.gif)
USS Moale (DD-693)
Encyclopedia
USS Moale (DD-693) was the second Allen M. Sumner-class
destroyer
of the United States Navy
. She was named for Lieutenant
Edward Moale, Jr.
(1866–1903), who performed heroic duty during the Spanish-American War
.
Moale was laid down 5 August 1943 by the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Kearny, N.J.; launched
16 January 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Edward S. Moale, daughter-in-law of Lieutenant Moale, Jr.; and commissioned
in the Brooklyn Navy Yard
28 February 1944, Commander
Walter M. Foster in command.
shakedown, Moale remained on the Atlantic coast conducting experimental tests and training precommissioning destroyer crews. On 21 August, she rendezvoused with the newly-commissioned , , and Destroyer Division 120 (DesDiv 120) and got underway for Trinidad in the British West Indies
, whence she continued to the Panama Canal Zone
, and, thence to San Pedro, California. Reporting to the Commander Destroyers, Pacific Fleet (ComDesPac), at Pearl Harbor
, 15 September, she underwent carrier screening, night firing, and shore bombardment exercises until 23 October. She then departed for the Western Carolines as a unit of Destroyer Squadron 60 (DesRon 60). Arriving at Ulithi 5 November, she joined the 3rd Fleet's Fast Carrier Task Force
(TF 38, later 5th Fleet's TF 58), and got underway the same day to screen the carriers as their planes conducted strikes against Japanese targets on Leyte
, Luzon
and Mindoro
. Returning to Ulithi
22 November, she was underway again on the 27th to report for duty with the 7th Fleet.
Joining Task Group 77.2 (TG 77.2), 29 November, in San Pedro Bay
, she patrolled Leyte Gulf
and participated in the Battle of Ormoc Bay
. On 2 December 1944, she was joined by and for a midnight raid of enemy troop reinforcement at the western Leyte
port of Ormoc
. The three destroyers found themselves in confined waters, battered by continuous air attacks, two Japanese
destroyers, several PTs or fast motor launches, and one or more submarine
s, plus shore batteries. The enemy destroyer was sunk by gunfire from the three ships, but torpedo
ed and sank Cooper with the loss of 191 crewmen and 13 officers. Moale suffered three dead and twenty-five wounded. Sumner recorded no fatalities but had 11 wounded. On 12 December, Moale shifted to TG 77.3 and took up a screening position with the Mindoro assault
force. On the 15th, she provided fire support for the troops and antiaircraft protection for the ships in the transport area of Mangarin Bay
. About ten kamikaze
s attacked the LSTs
of the landing force. At least one plane was shot down by Moales gunners, but two ships were hit. Moale went alongside to assist fighting the resulting fire, suffering damage, but the LST had to be abandoned and sunk. Moale suffered one fatality and thirteen wounded. Moale picked up 88 survivors from LST-738 including the ship's captain.
Moale set sail for Leyte Gulf
17 December. Arriving on the 18th, she completed a high speed cargo run to Ulithi and back by the end of the year. On 3 January 1945, she was once again en route to an assault area. Steaming with Vice Admiral
Jesse Oldendorf's Bombardment & Fire Support Group TG 77.2, she arrived off Luzon
on the 6th and commenced screening the heavy ships to seaward as they bombarded San Fernando
and other enemy concentrations in the beachhead area at Lingayen Gulf
. On the 9th, she took up gunfire support duties, alternating such duties with antisubmarine and antiaircraft operations. The destroyer operated with the Luzon covering group until the 22nd. She then returned to Leyte, whence she joined the 5th Fleet and steamed back to Ulithi to resume operations with the fast carrier forces, now designated TF 58. On 10 February, the force sortied from Ulithi and on the 16th and 17th strikes were conducted against the enemy's capital to prevent aid from being sent to the Japanese defenders on Iwo Jima
. Two ships of DesRon 60, and , were damaged when they collided on the 16th and on the 17th Moale was detached to escort them back to Saipan
. While en route, Moale assisted in the sinking of an enemy armed merchantman and a small coastal vessel. Ordered back on the 18th, she rendezvoused with TG 58.4 on the 19th and, on the 21st, screened the carriers as they provided air cover for the marines'
on Iwo Jima
.
