Commisioned- 1 OCT 47

Decommisioned- 30 APR 90

During her lifetime she made 11 Meditrranean cruises, 14 Western Pacific cruises (including 6 combat tours to Yankee station off Vietnam), and 1 around the world cruise.

With all the other training execises and fleet exercises, she steamed over two million miles.(Pretty Damn impressive)

 I was lucky enough to be a member of her crew for the last 2 and a half years of her naval career.

I can still remember the first time I saw her tied to the pier in Marseille France. A great grey ship towering over me as I approached. And although the leadership in my division left a lot to be desired, the Ageless Warrior was everything a ship should be.