USS Turner Joy (DD-951) - Vietnam War Operations

Vietnam War Operations

Following the excitement of the first week in August, the destroyer resumed more routine operations in the South China Sea. She concluded her deployment when she reached Long Beach on 2 October—two months to the day since she had rushed to the aid of Maddox. The destroyer conducted normal operations out of Long Beach until 18 December when she entered the naval shipyard for a three-month overhaul. Late in March, she began refresher training out of San Diego. West coast operations occupied her until 10 July, when she departed Long Beach with DesRon 19, bound once again for duty in the Orient. At the end of a 21-day transit, Turner Joy joined Coral Sea (CVA-43) near the end of the month. During August and the first three weeks of September, the destroyer served both as an escort for the carrier and as a detached radar picket ship.

On 23 September, she moved into the Gulf of Thailand near the west coast of South Vietnam to participate in one of the earliest naval gunfire support missions conducted along that section of the coastline. After a brief respite in Subic Bay for upkeep, the warship returned to the gunline in October, this time along South Vietnam's southeastern coast between Cape St. Jacques and Chu Lai. On the 25th, she provided call-fire for American and South Vietnamese forces operating ashore in the vicinity of Chu Lai itself. During the mission, her guns destroyed a number of enemy positions and figured prominently in the repulse of a Viet Cong attack. Near the conclusion of that 24-hour action, a 5 inch round misfired; and, during the ensuing efforts to clear the chamber, the shell detonated. The explosion damaged the gun mount, killed three sailors, and wounded three more. That event forced her departure from the combat zone. After landing the three casualties at Da Nang, Turner Joy set course for Subic Bay in the Philippines. After a week of repairs, the destroyer departed Subic Bay in company with Ticonderoga (CVA-14) for screening duty in the South China Sea, followed by port calls at Hong Kong and at Yokosuka, Japan. At the end of the year, she returned to naval gunfire support duty off the coast of South Vietnam.

On 3 January 1966, the destroyer resumed plane guard duty with Ticonderoga in the South China Sea. The destroyer patrolled with the carrier on "Yankee Station" until the 14th when she headed, via Subic Bay, for Long Beach. Turner Joy arrived home on 1 February and, two weeks later, began a month-long restricted availability. From the completion of her overhaul in March through the end of May, the destroyer remained in Long Beach engaged in upkeep, repairs, and in training the numerous replacements who had reported on board. On 11 June, she put to sea once again to conduct a midshipman training cruise, during which she visited Pearl Harbor, Seattle, and San Francisco. Turner Joy concluded that operation on 29 July when she disembarked the midshipmen at Long Beach. Later that summer, she again visited Seattle in conjunction with that city's annual Seafair celebration. Additional training and upkeep at Long Beach followed and occupied her until the second week in October. At that time, she returned to sea to participate in fleet exercise "Baseline II," after which she proceeded to Long Beach for a series of repairs in preparation for another tour of duty in the western Pacific. Turner Joy stood out of Long Beach on 18 November and—after visits to Pearl Harbor, Midway, and Guam—entered port at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on 11 December.

Turner Joy's fourth deployment to the western Pacific brought her three tours of duty off the coast of Vietnam and concluded with a visit to Australia. On 15 December, she departed Kaohsiung and headed for the coastline of the II Corps area of South Vietnam. The destroyer reached her zone of operations on the 18th and, for the next month, conducted shore bombardments in support of American and South Vietnamese troops operating ashore. She concluded that assignment on 17 January 1967 and headed for the Philippines. After two weeks of availability at Subic Bay and a five-day liberty visit to Hong Kong, Turner Joy returned to the Vietnamese coast on 10 February. For almost a month, she delivered gunfire support for troops ashore, this time in the I Corps zone of South Vietnam. That duty ended on 3 March, and a nine-day tender availability alongside Jason (AR-8) in Sasebo, Japan, followed.

On 21 March, the destroyer resumed station off Vietnam. This time, however, off the coast of North Vietnam. Instead of supporting American and South Vietnamese troops directly through shore bombardments, she did so by interdicting enemy logistical efforts in Operation "Sea Dragon". Though primarily directed at the enemy's water-borne logistics, "Sea Dragon" also struck wherever possible at the enemy's overland supply lines. During her 26 days on station engaged in "Sea Dragon" operations, Turner Joy fired on a number of shore targets in addition to an even larger number of enemy waterborne logistics craft. On 7 April, while firing on some enemy craft beached near Cap Mui Ron, the destroyer came under the fire of a North Vietnamese shore battery. During that exchange, she suffered a direct hit on the fantail and a near-miss air burst above the forward mast. The hit astern penetrated the deck to the supply office, damaging records therein as well as pipes and cables in the overhead. Several rounds of 5 inch VT fragmentation projectiles in mount 53 ammunition stowage area also suffered damage and had to be discarded. Shrapnel from near misses wounded a member of Turner Joy's repair party and peppered her bow while the air burst above the forward mast put her air-search radar out of service except for its IFF aspect. The damage, however, was not severe enough to curtail her tour of duty; and she remained on station until relieved by HMAS Hobart on 16 April.

