USS Leary (DD-879) - Participation in The Vietnam War

Participation in The Vietnam War

Leary saw active combat duty during the war in Vietnam. The standard rotation for destroyers was a few months combat tour of duty at sea, usually around five months. At the conclusion of her tour of duty, the destroyer would return to port for maintenance, usually her home port. While in port the crew would receive leave and go ashore. When maintenance was complete, the crew would return from leave and the ship would spend a period of time undergoing tests or exercises near port. When exercises were finished, the ship would receive their orders and then return to sea for a new tour of duty. This was Leary's routine for her entire operational life.

She was among the destroyers that protected aircraft from the carriers on Yankee Station in the Tonkin Gulf. During periods of sustained air operations against North Vietnam Leary, along with the other destroyers on patrol, were responsible for providing protective cover for as many as three aircraft carriers at once. This included firing her guns and destroying missile placements in North Vietnam that were firing at the fleet.

Her guns were often fired during Naval Gunfire Support missions. Leary was also regularly called upon to provide emergency search and rescue duties, and was responsible for saving the lives of many who would otherwise have been lost at sea.

Leary was rotated out of combat in late 1965, and at the conclusion of her tour of duty, returned to her home port in Norfolk Virginia for routine maintenance. Afterwards, the destroyer participated in extensive antisubmarine warfare exercises off the coast of North Carolina and Puerto Rico. She then returned to Norfolk on 16 December 1965.

Following another month of operations, she once again readied for deployment. Leary departed Norfolk 4 March 1966 for a 5-month tour of duty in the Mediterranean on patrol with the 6th Fleet. Afterwards, Leary returned to Norfolk on 12 August 1966 for a month of leave and regular maintenance. The remainder of the year was spent conducting local exercises, including an extensive evaluation of her two advanced QH-50 DASH helicopter drones.

From 3 to 17 March 1967, Leary briefly served as a Sonar School Ship at Key West, Florida.

On 5 July 1967 Leary once again passed through the Panama Canal and was quickly en route to an extended tour of duty off the coast of Vietnam. She was accompanied by the destroyers Cony, Waldron, and the Damato. On arrival, she was immediately assigned to provide badly needed gunfire support off the Vietnamese coast as she alternated duty with the carriers on Yankee Station.

Periodically, the Leary reinforced the Seventh Fleet cruisers and she provided naval gunfire support to allied forces in South Vietnam.

On 9 October 1967 Leary operated on Baie de Ganh Rai of the Mekong River Delta in South Vietnam.

Then in January 1969 Leary again passed through the Panama Canal and was deployed for duty with the 7th Fleet providing gun fire support to US operations in Vietnam until October 1969, after which she returned to her home port in Norfolk, VA.