the continental limits of the United States; or, On permanent assignment as a member of a crew of a vessel sailing ocean waters for a period of 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days; or, For service outside the continental limits of the United States in a passenger status or on temporary duty for 30 consecutive days or 60 non consecutive days; or, For service in active combat against the enemy and awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by the commanding general of a corps, higher unit, or independent force that the individual actually participated in combat; or, For service within the continental limits of the United States for an aggregate period of one year. MoreHide
Criteria The American Campaign Medal was awarded for For thirty days service outside the Continental United States but within the American Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946; or,... The American Campaign Medal was awarded for For thirty days service outside the Continental United States but within the American Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946; or, an aggregate service of one year within the Continental United States during the same period under the following circumstances: On permanent assignment outside the continental limits of the United States; or, On permanent assignment as a member of a crew of a vessel sailing ocean waters for a period of 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days; or, For service outside the continental limits of the United States in a passenger status or on temporary duty for 30 consecutive days or 60 non consecutive days; or, For service in active combat against the enemy and awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by the commanding general of a corps, higher unit, or independent force that the individual actually participated in combat; or, For service within the continental limits of the United States for an aggregate period of one year. MoreHide
Criteria The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, ... The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, under any of the following conditions: On permanent assignment within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater; or, For service in a passenger status or on temporary duty status for 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days; or, For service in active combat in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations against the enemy and awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by the commanding general of a corps, higher unit, or independent force that the individual actually participated in combat. MoreHide
Criteria The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, ... The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, under any of the following conditions: On permanent assignment within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater; or, For service in a passenger status or on temporary duty status for 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days; or, For service in active combat in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations against the enemy and awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by the commanding general of a corps, higher unit, or independent force that the individual actually participated in combat. MoreHide
Criteria The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, ... The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, under any of the following conditions: On permanent assignment within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater; or, For service in a passenger status or on temporary duty status for 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days; or, For service in active combat in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations against the enemy and awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by the commanding general of a corps, higher unit, or independent force that the individual actually participated in combat. MoreHide
Criteria The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, under any of the following condi... The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, under any of the following conditions: On permanent assignment within the Asiatic-Pacific Theater; or, For service in a passenger status or on temporary duty for 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days; or, For service in active combat in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations against the enemy and awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by the commanding general of a corps, higher unit, or independent force that the individual actually participated in combat. MoreHide
Criteria Established in June 1948 to assist the Mediator and the Truce Commission in supervising the truce in Palestine called for by the Security Council. Since its inception, UNTSO has performed various task... Established in June 1948 to assist the Mediator and the Truce Commission in supervising the truce in Palestine called for by the Security Council. Since its inception, UNTSO has performed various tasks entrusted to it by the Security Council, including the observation of the cease-fire in the Suez Canal area and the Golan Heights following the Arab-Israeli war of June 1967. At present, UNTSO assists and cooperates with UNDOF and UNIFIL in the performance of their tasks; observer groups are stationed in Beirut and in Cairo with liaison offices in Amman and Gaza City. UNTSO also provided cadres of Military Observers for the initial set-up of UNGOMAP, UNIMOG, UNIKOM and UNPROFOR. MoreHide
Description The American Theater was a minor area of operations during World War II. This was mainly due to both North and South America's geographical separation from the central theaters of conflict in Europe aThe American Theater was a minor area of operations during World War II. This was mainly due to both North and South America's geographical separation from the central theaters of conflict in Europe and Asia. Thus, any threat by the Axis Powers to invade the mainland United States or other areas was considered negligible, allowing for American resources to be deployed in overseas theaters.
