USS
Shelton
(DD-790)
Gearing Class Destroyer
- Displacement
3460 Tons (Full), Dimensions, 390' 6"(oa) x 40' 10" x 14'
4" (Max)
- Armament 6 x 5"/38AA (3x2), 12 x 40mm AA, 11 x
20mm AA, 10 x 21"
tt.(2x5).
- Machinery, 60,000 SHP; General Electric Geared
Turbines, 2 screws
- Speed, 36.8 Knots, Range 4500 NM@ 20 Knots
- Crew 336.
- Laid down by Todd Shipyards, Seattle. May 31 1945.
- Launched March 8 1946 and commissioned June 21
1946.
- Decommissioned (?).
- Stricken March 31 1973.
- Sold to Taiwan April 18 1973, renamed Lao Yang.
Fate
Decommissioned by Taiwan on 3/16/99 and as of
11/02 is to
become an artificial reef.
My Duties with USS Shelton
Oct 1965 - Oct
1966
I was a STGSN (E-3)
and did my overseas processing at Treasure
Island, CA I was then sent to
Travis
AFB to catch a C-135
to the Philippines to met my ship.
The flight to P.I. was a picture of extremes. During the flight,
the Air
force guys in short sleeves were freezing and huddled in blankets
while
Navy guys
were very comfortable in our dress blues. (notice - I did not say
Cracker Jack. Modern Cracker
Jacks and the old Dress Blues are
completely
different uniforms, but that's another story)
Then we landed at Wake
Island - My first experience in
the tropics - Wow! It was hot, but then again the Navy
prevailed. We just rolled up our bell bottom pants and
cooled off in
the surf.
We finally landed at Clark
AFB,
on Luzon in PI. and had a long bus ride - still in dress blues - to Subic Bay.
It
was a
long, hot ride, but, the driver stopped periodically for some San
Miguel
beer and sweet PI bananas.
In the '60's, Subic Bay was not yet set up to handle transit
personnel and we were billeted in
what used to be a WWII POW camp. There were no lockers, so we
lived
out
of our sea bags hanging from our bunks. The running water was
just a pipe that had holes every couple of feet and set over a
trough. These streams of water was what you
used for everything - washing, brushing teeth, etc., and the water had
only
one temp - cold. Our
Boy Scout summer camp wasn't all that much different, so for me, it was
summer camp
all over again, just hotter.
We were allowed liberty in town, but we had to be back by midnight
(Cinderella Liberty) In those days we were required to wear
uniforms on liberty and the streets of Olongapo were not paved.
Every
one came back with red clay all over their whites. I waited in
the transit for about 3 weeks.
The USS Shelton pulled into Subic Bay and nested alongside the destroyer tender, USS
Piedmont. I reported aboard on Oct
31, 1965.
We left for Hong Kong and I experienced my first Typhoon. It was
scary seeing the other ships completely disappear from view behind a
wave and
having the ship roll so far you're not sure if it will come back
upright, but
we we survived just fine and pulling into Hong Kong where I found that
I had
won the anchor pool by picking the exact mooring time. I
had won a 4 day pass which I could use when ever I liked. Wow!
The Shelton then went to Vietnam as escort for the Carrier USS Bon Homme
Richard. In Dec '65 we returned to Hong Kong for R&R over
Christmas followed by two weeks as Station Ship. After New Years
1966 we returned to
Vietnam, providing coastal gunfire
support along Yankee and Dixie station.
Shelton was an early FRAM and the
aft 5"/38 gun mount had been removed. During gunfire
support we did not go to GQ. Instead, the only the gun stations
were manned and condition Zulu was set forward of frame 74. Every
one else went about their regular routine. There was almost
always
a sight seeing group on the fantail. (Other FRAMs
removed the
second fwd gun mount and left the aft gun mount for rear protection.)
Shelton earned welfare/rec money by holding a weekly bingo game.
Numbers were announced over the 1MC so sailors on watch could play as
well. We even played during a gunfire support mission and folks manning
the gun mounts played as well. (They once called for someone to relieve
the powder
passer in gun mount 52 so they could check his bingo card.)
Spring of '66 Shelton returned to San Diego.
Shelton was in and out of San Diego and in Aug '66 was part of the Sea
Fair Fleet in
Seattle. I went home, using the 4 day pass I had won in the in
the anchor
pool in Hong Kong.
In Sept my Division Officer told me told that Shelton was planning a
mini
cruise to Mexico and that I would have to extend my enlistment in order
to go. Since I did
not want to extend my active duty
for the cruise I was transfered to USS John A. Bole in Oct 1966.
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