Commissioning Ceremony

Commissioning Ceremony OCTOB ER 27 . 1961 NEW YORK NAVAL SHIPYARD BROOKLYN, NEW YORK The commissioning ceremony
IS
the initiation of a
ship into the Operating Forces of the United States
Na vy. Upon breaking her commission pennant,
USS
the
CONSTELLATION (CV A-64) will become
responsibility of her
Commanding
Officer,
Captain Thomas J. Walker, USN, who, together
with the ship's officers and crew, has the duty
to keep her in constant r eadiness to accept any
task demanded of her by her country in peace
or in war.
******************************************
UNITED STATES SHIP CONSTELLATION CVA-64
BUILT BY New York Naval Shipyard Brooklyn, New Yor k {:.[
KEEL LAID September 14, 1957 {:.[
LAUNCHED Octo ber 8, 1960 {:.[
SPONSOR Mrs. Christian A. Herter {:.[
COMMISSIONED October 27, 1961 NEW YORK NAVAL SHIPYARD -BROOKLYN, NEW YORK The Honorable ROBERT S. McNAMARA Secretary of Defense The Honorable
JOHN B. CONNALLY
Secretary of the Navy
The Sponsor
MRS. CHRISTIAN A. HERTER
THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY WASHINGT ON 20 October 1961
IV dear Captain Walker:
It is with great pJ.e a sure that I extend m:r best wishes to
you, your officers and men of USS CONSTELLATION (cvA-64.) on this
memorable occas ion of her commissioning.
CONSm.r.ATION is a great step forward in the progres­
sive art of buildi ng combatant ships and is the cumulative result
of the combined efterts of many segments of the United states Navy.
She is the l.atest ~bol of the Navy· s mobile, hard-hitting, .ffen­
sive power. Her construction has taken place in a time of great
progress in naval f1el.ds of propulsion, weapons and a.1.rcraf't. Upon
her, the sh1p s before her , and the ships which follow, lie the hopes
and aspirations ot the Navy. With her speed, strength and striking
power, CONSTELLATION represents the newest addition to our national
power. Her ver:r existence is an additional strong deterrent to
aggression.
Yoar sh1p is the second of the :f.'l.eet to be named CONSTELLA­
TION. 'lhe first CONS'l'ELLATION served this country famously en ~
occasions for over a century and a half . Her sailing qualities were
so :fine that the French nicknamed her the "Yankee Race Horse". You
and your crew share the responsibill ty for nurturing this famous
name and carr,y1ng on the traditions that have been handed doWD to
you with this great ship.
Pmrer1'Ul weapons and proud name, however, will not by
themsel.ves provide the strength which CONSTELLATION will need.
Every seafe.r1.Dg man knows that the real strength of a ship lies
in the spirtt and competence of the o:tf1cers and the crew. I am
confident that under the leadership and personal example of you
and your o:tf1oers , CONSTELLA'l'ION will meet the challenge of her
tasks in def ens e of our country in such manner as to br18hten the
great traditions .1' her illu striou s predecessor.
Since rely yours,
Captain 'lhaDa.s J . Walker, USN
Prospective Commandi ng Officer
tm COmm:LLA!I.'ION ( CVA-64)
0/0 New York Naval Sbipya.rd
U. S. Naval Base
BrooklJu 1, New Yerk
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20 October J.96J.
Dear Cap tain,
On t he occasi on 01' the cOmmissioning 01' y our sbip , USS CONSTEL­
LATION (cvA-64), I extend to you my congrat ulat i ons 00. your Ile\(
command and wish you , your offic er s and c rew a successfUl and revard­
1ng cruise.
USS CONSTELLATION is the newest in a s eriee 01' a ttack carriers
whose armameo.t vill greatly increase the attack and de1'ensive capa­
bility 01' our Na vy . From her decks will. 1'ly the latest types 01'
naval a ircraft with their capabil ity 01' striJr.ing enemy targets 1'a r
1nJ.aDd as well a s on the high seas. Her Terrier guide d mise ile
system and other e quipment have been specifi ca..lJ.y designed to p rovide
maximum protection. Although she is only the second s hip to bear
the name CONSTELLATION, the very name i s one of the proudest and
most famous in our naval history .