This article includes attacks on continental territory, extending 200 miles (320 km) into the ocean, which is today under the sovereignty of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and several other smaller states, but excludes military action involving the Danish territory of Greenland, the Hawaiian Islands, and the Aleutian Islands. The most well known battles in North America during World War II were the Attack on Pearl Harbor (the first attack on US soil since the Battle of Ambos Nogales), the Aleutian Islands Campaign, the Battle of the St. Lawrence, and the attacks on Newfoundland.... More
Criteria The Combat Action Ribbon is a personal decoration awarded to members of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard (when operating under the control of the Navy) in the grade of captain (or colonel in th... The Combat Action Ribbon is a personal decoration awarded to members of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard (when operating under the control of the Navy) in the grade of captain (or colonel in the Marine Corps) and below who have actively participated in ground or surface combat. MoreHide
Criteria The National Defense Service Medal is awarded for honorable active service as a member of the Armed Forces during the Korean War, Vietnam War, the war against Iraq in the Persian Gulf, and for service... The National Defense Service Medal is awarded for honorable active service as a member of the Armed Forces during the Korean War, Vietnam War, the war against Iraq in the Persian Gulf, and for service during the current War on Terrorism. In addition, all members of the National Guard and Reserve who were part of the Selected Reserve in good standing between August 2, 1990, to November 30, 1995, are eligible for the National Defense Service Medal. In the case of Navy personnel, Midshipment attending the Naval Academy during the qualifying periods are eligible for this award, and Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) Midshipmen ae only eligible if they participated in a summer cruise that was in an area which qualified for a campaign medal. MoreHide
Criteria The U.S. Navy has issued two marksmanship ribbons: the Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon and Navy Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon, since 1920. The pistol ribbon is currently awarded for qualification on the B... The U.S. Navy has issued two marksmanship ribbons: the Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon and Navy Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon, since 1920. The pistol ribbon is currently awarded for qualification on the Beretta 9mm pistol, while the rifle ribbon is currently awarded for qualification on the M14 and M16 assault rifle variants. The Navy issues the marksmanship ribbon in three levels, that of Marksman, Sharpshooter, and Expert. The basic ribbon is awarded for the Marksman level while the specific Marksmanship Device is awarded for qualification as a Sharpshooter or Expert. Those receiving an Expert qualification receive the Marksmanship Medal, in addition to the Marksmanship Ribbon. MoreHide
Criteria The U.S. Navy has issued two marksmanship ribbons: the Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon and Navy Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon, since 1920. The pistol ribbon is currently awarded for qualification on the B... The U.S. Navy has issued two marksmanship ribbons: the Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon and Navy Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon, since 1920. The pistol ribbon is currently awarded for qualification on the Beretta 9mm pistol, while the rifle ribbon is currently awarded for qualification on the M14 and M16 assault rifle variants. The Navy issues the marksmanship ribbon in three levels, that of Marksman, Sharpshooter, and Expert. The basic ribbon is awarded for the Marksman level while the specific Marksmanship Device is awarded for qualification as a Sharpshooter or Expert. Those receiving an Expert qualification receive the Marksmanship Medal, in addition to the Marksmanship Ribbon. MoreHide
Criteria The U.S. Navy has issued two marksmanship ribbons: the Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon and Navy Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon, since 1920. The pistol ribbon is currently awarded for qualification on the B... The U.S. Navy has issued two marksmanship ribbons: the Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon and Navy Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon, since 1920. The pistol ribbon is currently awarded for qualification on the Beretta 9mm pistol, while the rifle ribbon is currently awarded for qualification on the M14 and M16 assault rifle variants. The Navy issues the marksmanship ribbon in three levels, that of Marksman, Sharpshooter, and Expert. The basic ribbon is awarded for the Marksman level while the specific Marksmanship Device is awarded for qualification as a Sharpshooter or Expert. Those receiving an Expert qualification receive the Marksmanship Medal, in addition to the Marksmanship Ribbon. MoreHide
USS Moale (DD-693) was the second Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer
of the United States Navy.
She was named for Lieutenant Edward Moale, Jr. (1866?1903), who
performed heroic duty during the Spanish-American War.
The Moale was laid down 5 August 1943 by the Federal
Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J.; launched 16 January 1944;
sponsored by Mrs. Edward S. Moale, daughter-in-law of Lt. Edward Moale,
Jr.; and commissioned in the Brooklyn Navy Yard 28 February 1944,
Commander Walter M. Foster in command. Executive officer was Lt. Cmdr. Egil T. Steen
Following a Bermuda shakedown, Moale remained on the Atlantic coast
conducting experimental tests and training precommissioning destroyer
crews. On 21 August, she rendevouzed with the newly-commissioned
Missouri (BB-63), Alaska (CB-1), and Destroyer Division 120 (DesDiv 120)
and got underway for Trinidad in the British West Indies,
whence she continued to the Panama Canal Zone, and,
thence to San Pedro, California. Reporting to the Commander
Destroyers, Pacific Fleet (ComDesPac), at Pearl Harbor, 15 September,
she underwent carrier screening, night firing, and shore bombardment
exercises until 23 October. She then departed for the Western Carolines
as a unit of Destroyer Squadron 60 (DesRon 60). Arriving at Ulithi 5
November, she joined the 3rd Fleet's fast carrier
task force (TF 38, later 5th Fleet's TF 58), and got underway the
same day to screen the carriers as their planes conducted strikes
against Japanese targets on Leyte, Luzon and Mindoro. Returning to
Ulithi 22 November, she was underway again on the 27th to report for
duty with the 7th Fleet.
Joining Task Group 77.2 (TG 77.2), 29 November, in San Pedro Bay,
she patrolled Leyte Gulf and participated in strikes against enemy
forces in Ormoc Bay. On 2 December 1944 she was joined by
Allen M. Sumner (DD-692) and Cooper (DD-695) for a midnight raid of
enemy troop reinforcement at the western Leyte port of Ormoc.
The three destroyers found themselves in confined waters,
battered by continuous air attacks, two Japanese destroyers,
several PTs or fast motor launches, and one or more submarines,
plus shore batteries. The enemy destroyer Kuwa was sunk by gunfire
from the three ships but Take torpedoed and sank Cooper with the
loss of 191 crewmen and 13 officers. Moale suffered three dead and
twenty-five wounded. Sumner recorded no fatalities but had 11 wounded.