Having sustained extensive damage to her deck and No. 1 mount during heavy seas with 40-foot swells, Moale departed the Volcano Islands
, 25 February, and sailed eastward for repairs at Pearl Harbor. On 3 June, she returned to Ulithi, getting underway for the combat area the next day. Arriving at Hagushi
Anchorage, Okinawa
, 7 June, she reported to CTG 31.5 and immediately became part of the antiaircraft defenses of the area. Through the 27th she served on radar picket
stations, where danger remained present and alerts still frequent, even though the pressure was not as great as in April and May. On the 28th, Moale departed for Leyte, where she joined Task Group 32.12 of the Third Fleet and returned to Okinawa to act as part of the covering force for minesweeper
s in Operation Juneau
. At the end of the month, Moale once again anchored in San Pedro Bay, Leyte. There, on 15 August, she received word of the Japanese surrender. On the 20th, she sailed to rendezvous with TG 38.4 off the coast of Japan, and for the next month she steamed off that coast, serving as a weather ship and air route radio beacon. On 27 September she departed Tokyo Bay
, proceeding, via Guam
, to the west coast and peacetime duty.
, the atom bomb test at Bikini Atoll
, returning to the west coast for overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
22 August. Overhaul completed in January, 1947, she conducted operations along the California
coast until March. She then deployed to the western Pacific for 6 months prior to reporting to the Fleet Sonar School at San Diego
for duty as a training ship. In the spring of 1949, Moale, with DesDiv 72, was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet. Arriving at Norfolk at the end of April, she participated in training exercises in the western Atlantic until November, 1950, when she sailed eastward for her first 6th Fleet deployment. Similar operational schedules, alternate east coast and Mediterranean duties, were followed until 24 April 1953, when Moale departed on an around-the-world voyage. During that cruise, which ended at Norfolk, Va.
, 27 October, the destroyer spent 4 months with the U.N. forces off the coast of Korea
. During June and July, she operated with TF 77 and TF 95, remaining after the truce as a unit of the security patrol.
From 1954, into 1969, Moales employment schedule has included operations in the Atlantic, North Sea
, and the Caribbean, with regular rotation to the Mediterranean for duty with the 6th Fleet. Highlights of her career during this period were patrol duty in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Suez Crisis
of 1956; duty as a recovery ship for the Mercury 7 mission of astronaut
Scott Carpenter
, May 1962; participation in the American blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis
, October–November 1962; and standby duty for the evacuation of American nationals from Cyprus
in 1964. In 1967, Moale was recognized as the outstanding ship in the fleet by winning the Anti-Submarine Warfare
trophy for the Atlantic Fleet. She also won the Battle Efficiency "E" Award for Destroyer Squadron 10. Moale concluded her service as part of the Reserve Dsetroyer Squadron 302 based at the Brooklyn Naval Yard.
Moale was decommissioned on 2 July 1973.
. She also received the Battle Efficiency "E" Award and the Anti-Submarine Trophy.
Allen M. Sumner class destroyer
The Allen M. Sumner class was a group of 58 destroyers built by the United States during World War II. Another twelve ships were completed as destroyer minelayers...
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...
of 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...
. She was named for Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Edward Moale, Jr.
Edward Moale, Jr.
Edward Moale, Jr. was an officer of the United States Navy.-Biography:Moale born at Little Rock, Arkansas, 10 September 1866, was appointed a naval cadet in 1882 and commissioned an ensign, 1 July 1889...
(1866–1903), who performed heroic duty during the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
.
Moale was laid down 5 August 1943 by the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Kearny, N.J.; 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...
16 January 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Edward S. Moale, daughter-in-law of Lieutenant Moale, Jr.; and 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...
in the Brooklyn Navy Yard
Brooklyn Navy Yard
The United States Navy Yard, New York–better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the New York Naval Shipyard –was an American shipyard located in Brooklyn, northeast of the Battery on the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the river across from Corlear's Hook in Manhattan...
28 February 1944, Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Walter M. Foster in command.
World War II
Following a BermudaBermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
shakedown, Moale remained on the Atlantic coast conducting experimental tests and training precommissioning destroyer crews. On 21 August, she rendezvoused with the newly-commissioned , , and Destroyer Division 120 (DesDiv 120) and got underway for Trinidad in the British West Indies
British West Indies
The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...
, whence she continued to the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
, and, thence to San Pedro, California. Reporting to the Commander Destroyers, Pacific Fleet (ComDesPac), at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, 15 September, she underwent carrier screening, night firing, and shore bombardment exercises until 23 October. She then departed for the Western Carolines as a unit of Destroyer Squadron 60 (DesRon 60). Arriving at Ulithi 5 November, she joined the 3rd Fleet's Fast Carrier Task Force
Fast Carrier Task Force
The Fast Carrier Task Force was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II.The Fast Carrier Task Force was known under two designations. The Navy made use of two sets of upper command structures for planning the upcoming operations...
