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United States Navy - 6th Fleet - Vietnam War Era
USS HARLAN R DICKSON (Rockey Dickson) - DD 708
Patch - Measures - 4 inches in diameter (10 cms)
United States Navy - 1960's Patch
USS Harlan R Dickson
USS Harlan R. Dickson (DD-708), an Allen M.Sumner-class destroyer, was named for Lieutenant Commander Harlan RockeyDickson.
Harlan R. Dickson was launched on 17 December1944 by the Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Kearny, New Jersey; Theship was commissioned at New York on 17 February 1945.
After shakedown in the Caribbean, Harlan R.Dickson departed New York for the Pacific 5 August 1945, but with the Japanesecapitulation was ordered back to Solomons, Maryland, for experimental minework.
She finally joined her squadron at Pearl Harboron 12 December and remained in the Pacific for tactical training until March1946.
Returning to the east coast, Harlan R. Dicksonengaged in further training until sailing on 2 February 1947 for the first ofwhat were to become regular cruises in the Mediterranean with the 6th Fleet. Inaddition to visiting many Mediterranean ports, the destroyer sailed into theRed Sea before returning to the United States on 14 August.
This year established a pattern which Harlan R.Dickson was seldom to break: six months of duty in the Mediterranean alternatingwith training and fleet manoeuvres along the East Coast and in the Caribbean.
During her second tour with the 6th Fleet,Harlan R. Dickson served under the United Nations blue-and-white flag December1948-January 1949 during the attempt to mediate the Palestine crisis.
On her sixth Mediterranean cruise, 2 July to 4December 1956, Harlan R. Dickson played a role in evacuating American citizensfrom Haifa, Israel, as war threatened between Israel and Egypt.
Her career entered still another phaseSeptember 1959 when she began service as a recovery ship on the Atlantic coastmissile range to retrieve test capsules fired from Cape Canaveral, (now CapeKennedy).
Harlan R. Dickson joined a hunter-killer antisubmarineunit in the quarantine of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Harlan R. Dickson joined Operation"Springboard" in the Caribbean, visiting San Juan and Santo Domingobefore returning to Newport on 4 February 1963.
On 7 March she commenced her 10th Mediterraneandeployment with the 6th Fleet.
While in the Persian Gulf, Harlan R. Dicksonrepresented the United States in Khargex VI, an exercise designed for theimprovement of working relationships with the Iranian and British navies.
After a brief stop in the Mediterranean shereturned to Newport in September. On 2 January 1964 Harlan R. Dickson enteredthe Boston Naval Shipyard for overhaul.
Harlan R. Dickson served in the 1st NavalDistrict (headquartered at Boston, Massachusetts) as a United States NavalReserve Training Ship. She provided Naval Reserve enlistees in their first yearof service at the ranks of seaman, seaman apprentice, and seaman recruit with atwo-week training cruise. The reserve cruises supplemented the "bootcamp" training which was conducted at Great Lakes, Illinois.
The ship's routine for the cruises was to leaveBoston, with USS Compton and rendezvous with a submarine off the New Englandcoast, perform anti-submarine warfare exercises, and proceed to Halifax, NovaScotia, Canada, for a brief "liberty", where the Canadian Navy wouldhost sailors in its enlisted club.
In March 1964, Harlan R. Dickson received herlast active duty assignment, as one of two destroyers assigned to the NavalDestroyer School (now Surface Warfare Officers School Command) located at theU.S Naval Base, Newport, Rhode Island.
Harlan R. Dickson was stricken from the NavyDirectory on 1 July 1972. She was sold for scrapping on 18 May 1973.
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