It i s your privtiege to command one 01' the f inest ship s or the
fine st Navy on earth. n"e duti es and responsibill t ies which will
r e st upon your shoulders during the time yoU have c ommand will be
h eavy indeed. It will be your duty to vel d the f ine officers and
men wh o compose y our c r ew into a c ombat unit rea~ t o carry out any
01' the IlI4tIY missions which ~ be a ssigned your ship. It w:Ul be
your r esponsibility to ge nerate the t eamwor k , t he peroonaJ. okill,
and the individual devotion to duty making USS CONSTELLATION the
effective 1'ight ing uni t that sbe deserves to be . It will be your
duty to ensure that ea ch individual who bas the honor to serve in
y our ship will bave the personal. oat i sfaction of be iog an important
part of a successful. f ighting organization of the united States Navy.
As Commanding O:t'ticer of your p owerfUl ship , you will realize
that you, y our ship and each individual in her IIIIlUt be able to r e­
spond to any orisis with wlllch the united Statee ma,y be confronted.
You and eaob one of your eh1p ' s cOJDPa.1V lIIWit be able to act av1~
and i ntelligently just as other men have done in U. S . lIII!n-ot-var
before :you . By s o doing you will IIIIlte a per8olllll. contribution to
the Navy' s rieb and ~ean1ngf'ul tradlt1oo. To;you II!Id each lIlember
01' your ship f s c ompany, a f air breeze and God' II help in the IIIIUIY'
tasks wbich you will enoounter.
S1ncerel¥
Ca.ptain Thollll1s J . Walker , USN
Prospective Commandi ng O:t'f1cer
USS CONSTELLATION ( CVA- 64 )
c/o New York Naval Shipyard
U. S. Naval Base
Brooklyn, New York
your.,
VICE ADMIRAL
ROBERT B. PIRIE, USN
R obert Burn s Pi r i was born in
Wym or e, Nebraska on April 18, 1905.
He a ttended cho ol in Wymore and
was g radua ted from Wymo re H igh
Sch ool in 1 922 and entered the U , S.
Nav. I Aca demy the same year.
Grad ua ted and commissioned E n­
on J une 3, 1926, he subseque ntly
was adv anced, atta ining to the rank
of Vice Admiral on .July 3, 1957,
~ ig n
From late 1940 until the outbreak
of W orld W ar II, he wa ~ Super­
intendent of Training at the Naval
Air Stat ion, Miami , and when de­
tached in Sep tember 1942 he reported
SN, Commander Ail' F orce, Pacific
to th e Staff of Vice Adm ira l Towers ,
F lee t.
He next served as Ex ecutive Off icer on the carrier MISS IO N BAY
Atlan t ic water s. H e r eturned to the P a cific in July 1944 as Chief of
Staf f and Aide to R ear Admiral G. F . Boga n,
SN. During thi s pe r iod
he pa rticipated in the a ssault a nd capture of the Ma riannas and P a lau;
in the initial ra id on the Phili ppine Is lands, Okinawa, and Formos a ; the
Ba ttle of Leyte Gu lf ; and the South China Sea Raid .
In
Du r in g the fi na l m onths of the war he 'erv ed as Ail' Operation s Officer
on th e taff of F leet Ad miral E. J. Ki ng, U SN , Co mmander in Chief, U . S.
FI et . DUring the nex t nine y ea rs he served subsequently as fir s t head
of the Depart ment of A viation a t, the Nava l Academy, as Commanding Officer
of th e carrier S1 ILY, as Commanda nt of . 1idshipmen at the aval Academy,
as Comm a nding Officer of the a ttack carrier CORAL SEA, and finally a s
Deput y Comm!l ud er- in- Chi ef t o Admiral Jera ul d Wri g ht, US . , Commander
in Ch ief U . S. N ava l F orces, F.astern A tlantic and Mediterranean.
