USS Sterett and San Diego
|
DD 407 |
|||
| 1945 - From 1942-45, DD 407 crisscrossed the Pacific between multiple combat engagements and repair/upgrade in Puget Sound, WA. After completing repairs from the direct hit sustained from Kamikaze attack while on Okinawa radar picket duty, Sterett proceeded to San Diego for training exercises. She was there getting ready to return once more to the battle front, when Japan accepted the terms of Surrender on 14 Aug 45. She was decommissioned in New York on 2 NOV 45. |
The photo below comes courtesy of Shipmate John King.
"This is my framed piece of the (1970) homeward bound pennant. The small picture shows the balloons that allowed it to float behind the ship when we arrived in San Diego" |
||
|
DLG/CG 31 |
|||
|
1967 - After being Commissioned on 8 APR 67 in Puget Sound, DLG 31 spent the rest of the year undergoing rigorous acceptance trials
and then shakedown along the West Coast. Upon acceptance in May, the
Sterett was assigned as flagship of DesRon 3, home ported in Long Beach, CA. Her very first port of call to San Diego was on 26-27 JUL for ship deperming. Later that Fall, she was in port from 20-27 SEP, following SOCAL operational exercises and again, for seven weeks of extensive shakedown training attached to the Fleet Training Group, San Diego 16 OCT - 1 DEC. |
 |
||
| 1968-1970: Following this year of preparation, Sterett departed Long Beach on 19 JUN 68 for forward deployment in the Western Pacific operating out of the her new homeport of Yokosuka, Japan. From Yokosuka, DLG 31 rotated regularly on a demanding schedule with line periods on station in the Tonkin Gulf combat zone, as well as on PARPRO protection picket duty in the Sea of Japan. | |||
 |
1970: After completing more than two years duty overseas, DLG 31 qualified to fly the Homeward Bound Pennant upon return, as she led the Desron 3 squadron into San Diego harbor on 13 AUG 70. |
||
|
1971-1981: Homeport: San Diego - After undergoing a five
month overhaul in Long Beach shipyard, Sterett spent the remainder of
1971 back in San Diego preparing for the two upcoming seven month deployments to West Pac/Tonkin Gulf
combat zone in 1972 and
1973. In 1975, Sterett was outfitted with the new harpoon anti-ship missile
system and DLG 31 was re-designated as guided missile cruiser CG 31.
Over the next five years, CG 31 departed and returned to homeport San Diego three times for long overseas cruises that took her throughout the Far East, the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, and East Africa. (OCT 75-MAY 76; MAR 77-OCT 77; and SEP 78-APR 79). In early 1978, she was outfitted with the Phalanx Close in Weapons System (CIWS). |
|||
| 1981-1991 In 1981 Sterett was assigned a homeport shift to Subic Bay Naval Station, Republic of the Philippines. She departed San Diego on 27 JUL 81 for the PI and began what was to become a very storied era in the ship's history. Good coverage of this decade overseas can be found in the CG 31 History section of this website. CG 31's absence, of course, was certainly felt along the San Diego Harbor channel during these years after becoming a familiar sight in the 1970's. |
HOMEWARD-BOUND PENNANT: The homeward-bound pennant is flown by ships returning from extended overseas tours. The pennant is authorized for display by a ship that has been on duty outside the territorial limits of the United States continuously for at least 9 months. It is hoisted on getting under way for the United States and may be flown until sunset on the day of arrival in a port of destination. The pennant is similar to the commission pennant, but instead of the usual seven stars, there is one star for the first 9 months of overseas duty and one star for each additional 6 months. The total length of the pennant is customarily 1 foot for each officer and enlisted crewmember who served overseas for a period in excess of 9 months. When the number of personnel produces an unwieldy pennant, the length of the pennant is restricted to the length of the ship. Upon arrival in a port of the United States, the blue portion containing the stars is presented to the commanding officer. The remainder of the pennant is divided equally among the officers and enlisted crew. |
||
|
|
1991 - CG 31 is reassigned to the homeport in San Diego. After ten years away from the continental U.S. and trailing a four hundred-foot Homeward Bound Pennant, STERETT arrived at San Diego on 4 JUN 91. This marked the longest forward deployment by a US Navy Ship. |
||
| 1994 - Completing 27 years of service to the fleet, CG 31 was decommissioned in San Diego on 24 MAR 94. | |||
|
DDG 104 |
|||
| 2008 - Newly commissioned Sterett
arrives in her first homeport of San Diego on 23 SEP 08.
Wishing her fair winds and following seas, and good times when in San Diego. |