On 12 December, Moale shifted to TG 77.3 and took up a screening
position with the Mindoro assault force. On the 15th, she provided
fire support for the troops and antiaircraft protection for the
ships in the transport area of Mangarin Bay. About ten kamikazes
attacked the LSTs of the landing force. At least one plane was
shot down by Moale's gunners, but two ships were hit. Moale went
alongside LST-738 to assist fighting the resulting fire, suffering
damage, but the LST had to be abandoned and sunk. Moale suffered
one fatality and thirteen wounded. Moale picked up 88 survivors
from LST-738 including the ship's captain.
Moale set sail for Leyte Gulf 17 December. Arriving on the 18th,
she completed a high speed cargo run to Ulithi and back by the
end of the year. On 3 January 1945, she was once again en route
to an assault area. Steaming with Admiral Jesse Oldendorf's
Bombardment & Fire Support Group TG 77.2, she arrived off Luzon
on the 6th and commenced screening the heavy ships to seaward
as they bombarded San Fernando and other enemy concentrations
in the beachhead area at Lingayen Gulf. On the 9th, she took up
gunfire support duties, alternating such duties with antisubmarine
and antiaircraft operations. The destroyer operated with the Luzon
covering group until the 22nd. She then returned to Leyte, whence
she joined the 5th Fleet and steamed back to Ulithi to resume
operations with the fast carrier forces, now designated TF 58.
On 10 February, the force sortied from Ulithi and on the 16th
and 17th strikes were conducted against the enemy's capital to
prevent aid from being sent to the Japanese defenders on Iwo Jima.
Two ships of DesRon 60, Barton (DD-722) and Ingraham (DD-694),
were damaged when they collided on the 16th and on the 17th Moale
was detached to escort them back to Saipan. While en route, DD-693
assisted in the sinking of an enemy armed merchantman and a
small coastal vessel. Ordered back on the 18th, she rendezvoused
with TG 58.4 on the 19th and, on the 21st, screened the carriers
as they provided air cover for the marines on Iwo Jima.
Having sustained extensive damage to her deck and No. 1
mount during heavy seas with 40-foot swells, Moale departed
the Volcano Islands, 25 February, and sailed eastward for
repairs at Pearl Harbor. On 3 June, she returned to Ulithi,
getting underway for the combat area the next day. Arriving at
Hagushi Anchorage, Okinawa, 7 June, she reported to CTG 31.5
and immediately became part of the antiaircraft defenses
of the area. Through the 27th she served on radar picket stations,
where danger remained present and alerts still frequent,
even though the pressure was not as great as in April and May.
On the 28th, Moale departed for Leyte, where she joined Task Group 32.
12 of the Third Fleet and returned to Okinawa to act as part of the
covering force for minesweepers in Operation Juneau.
At the end of the month, DD-693 once again anchored in
San Pedro Bay, Leyte. There, on 15 August, she received
word of the Japanese surrender. On the 20th, she sailed
to rendezvous with TG 38.4 off the coast of Japan, and
for the next month she steamed off that coast, serving as a
weather ship and air route radio beacon. On 27 September she
departed Tokyo Bay, proceeding, via Guam, to the west coast
and peacetime duty.
[edit] 1945 ? 1973
Following the end of WWII the assignments of the Moale
were varied. She had the honor of escorting the first
ship bearing war dead back to the U.S. Moale remained
in operation off the west coast until 21 May 1946, when
she sailed for Bikini to join TF 1 for Operation Crossroads,
the atom bomb test at Bikini Atoll, returning to the west coast
for overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard 22 August. Overhaul
completed in January, 1947, she conducted operations along the
California coast until March. She then deployed to the western
Pacific for 6 months prior to reporting to the Fleet Sonar School
at San Diego for duty as a training ship.
In the spring of 1949, Moale, with DesDiv 72, was transferred
to the Atlantic Fleet. Arriving at Norfolk at the end of April,
she participated in training exercises in the western Atlantic
until November, 1950, when she sailed eastward for her first 6th
Fleet deployment. Similar operational schedules, alternate east
coast and Mediterranean duties, were followed until 24 April 1953,
when Moale departed on an around-the-world voyage. During that cruise,
which ended at Norfolk, Va., 27 October, the destroyer spent 4 months
with the U.N. forces off the coast of Korea. During June and July,
she operated with TF 77 and TF 95, remaining after the truce as a unit
of the security patrol.
From 1954, into 1969, Moale's employment schedule has
included operations in the Atlantic, North Sea, and the
Caribbean, with regular rotation to the Mediterranean for
duty with the 6th Fleet. Highlights of her career during
this period were patrol duty in the Eastern Mediterranean
during the Suez Crisis of 1956; duty as a recovery ship for
the Mercury 7 mission of astronaut Scott Carpenter, May 1962;
participation in the American blockade of Cuba during the
Cuban Missile Crisis, October?November 1962; and standby
duty for the evacuation of American nationals from Cyprus in 1964.
In 1967, Moale was recognized as the outstanding ship in the
fleet by winning the Anti-Submarine Warfare trophy for the
Atlantic Fleet. She also won the Battle Efficiency "E" Award
for Destroyer Squadron 10.
DD-693 received five battle stars for service in World War II;
one for the Korean War. The last commanding officer of the USS Moale
was Lt. Cmdr. Edward F. Schlichter. Moale was decommissioned
on 2 July 1973.