In A u g u ~ t 1954 he w as ass ig ned as Deputy Chief of Staff (Plans and
Opel'a ti ons ), and later ser ved as Chief of Sta ff and Aide to the Commander
ill Chief, U. S, Atlantic Fl ee t. In March 195 6 he as s umed command of
Carri e r Di vision 6, which was deployed with the SIXTH Flee t in the
Med iterra n ean from June t o Octo ber 1956. He wa s Com mander of the
, S.
SECO:-.:lD F lee t an ri Commande r St rildn o . Fleet in the Allied Command,
At la nt ic , h orn ,Jul y 3, 1957 until WI a y 19 5B , w hen he became Deputy Chief
of Naval Operations (Air) Na vy Department .
Amo ng the me dab and awards that \ 'A DM Pirie has received are:
the Gold
Star in lieu of a second Leg-ion of Merit, and the Bron ze Star Medal
wi t h Cum ba t uY" .
Th(' Sil ver Star :Ued a l, tIl<' Legion of Merit wi th Combat "V",
CAPTAI N THOMAS J. WALKE R, USN COMMANDING OFFICER U.S.S. CONSTELLATION (CVA-64 )
T hom as Jackson Wal ke r , born in E dgartown (Island of Martha's Vineyard),
!lhlSS ., Aug u:'t 6, 1916, is the de scendent of thre e great-grandfathers whu were
w ha li ng :h ip Captai ns . H e a tte nded schools in Massachusetts and Florida and
was g rad ua ted f rom h i 'h sc hool in Daytona Beach, Florida , He attended the
Mari on Mi lita ry I nsti tute and then en te red the
,S. Naval Academy, Annapolis,
SId " Class ur 193 9. H e was stroke oj' the Academy crew and vice-pres ident of
his class f ur four yea rs,
Cumm bs ioned an Ens ign in June 1939, he joined USS MI I TE A POLIS.
In A ugust 1041 he heg an f light training at the Naval Air Station, P ensacola,
Florida. Des ig nated Naval Aviator in March 1942, he joined U SS N EW YORK
a" Sen ior AyiaLor. lie s potted shore bombardment during the African invas ion
at Saf i a nd Casa blanca, and late r partic ipated in anti-s ubmal'ine flights over
convoys, He w as awarded the l\ avy Commendation Medal.
Heturn ing t o the U nited States in July 1943, he attended th e Postgraduate
sch oo l, Ann apol is, Md ., where he completed th e course in aviation ordnance in
Dec ember 1944 . He nex t reported to the Fire Control Desk in the Bureau of
Ae ronautics and remained th ere until July 1945. He was then assigned a s
l'l() ~ p edi\(~ Burn b Comma nd er for the fourth atomic bomb at the Los Alamos
Sc i<.:nlific La bora to lY, That bomb was never dropped due to the cessation of
hostilit ies in Augu s t 1945.