Two days later, the destroyer arrived in Subic Bay, and she entered drydock, soon thereafter, for repairs to her strut bearing, the bow, the peak tank, and her air search radar antenna. Concurrently with this yard work, she conducted a tender availability with Piedmont (AD-17) to prepare her for visits to Australia and New Zealand during the forthcoming celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea. Repairs and availability completed, she stood out of Subic Bay on 24 April in company with McKean (DD-784). En route to Melbourne, the two ships stopped at Manus in the Admiralty Islands and at Brisbane, Australia. The ship reached Melbourne on 8 May; and, while she remained there until the 13th, her crew enjoyed Australian hospitality in the city and replied in kind on board. Between 13 and 17 May, she made a rough transit of the Tasman Sea and arrived in Auckland, New Zealand, on the latter date for the second phase of her Coral Sea celebration. She remained in Auckland until 22 May at which time she and McKean put to sea to return to the United States. After a stop at Pago Pago, American Samoa, the two ships rejoined Gridley (DLG-21) and Maddox on 26 May to reconstitute DesRon 19 for the voyage home. After a brief fueling stop at Pearl Harbor on 2 June, the warships arrived in Long Beach on the 8th. Between June and September, Turner Joy went through a month of post-deployment standdown followed by training operations in the waters off southern California. On 18 September, she arrived at Bremerton, Washington, for a two-month shipyard availability at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. In mid-November, she returned to Long Beach and resumed operations along the California coast.

That duty continued until late February 1968 when she entered the Long Beach Naval Shipyard for a restricted availability in preparation for her fifth deployment to the Far East. Turner Joy stood out of Long Beach on 12 March and—after stops at Oahu, Midway, and Guam—arrived in Subic Bay on 4 April. Over the following five months, the destroyer conducted operations along the coast of Vietnam similar to those performed during previous deployments. She delivered naval gunfire support for American and South Vietnamese troops in South Vietnam and conducted "Sea Dragon" patrols along the coast of North Vietnam to interdict enemy waterborne logistics traffic. Her tours of duty on the gunline took her to the I, II, and IV Corps areas of South Vietnam. As during previous deployments, she punctuated assignments in the combat zone with visits to Subic Bay and to Buckner Bay, Okinawa, for fuel, supplies, and repairs, as well as to Kaohsiung, Taiwan; and Hong Kong for rest and relaxation. She completed her last tour of duty of the deployment off the Vietnamese coast on 4 September and, after a brief tender availability at Subic Bay, headed homeward on 8 September. Retracing her outward-bound voyage with stops at Guam, Midway, and Pearl Harbor, Turner Joy entered Long Beach on the 26th.

Upon her return to the United States, the warship began preparations for her regular overhaul. She entered the Long Beach Naval Shipyard on 28 November and remained there until late February 1969. When post-overhaul trials ended on 15 March, the ship resumed normal operations out of Long Beach. During April and May, she participated in a 1st Fleet combined ASW/AAW exercise as a part of her refresher training. She completed those operations during the latter half of May; and, after a. brief availability alongside Bryce Canyon CAD-36), she embarked NROTC midshipmen on 5 June for the two-month 1969 summer training cruise. At the end of the cruise, Turner Joy debarked the midshipmen on 1 August and resumed training in the southern California operating area.

On 18 November, she got underway from Long Beach to return to the Orient. Following a four-day layover at Pearl Harbor and brief fuel stops at Midway and Guam, she arrived in Subic Bay on 11 December. After a five-day availability alongside Prairie (AD-15), the destroyer stood out of Subic Bay bound for Danang, South Vietnam, and gunfire support duty off the coast of the I Corps zone. By New Year's Day 1970, she was on her way to "Yankee Station" to act as plane guard for Task Force (TF) 77 aircraft carriers. On 4 January, she headed back to Subic Bay where she remained until the 18th. She completed another three-week tour on the gunline on 10 February and then shaped a course for Sasebo, Japan, whence she operated until early in March. After a liberty call in Hong Kong, Turner Joy returned to the Vietnamese coast and resumed gunfire support missions until early April. On 3 April, she rendezvoused with Shangri La (CVA-38) and then made port calls at Subic Bay and Bangkok, Thailand, before embarking upon her final gunline assignment on 19 April. She returned to Subic Bay on 10 May for a final visit before heading back to the United States on the 17th.