(TF 38, later 5th Fleet's TF 58), and got underway the same day to screen the carriers as their planes conducted strikes against Japanese targets on Leyte
Leyte Island
Leyte is an island in the Visayas group of the Philippines.The island measures about 180 km north-south and about 65 km at its widest point. In the north it nearly joins Samar, separated by the San Juanico Strait, which becomes as narrow as 2 km in some places...
, Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
and Mindoro
Mindoro
Mindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...
. Returning to Ulithi
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
22 November, she was underway again on the 27th to report for duty with the 7th Fleet.
Joining Task Group 77.2 (TG 77.2), 29 November, in San Pedro Bay
San Pedro Bay (Philippines)
San Pedro Bay is a bay in the Philippines, at the northwest end of Leyte Gulf, about 15 km east-west and 20 km north-south. The bay is bounded on the north and east by Samar and on the east by Leyte Island. It is connected by San Juanico Strait to Carigara Bay of the Samar Sea. The...
, she patrolled Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...
and participated in the Battle of Ormoc Bay
Battle of Ormoc Bay
The Battle of Ormoc Bay was a series of air-sea battles between Imperial Japan and the United States in the Camotes Sea in the Philippines between 11 November and 21 December 1944, part of the Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II. The battles resulted from Japanese operations to...
. On 2 December 1944, she was joined by and for a midnight raid of enemy troop reinforcement at the western Leyte
Leyte Island
Leyte is an island in the Visayas group of the Philippines.The island measures about 180 km north-south and about 65 km at its widest point. In the north it nearly joins Samar, separated by the San Juanico Strait, which becomes as narrow as 2 km in some places...
port of Ormoc
Ormoc City
The City of Ormoc is a 1st class city in the province of Leyte, Philippines. The city's name is derived from ogmok, an old Visayan term for lowland or depressed plain. It is the first non-provincial city of the Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 177,524 people...
. The three destroyers found themselves in confined waters, battered by continuous air attacks, two Japanese
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
destroyers, several PTs or fast motor launches, and one or more submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s, plus shore batteries. The enemy destroyer was sunk by gunfire from the three ships, but torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
ed and sank Cooper with the loss of 191 crewmen and 13 officers. Moale suffered three dead and twenty-five wounded. Sumner recorded no fatalities but had 11 wounded. On 12 December, Moale shifted to TG 77.3 and took up a screening position with the Mindoro assault
Battle of Mindoro
The Battle of Mindoro was a battle in World War II between forces of the United States and Japan, in Mindoro Island in the central Philippines, from 13-16 December 1944, during the Philippines campaign....
force. On the 15th, she provided fire support for the troops and antiaircraft protection for the ships in the transport area of Mangarin Bay
Mangarin Bay
Mangarin Bay is situated to the east of Mangarin Point, on the west coast of Mindoro, among the Philippine Islands. The bay is shoal and sheltered from the wind by the point and Ilin Island. Magarin point terminates in a long sandy pit off which the depth is 4 to 5 fathoms. Farther in the water...
. About ten kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
s attacked the LSTs
Tank landing ship
Landing Ship, Tank was the military designation for naval vessels created during World War II to support amphibious operations by carrying significant quantities of vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto an unimproved shore....
of the landing force. At least one plane was shot down by Moales gunners, but two ships were hit. Moale went alongside to assist fighting the resulting fire, suffering damage, but the LST had to be abandoned and sunk. Moale suffered one fatality and thirteen wounded. Moale picked up 88 survivors from LST-738 including the ship's captain.
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...
17 December. Arriving on the 18th, she completed a high speed cargo run to Ulithi and back by the end of the year. On 3 January 1945, she was once again en route to an assault area. Steaming with Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Jesse Oldendorf's Bombardment & Fire Support Group TG 77.2, she arrived off Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
on the 6th and commenced screening the heavy ships to seaward as they bombarded San Fernando
San Fernando City, La Union
The City of San Fernando in La Union is a 1st class component city in the Philippines. It is the capital city of La Union and the regional center of the Ilocos Region...
and other enemy concentrations in the beachhead area at Lingayen Gulf
Lingayen Gulf
The Lingayen Gulf is an extension of the South China Sea on Luzon in the Philippines stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central...
. On the 9th, she took up gunfire support duties, alternating such duties with antisubmarine and antiaircraft operations. The destroyer operated with the Luzon covering group until the 22nd. She then returned to Leyte, whence she joined the 5th Fleet and steamed back to Ulithi to resume operations with the fast carrier forces, now designated TF 58. On 10 February, the force sortied from Ulithi and on the 16th and 17th strikes were conducted against the enemy's capital to prevent aid from being sent to the Japanese defenders on Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
. Two ships of DesRon 60, and , were damaged when they collided on the 16th and on the 17th Moale was detached to escort them back to Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
. While en route, Moale assisted in the sinking of an enemy armed merchantman and a small coastal vessel. Ordered back on the 18th, she rendezvoused with TG 58.4 on the 19th and, on the 21st, screened the carriers as they provided air cover for the marines'
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...
on Iwo Jima
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima , or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. The U.S...