Immediately after World War II, Ca ptain Walker served as Commanding
OfficeI' of Fighter Squa dr ops SEVE NT EE:--.I , FI E -B AND SIXTY-ONE, dUl'ing
which Lime he was em bal'k ed with his respecti ve squadrons aboard the newly
commi ssioned carriers USS, VALLEY FORGE and USS COHAL SEA. After service
as Co m manding Officer of th e Naval Air Special Weapons Facility at the
Sa nJia Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico , he assumed command in July 1951 of
A ir IJ r,vcl opment Squadron FIVE, a group engaged in de veloping tactic s for
delive ry of special weapons from light carrier aircraft, In JUl y 1953 he served
a s Expe rimental Of ficer at the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake,
Ca lifol'J1 ia , and in 1955 became a student at the Indu s trial College of the Armed
Forc es in Washington,
Captain Wa lke l' then began his association with P olaris Miss ile program
a s head of the Tes t Blanch of the Fleet Ballistic Missile Program , He wa s
temporarily assigned Special Ass istant to Chief of Naval Operations , working on
a classified project unt il JU ly 1957, He then spent a year as Commanding Officer
of th e Fleet All-Weather Training Unit Pacifi c where he was concerned with
t ra illi ng of carrier pilots for all weather flying and in the air defense of southern
Califo l'J1 ia,
In July 1958 Captain Walker returned to Washington with th e Polaris program
a s System s Development Anal ys is Ch ief, For liis wOlk with P olaris, Captain
Wa lker received his third Na vy Commendation Meda! ancl Cit.ation,
In April 1960 Captain Walker assumed hi s first s hip command , U S NITRO,
a ne w a nd modern ammunition ship. He was ordered detached from U SS NITRO
for du ty a s Pl'ospective Co m mand i n ~ Officer of USS CONSTELLATION
( CV A-64), then under con slr udiun a t the New Yol'i< N<lval Shipyard, Bl'ooldyn,
ew York. C,lptain Walker a ss umes eommancl of CONSTELLATION today,
27 October 1961, at the moment of he l' cOl11mi ,,·, ;onin!!;,
UNITED STATES SHIP
CONSTELLATION ,I Commissionihg Ceremony {:[
fr
-tr
Music
New York Naval Base Band
In troduct ion of ADM Robert L. Dennison, U. S. Nav:.,
Commandcr-in-Chief United States Atlantic Fleet
RADM E rn est C. Holtzwol'th, U. S. Navy, Comman der New
York Naval Shipyard, delivers the ship for commissioning
Introduction of VADM Robert B. Pirie, tJ. S. Navy.
Deputy Chief of Nava l Operations for Air,
the Principal Speaker
RADM George H . Wales, U. S. Navy, Commandant, Third
Naval Dis trict, accepts the ship and directs that it be
placed in commission
The P rospective Co mmanding Officer
Ca ptain Thom as J. Wal ker, U. S. Navy reads his oroers and
assumes Command of USS CONSTELLAT ION
The first watch is set aboa rd the ship
fr
Military H onors are rendered to ADM Robert L. Dennison,
U. S. Navy. H is flag is broken from th e mast while the
band sounds off
Invocation by Chaplain of CONSTELLATION
CDR P aul W. Reigner (CHC) , u. S. Navy
Band plays the National Anthem
The National Ensign, U nion Jack, and Commission Pennant
are hoisted
{;r
Addt'ess by V ADM Rober t B. P irie
J
1
Remarks by the Comma ndi ng Officer
Introduction of the Sponsor, Mr s. Christ ian A . Herter
Benediction by Chaplain of CONSTELLATION
LT W . J . Clifford, (CHe ), U. S. Nl1v?
.\dmiral Ronert L. Dennison, USN Commander-in·Chief U . S. Atlantic Fleet Vice Admiral
Frank O'Beirne, USN
Commander Naval Air Force
U. S. Atlantic Fleet
Rear Admiral George H . Wales, USN Commandant Third N a va l District Rear Admiral Ernest C. Holtz\ orlh. USN Commander New York Naval Shipyard EXECUTIVE OFFICER U.S.S. CONSTELLATION (CVA-64)
Comman der Charles K. RUIZ, USN,
is the E. -ec u tive OUi cr of USS
CONSTELLATION (CVA-64) . The
Commander holds t he un usual dis­
tinction of bei ng a Naval aviator
and a lso being qualified for sub­
marine comman d.
CDR RUIZ g raduated from t he
Nava l Academy in June 1942 during
World Wa r II an d served his firs t
tour of duty aboard t he heavy cruiser
USS VI NCENNES (CA-44) in the
Paci fic. He was aboard the cruiser
whe n sh e was sunk by the Japanese
in th e night surface engagemen t at
Savo Island on Augus t 9, 194.2.
