USS Ozbourn (DD-846)
Encyclopedia
USS Ozbourn (DD-846) was a Gearing-class
Gearing class destroyer
The Gearing class was a group of 98 destroyers built for the US Navy during and shortly after World War II. The Gearing design was a minor modification of the immediately preceding Allen M. Sumner class...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
and the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. She was named for Marine
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
Private Joseph W. Ozbourn
Joseph W. Ozbourn
Private Joseph William Ozbourn was a United States Marine who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for sacrificing his life to save his comrades on Tinian in the Marianas on July 30, 1944.-Biography:...
(1919–1944), who was awarded the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
posthumously for his “great personal valor” during the Battle of Tinian
Battle of Tinian
The Battle of Tinian was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July 1944 to 1 August 1944.-Background:...
.
Ozbourn was laid down by Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works is a major American shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, United States. Since its founding in 1884 , BIW has built private, commercial and military vessels, most of which have been ordered by the United States Navy...
16 June 1945; launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
22 December 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Joseph W. Ozbourn; commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
5 March 1946, Commander Bernard A. Smith in command.
Pacific duty
Following shakedown, Ozbourn reported for duty with the U.S. Pacific Fleet at San Diego, CaliforniaNaval Station San Diego
Naval Base San Diego is the largest base of the United States Navy on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, consisting of 54 ships and over 120 tenant commands. The base is composed of 13 piers stretched...
in August 1946. She departed San Diego 6 January 1947 with Destroyer Division 171 (DesDiv 171) for the Far East; returned to San Diego in October; began her next deployment 1 October 1948, shortened by a collision with Theodore E. Chandler
USS Theodore E. Chandler (DD-717)
USS Theodore E. Chandler was a Gearing-class destroyer in the United States Navy during the Korean War and the Vietnam War. She was named for Theodore E. Chandler....
(DD-717). Although two crew members were killed, damage control parties saved the ship and she returned to Long Beach Naval Shipyard
Long Beach Naval Shipyard
thumb|right|300px|Long Beach Naval Shipyard in 1993The Long Beach Naval Shipyard, which closed in 1997, was located at Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles and approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles International Airport.The Long Beach...
for repairs. During 1949 and early 1950, Ozbourn trained midshipmen, underwent overhaul and participated in various exercises, one of which was the first guided missile test at sea conducted with Norton Sound
USS Norton Sound (AVM-1)
USS Norton Sound was originally built as a by Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in San Pedro, California. She was named for Norton Sound, a large inlet in West Alaska, between the Seward Peninsula and the mouths of the Yukon, north-east of the Bering Sea.-Career:Norton Sound was laid...
(AVM-1).
Korean War
When hostilities began in KoreaKorea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, Ozbourn joined Task Force 77 (TF 77). She participated in the Inchon landing
Battle of Inchon
The Battle of Inchon was an amphibious invasion and battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations . The operation involved some 75,000 troops and 261 naval vessels, and led to the recapture of the South Korean capital Seoul two...
and assisted with air operations off the Korean coast, twice receiving the Korean Presidential Citation for her efforts. In February 1951, despite having received two direct hits and several near misses from shore batteries the same day, Ozbourn sent her motor whale boat to rescue a downed pilot floating in a mine field. After returning to San Diego for repairs and overhaul and a brief assignment with TF 95 in the Wonsan
Wonsan
Wŏnsan is a port city and naval base in southeastern North Korea. It is the capital of Kangwŏn Province. The population of the city is estimated to have been 331,000 in 2000. Notable people from Wŏnsan include Kim Ki Nam, diplomat and Secretary of the Workers' Party.- History :The original name of...
area, Ozbourn returned to TF 77 in July 1952. In short order she rescued 18 men who had jumped from Boxer (CVA-21) to avoid a menacing fire and picked up 3 downed airmen from Essex (CVA-9). During the next two years Ozbourn made regular tours with the 7th Fleet followed by training operations in the San Diego area.
Training ship
From 1956 to 1964 Ozbourn underwent major overhaul, engaged in intensive training exercises, participated in festivals and celebrations in several west-coast cities and in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and operated periodically with the 7th Fleet. Having undergone Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization
Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization
The Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization program of the United States Navy extended the lives of World War II-era destroyers by shifting their mission from a surface attack role to that of a submarine hunter...
(FRAM) Mark I conversion earlier, she joined Task Group (TG 10) for a major Presidential Demonstration. From the flight deck of Kitty Hawk
USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63)
The supercarrier USS Kitty Hawk , formerly CVA-63, was the second naval ship named after Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the site of the Wright brothers' first powered airplane flight...
(CV-63), President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
watched Ozbourns ASROC
ASROC
ASROC is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed on over 200 USN surface ships, specifically cruisers, destroyers, and frigates...
launching 6 June 1963.
Vietnam War
Ozbourn sailed independently for Pearl Harbor 8 July 1964 to join DesDiv 233 and ASW Group 1 for a six-month Western Pacific deployment. From Yokosuka, JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, ASW Group I sailed for the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
after North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
ese PT boat
PT boat
PT Boats were a variety of motor torpedo boat , a small, fast vessel used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. The PT boat squadrons were nicknamed "the mosquito fleet". The Japanese called them "Devil Boats".The original pre–World War I torpedo boats were...
s had engaged American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin
Gulf of Tonkin
The Gulf of Tonkin is an arm of the South China Sea, lying off the coast of northeastern Vietnam.-Etymology:The name Tonkin, written "東京" in Hán tự and Đông Kinh in romanised Vietnamese, means "Eastern Capital", and is the former toponym for Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam...
. After providing antisubmarine warfare (ASW) protection for TF 77 and after participating in a naval weapons demonstration, Ozbourn returned to Long Beach. Several months of maintenance, repairs and intermittent local training operations followed; then came another deployment to the Western Pacific 20 August 1965. Attached to TG 77.6, Ozbourn provided gunfire support in the III
U.S. III Corps
III Corps is a corps of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Hood, Texas. It is a major formation of the United States Army Forces Command....
and IV Corps areas of South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
delivering tons of high explosives in covering fire. Eight crewmen were recommended for decorations during these actions.
In July 1966 Ozbourn began a two-year tour of duty with the 7th Fleet as a member of Destroyer Squadron 9. A great part of that time was spent on gunfire assignments supporting troops in South Vietnam and interdicting supply and communications routes in North Vietnam. She received direct hits on 25 March and 4 December 1967 but continued her mission each time. For "outstanding actions against the enemy and for excellent combat readiness", she received both the Meritorious Unit Commendation
Meritorious Unit Commendation
The Meritorious Unit Commendation is a mid-level unit award of the United States military which is awarded to any military command which displays exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service, heroic deeds, or valorous actions....
and the Battle Efficiency “E”.
Ozbourn returned to Long Beach 6 September 1968 and remained there, with intermittent movements to Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
and San Diego, for the next year. In September 1969 she deployed again to WestPac where she operated with the 7th Fleet into 1970.
She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 1 June 1975 and sold for scrap.