.
Having sustained extensive damage to her deck and No. 1 mount during heavy seas with 40-foot swells, Moale departed the Volcano Islands
Volcano Islands
The Volcano Islands is a group of three Japanese islands south of the Bonin Islands that belong to the municipality of Ogasawara...
, 25 February, and sailed eastward for repairs at Pearl Harbor. On 3 June, she returned to Ulithi, getting underway for the combat area the next day. Arriving at Hagushi
Hagushi
Hagushi bay was the primary unloading point for American supplies during the invasion of Okinawa during World War II. The bay, at the mouth of the Bishi River , was the dividing line between the First and Sixth US Marine divisions, which landed on the Hagushi beaches to the north, and the Seventh...
Anchorage, Okinawa
Okinawa Island
Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, and is home to Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture. The island has an area of...
, 7 June, she reported to CTG 31.5 and immediately became part of the antiaircraft defenses of the area. Through the 27th she served on radar picket
Radar picket
A radar picket is a radar-equipped ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a force to protect it from surprise attack. Often several detached radar units encircle a force to provide increased cover in all directions.-World War II:Radar picket ships...
stations, where danger remained present and alerts still frequent, even though the pressure was not as great as in April and May. On the 28th, Moale departed for Leyte, where she joined Task Group 32.12 of the Third Fleet and returned to Okinawa to act as part of the covering force for minesweeper
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
s in Operation Juneau
Operation Juneau
Operation Juneau was a post-World War II U.S. Navy operation which required pre-invasion clearing the minefields in the East China Sea in 1945....
. At the end of the month, Moale once again anchored in San Pedro Bay, Leyte. There, on 15 August, she received word of the Japanese surrender. On the 20th, she sailed to rendezvous with TG 38.4 off the coast of Japan, and for the next month she steamed off that coast, serving as a weather ship and air route radio beacon. On 27 September she departed Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
, proceeding, via Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, to the west coast and peacetime duty.
1945–1973
Following the end of World War II the assignments of the Moale were varied. She had the honor of escorting the first ship bearing war dead back to the U.S. Moale remained in operation off the west coast until 21 May 1946, when she sailed for Bikini to join TF 1 for Operation CrossroadsOperation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945...
, the atom bomb test at Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
, returning to the west coast for overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington...
22 August. Overhaul completed in January, 1947, she conducted operations along the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
coast until March. She then deployed to the western Pacific for 6 months prior to reporting to the Fleet Sonar School at San Diego
Naval 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...
for duty as a training ship. In the spring of 1949, Moale, with DesDiv 72, was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet. Arriving at Norfolk at the end of April, she participated in training exercises in the western Atlantic until November, 1950, when she sailed eastward for her first 6th Fleet deployment. Similar operational schedules, alternate east coast and Mediterranean duties, were followed until 24 April 1953, when Moale departed on an around-the-world voyage. During that cruise, which ended at Norfolk, Va.
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...
, 27 October, the destroyer spent 4 months with the U.N. forces off the coast of Korea
Korea
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...
. During June and July, she operated with TF 77 and TF 95, remaining after the truce as a unit of the security patrol.
From 1954, into 1969, Moales employment schedule has included operations in the Atlantic, North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
, and the Caribbean, with regular rotation to the Mediterranean for duty with the 6th Fleet. Highlights of her career during this period were patrol duty in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
of 1956; duty as a recovery ship for the Mercury 7 mission of astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
Scott Carpenter
Scott Carpenter
Malcolm Scott Carpenter is an American engineer, former test pilot, astronaut, and aquanaut. He is best known as one of the original seven astronauts selected for NASA's Project Mercury in April 1959....
, May 1962; participation in the American blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
, October–November 1962; and standby duty for the evacuation of American nationals from Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
in 1964. In 1967, Moale was recognized as the outstanding ship in the fleet by winning the Anti-Submarine Warfare
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
trophy for the Atlantic Fleet. She also won the Battle Efficiency "E" Award for Destroyer Squadron 10. Moale concluded her service as part of the Reserve Dsetroyer Squadron 302 based at the Brooklyn Naval Yard.
Moale was decommissioned on 2 July 1973.
Awards
Moale received five battle stars for her service in World War II, and one star for KoreaKorean 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...
. She also received the Battle Efficiency "E" Award and the Anti-Submarine Trophy.