CDR RU1Z then volun teer ed for su bmarine du ty a nd wi thout attending
Su bmarine School was ass ig ned directly to U SS POLLACK ( SS-180) and
completed nine (9) W a r P at rol s a boar d this ~ u bmarine. lIe held almost every
billet a board during his to ur in POLLACK <l nd in J uly 1944 was promoted to
Lieutenant. Sho rtl y thereaft er he qualified for comma nd of ~ub marines and
served as Execu t ive Officer an d Navig to r in USS 8 -14 f or a short period.
CDR RUIZ rep orted fn r fligh t tra ining- in J une 1945 a nd trained at Naval
Ail' Sta t ions Dalla s, Corpu s Christi, Pe nsacola a nd J ackson ville. H e ser ver!
his first flying tour in Figh ter 8 (] ua d.ron TWELVE abo a rd USS TARAWA
(CVA-40) and du ring thi s tour CDR RUIZ made his fir ~ t circ um na vigation of
th e globe from West t o East. F ive yearg later he du plicated th is feat
ab oar d th e sa me shi p traveling fr om Eas t to West, this time as Executive
Officer of F igh ter Squadron ONE HUNDRED TWO.
Fro m 1949 to 1951, CDR RUIZ fl ew s ome of the Navy's first jet aircraft
~ accept ance test pilot for the Bu reau of Aeron a utics R epresenta t ive at
McDo nnell Ai r craft Corporation. During thi ~ per iod he was promoted
to LCDR.
Duri ng the Kor ean Conflic t he rec ommissioned USS CORREGIDOR
(eVE -58 ) a s Operati ons Officer a nd later deplo yed t o K orea as Exec ut ive
Officer of F ighter Squadron ONE H NDRED TWO. Hav ing had du ty on
th e sea, under the sea a nd in the a ir , Comman der RUIZ th en tu rned t o
Adm inistration. He gl·aduat d from the Nava l War College in J une 1955,
was promoted to th e ra nk of Commander, and became E xecuti ve Assistant
to th e Chief of th e Bureau of Aeronautics .
He se r ved as Commanding Offic er , A ttack Squadron SEVENTY-TWO,
th e Navy's fi r s t A4D squadr on, fr om 1957 to 1959 a nd th n became Special
Weapons Offic er on the St aff of Commander SECOND F lee t. H e reported to
CONSTELLATION pre-commi ssioning detail f r om this as signment.
Among CDR RUI Z's eleven decorations are the Sil ver Star, the Sub­
marine Combat In signia wi t h 3 stars, the Navy Com m endation Ribbon a nd
the A siatic-Pacific Theater Medal with 9 combat stars.
He is married to the form er J udith Arbogus t and cla ims EI Paso, T xas
as hi. h ome town .
DEPARTMENT HEADS CDR
W. A. RACETTE NAVIGATION CDR D. M. ROBISON SUPPLY CDR J . S. BLAKE
ENGINEERING
CDR E. R. BANKS OPERA'I'IONS CDR R. R. NEWMAN AIR CDR R. A. RIGTERINK DENTAL CDR R. K. · MINARD, Jr. WEAPONS LCDR A. J. GROTE MEDICAL LCDH W. H . SEAY, Jr. COMMUNrCATIONS THE FRIGATE CONSTELLATION
The first CON STELLATION's construction was authorized by the Third CongTess
under the Act of March 27, 1794. Her primary purpose was to help protect our
merchant ships against the aggressive action of the Barbary States, Algiers, Tunis
and Tripoli, England and France. With Her Captain Thomas Truxton, a former
merchantman and privateer, CONSTELLATION began her long and illustrious
career in setting standards for speed and combat precision. CONSTELLATION was
the first frigate of the new United States Navy, having been both launched and
put into commission a month earlier than its contemporary CONSTITUTION.
CONSTELLA TION was also launched over six months before the Navy Department
itself came into being. The frigate CONSTELLATION is the oldest warship afloat.