The destroyer arrived back in Long Beach on 1 June and began a three-month restricted availability in the naval shipyard. She completed the availability early in October and began sea trials and training in the southern California operating area. Early in December, Turner Joy reentered the Long Beach Naval Shipyard to be readied for her redeployment to the western Pacific. On 26 January 1971, she stood out of Long Beach on her way to rejoin the 7th Fleet. She entered Subic Bay on 16 February and went into drydock for several days while both her propellers were replaced. On 5 March, she exited Subic Bay for a tour of naval gunfire support duty along the Vietnamese coast. That assignment—carried out along the I Corps-zone coastline near Danang—ended on 2 April; and she headed for "Yankee Station" and two weeks of plane guard duty with the TF 77 aircraft carriers. Following a five-day port call at Subic Bay, Turner Joy took up position at "Yankee Station" again on 27 April—this time as escort for the PIRAZ (positive identification and radar advisory zone) ship. She performed that duty until 30 April; then, after three days evading a typhoon, she moved in close to the I Corps shoreline to resume gunfire support duties.

On 14 May, the destroyer shaped a course for Subic Bay. Following a five-day gunfire exercise at the Tabones range, she departed the Philippines to make liberty visits to Bangkok, Thailand, and Hong Kong. In late June, she did another tour of duty on PIRAZ station and provided plane guard services to Kitty Hawk (CVA-63). A brief liberty call at Subic Bay followed; and then, on 30 June, she embarked upon a voyage to Australia and New Zealand. During July, she made visits to the Australian towns of Brisbane and Sydney as well as the New Zealand port, Auckland. On the 26th, Turner Joy got underway for home. She arrived back in Long Beach on 10 August and conducted normal post-deployment evolutions through the remainder of 1971.

In February 1972, the destroyer began an extensive overhaul. Over the ensuing six months, she received entirely new 5 inch 54-caliber gun mounts; and her propulsion plant underwent conversion to enable it to burn Navy distillate fuel. Extensive other modifications, installations, and renovations also took place between February and August. From August to December, she busied herself with various trials and tests at sea, conducted refresher training, and prepared for her next assignment to the Far East. Her voyage west began on 6 December and ended with her arrival at Subic Bay on the 29th. Two days later, she put to sea for her first tour on the gunline. It also proved to be her last. She delivered gunfire support for 28 days, "delivering over 10,000 rounds of accurate fire in support of ground forces in South Vietnam and against enemy targets in North Vietnam" Ref: USS Truner Joy Westpac 73 cruise book, Commanding Officer statement page 5. "USS Turner Joy fired the final round of naval gunfire of the war, hitting the beach at 000 GMT, 28 January 1973, scant seconds before the ceasfire went into effect" Ref: USS Turner Joy Westpac 73 cruise book, page 9. Then, on 28 January 1973, American participation in the Vietnam War ended with a negotiated ceasefire.

For the remainder of that deployment, Turner Joy participated in a variety of operations—including Operation "Endsweep," the removal of American mines from the waters around Haiphong harbor, as well as antisubmarine warfare exercises and carrier operations in the South China Sea. She punctuated those assignments with port visits to Subic Bay; Hong Kong; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; and Sasebo, Japan. On 13 June, she headed home via Yokosuka and arrived in Long Beach on 22 June. She spent the period from then until mid-October engaged in upkeep and a restricted availability. On 17 October, she departed Long Beach and set course for her new home port, San Diego. Upon arrival there, she began normal operations—engineering and gunnery exercises at sea alternated with upkeep in port.

That routine continued until April 1974, at which time she began preparations for her first peacetime deployment to the western Pacific in a decade. She stood out of San Diego on 6 May, reached Pearl Harbor on the 12th, and completed a brief assignment with Ranger (CVA-61) in the Hawaiian operating area on the 24th. On that day, she departed Oahu and continued her voyage west. Turner Joy arrived in Subic Bay on 4 June and, for the next two months, conducted local operations in company with Ranger. On 1 August, the destroyer departed the Philippines for a goodwill visit to Surabaya, Indonesia. She returned to the Philippines on 31 August and conducted local operations out of Subic Bay for two months before heading homeward on 3 October. The warship arrived in San Diego on 22 October and, after a month of post-deployment leave and upkeep, began a normal schedule of operations in the southern California operating area.