Her capture of the French frigate INSURGENTE in 1799 was the first naval
victory of the new United States, and she is the only naval vessel remaining of
those which took part in the Civil War.
CONSTELLATION has seen service in five different wars, six combat engage­
ments, and two significant diplomatic actions.
The .38 gun frigate CO STELLATION was launched on May 10, 1797, and in
June 1798 put to sea with orders to attack the French cruisers and privateers off
our coast and in the West Indian area. On February 4, 1955, after over 150 years of
service, CONSTELLATION was decommissioned and returned to her place of
construction and launching, Baltimore, Maryland, where she will serve as a permanent
historical s hrine, a part of the :\"aval heritage she helped found.
USS CONSTELLATION (CVA-64) CON STEL LAT ION (C V. -64) is the Na vy 's newes t and the world's largest
conven t ionally po were d aircraft carrie r. She is the s ixth aircraft carrier of the
FOHRESTA L class. Although similar to her predecessors, she incorporates many
features which make her more effecti ve. Among thes e are Terrier guided miss ile s
ins tead of g uns for self-defe nse and the most powerful steam catapults ever to
be in ~ talled in a ship.
On her ample take-off and landing a rea of the flight deck this carrier could
accomodate some two do zen of the eal'liel' frigate CONSTELLATION. With a
s tandard di splacement of about 75,000 ton s , s he is approximately 40 times as
large as the original ship in that r es pect and her complement of officers and men
is about 12 times that of the frigate. This model'll carrier can make speeds in
excess of thirty knots.
CO NSTELLATION is in effect a floating city for her 4,000 man crew. Among
her facilitie s are a post office, three barber shops, a shoe repair shop, a tailor
shop, a laundry and dry cleaning plant, two bakeries, six galleys, two butcher shops
and many other similar services too numerous to mention.
CO NST E L LATIO N 's keel was laid September 14, 1957. at
Naval Ship ya rd and she will join the fleet in late spring of 1962.
the
New
York
THE INSIGNE The insigne the CONSTELLATION proudly wears is symbolic
of the continuing history of th e Navy in the service and defense
of the United States of America.
It links the two Navy ships which have borne the name-the
frigate CONSTELLATION, commissioned in 1797, and the modern,
missile-fir ing, att ack aircraft carrier CONSTELLATION (CVA-64) ,
commissioned in 1961.
The original CONSTELLATION is pictured under full sail, an apt
representation of t he first ship commissioned in the United States
Navy, the first to fight and win a naval battle under the colors of the
young nation, a ship which served her country for nearly 160 years
before her final decommissioning in 1955.
The new CONSTELLATION is shown underway with missiles
launched and j et plane aloft, combat-ready to preserve the peace----or,
in need be, to fight a war.
These t wo proud ships are further framed in this symbolic insigne
by a circlet of st ars, representing the first thirteen states of the union.
This constellation from which both ships derived their name was a
part of the fir st flag of t he United States of America.
A resolution adopted by the Continental Congress in 1777 referred
t o it in these words:
"Resolved : That the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes,
alternat e red and white; tha t the Union be thirteen stars, white in a
blue field, representing a new constellation."
The story of the first CONSTELLATION is a bright thread
woven t hrough the fabric of Naval history from its official beginning
to the present day. The trim frigate served in five wars-the un­
declared naval war against th e French in 1799; action against the
Tripolitan pirat es; the War of 1812 ; the Civil War, and in World War
II, when she served as Flagship for the Atlantic Fleet. She was sent
on important diplomatic missions around the world, and assisted in the
training of hundreds of officers and men of the Navy. Decommissioned
for the last time in 1955 and returned to Baltimore where she had been
launched 158 years before, the old CONSTELLATION is now being
restored as a civic and national monument.
But even as she rests in the port of her birth, her tradition
carries on in the new CONSTELLATION, an arm of the Navy larger
and more powerful than the minds of those early Navy men could
conceive. The old and the new are linked in name, in heritage and in the
insigne which the new carrier CONSTELLATION wears in the service
of her country.