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40-710: USS Edson (DD-946) is a Forrest Sherman -class destroyer , formerly of the United States Navy , built by Bath Iron Works in Maine in 1958. Her home port was Long Beach , California and she initially served in the Western Pacific/Far East, operating particularly in the Taiwan Strait and off the coast of Vietnam . Her exceptionally meritorious service in 1964 in the Gulf of Tonkin

80-798: A National Historic Landmark in 1990. In 2004 the ship was towed to the Brooklyn Navy Yard , where hull repairs were completed, and then towed back to the Philadelphia Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility for storage. The Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum at Bay City, Michigan, and the Wisconsin Naval Ship Association at Sheboygan, Wisconsin , both submitted applications to the Naval Sea Systems Command to relocate Edson and reinstate her as

120-709: A fire in the after fireroom while training with USS  Coral Sea . The fire was caused by the ignition of oil which was spraying from a rupture in a lube oil gauge line. The area was secured and fire extinguished with no personnel casualties. In January 1975, after repairs in Hawaii, Edson continued on to WESTPAC and in April she participated in Operation Eagle Pull (evacuation of Phnom Penh, Cambodia) and Operation Frequent Wind (evacuation of Saigon, Vietnam), earning two Meritorious Unit Commendations. Edson

160-789: A mid-1950s combination of anti-communist Western states and such states in Southeast Asia. The United Kingdom, France and the United States, the latter of which joined after the U.S. Senate ratified the treaty by an 82–1 vote, represented the strongest Western powers. Canada also considered joining, but decided against it in order to concentrate on its NATO responsibilities with its limited defense capabilities. Average of contributions to civil and military budgets between 1958 and 1973: Secretaries-General of SEATO: After its creation, SEATO quickly became insignificant militarily, as most of its member nations contributed very little to

200-512: A modified hurricane bow/anchor configuration. These ships are listed as Hull -class destroyers in some references. Four of the destroyers— John Paul Jones , Parsons , Decatur , and Somers —were converted to guided-missile destroyers under SCB 240, armed with Tartar missiles . Eight of the class were modernized to improve their ASW capabilities under SCB 251: Barry , Davis , Jonas Ingram , Manley , Du Pont , Blandy , Hull , and Morton ; these ships became known as

240-803: A museum ship in their respective locations. The Bay City proposal was successful. The Navy declared USS Edson seaworthy on 17 July 2012 and she was cleared to begin her journey to Michigan on 18 July with arrival at the museum site on 7 August 2012. After roughly a year at a temporary mooring at Wirt Stone docks, she was floated up the Saginaw river to her permanent mooring site, and on Tuesday, 7 May 2013 at 15:01 hours, USS Edson arrived at her permanent mooring site in Bangor Township, Michigan, at 43°36′50″N 83°52′8″W  /  43.61389°N 83.86889°W  / 43.61389; -83.86889 . Forrest Sherman-class destroyer Two ships of

280-692: A naval gunfire support mission. Edson served as plane guard for aircraft carriers on Yankee Station in the Tonkin Gulf , participated in Sea Dragon operations, patrolled on search and rescue duties, and carried out Naval Gunfire Support missions during the Vietnam War . On 17 June 1968 she apparently took friendly fire from the US Air Force , along with several other U.S. and Australian ships. On 12 December 1974, Edson suffered

320-539: Is considered to be the primary force behind the creation of SEATO, which expanded the concept of anti-communist collective defense to Southeast Asia. Then-Vice President Richard Nixon advocated an Asian equivalent of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) upon returning from his Asia trip of late 1953, and NATO was the model for the new organization, with the military forces of each member intended to be coordinated to provide for

360-510: Is generally considered a failure, as internal conflict and dispute hindered general use of the SEATO military; however, SEATO-funded cultural and educational programs left longstanding effects in Southeast Asia. SEATO was dissolved on 30 June 1977, after many of its members lost interest and withdrew. The Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty was signed on 8 September 1954 in Manila , as part of

400-663: The British Parliament , at one point interrupting a parliamentary debate between Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and Leader of the Opposition Clement Attlee to excoriate them both for considering the idea. Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia reported that Foster Dulles went to great efforts to convince him to join SEATO; however, he refused because "I considered SEATO an aggressive military alliance directed against neighbors whose ideology I did not share but with whom Cambodia had no quarrel". In

440-498: The NATO alliance, SEATO had no joint commands with standing forces. In addition, SEATO's response protocol in the event of communism presenting a "common danger" to the member states was vague and ineffective, though membership in the SEATO alliance did provide a rationale for a large-scale U.S. military intervention in the region during the Vietnam War (1955–1975). Despite its name, SEATO mostly included countries located outside of

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480-692: The Philippines , and operation LICTAS, a joint SEATO operation off the coast of the Philippines. August found Edson in the Gulf of Tonkin on special operations. It was here she was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for exceptionally meritorious service in support of operations in the Gulf of Tonkin during the period 2–5 August 1964. On her fifth deployment in 1967, she received a hit from a North Vietnamese shore battery while providing

520-818: The Royal Australian Air Force deployed CAC Sabres of its No. 79 Squadron to Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base , Thailand. The Sabres began to play a role in the Vietnam War in 1965, when their air defence responsibilities expanded to include protection of USAF aircraft using Ubon as a base for strikes against North Vietnam. In addition to joint military training, SEATO member states worked on improving mutual social and economic issues. Such activities were overseen by SEATO's Committee of Information, Culture, Education, and Labor Activities, and proved to be some of SEATO's greatest successes. In 1959, SEATO's first Secretary General, Pote Sarasin, created

560-1006: The SEATO Graduate School of Engineering (currently the Asian Institute of Technology ) in Thailand to train engineers. SEATO also sponsored the creation of the Teacher Development Center in Bangkok, as well as the Thai Military Technical Training School, which offered technical programs for supervisors and workmen. SEATO's Skilled Labor Project (SLP) created artisan training facilities, especially in Thailand, where ninety-one training workshops were established. SEATO also provided research funding and grants in agriculture and medical fields. In 1959, SEATO set up

600-1130: The United States . The Philippines and Thailand were the only Southeast Asian countries that actually participated in the organization. They shared close ties with the United States, particularly the Philippines , and they faced incipient communist insurgencies against their own governments. Thailand became a member upon the discovery of the newly founded "Thai Autonomous Region" in Yunnan (the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in South West China ) – apparently feeling threatened by potential Maoist subversion on its land. Other regional countries like Burma and Indonesia were far more mindful of domestic internal stability rather than any communist threat, and thus rejected joining it. Malaya (independence in 1957; including Singapore between 1963 and 1965) also chose not to participate formally, though it

640-400: The 5-inch mount was restored. Hull remains the only modern (post–World War II) destroyer-type ship to have carried an 8-inch (203 mm) gun. Of the 18 completed, nine were disposed of in fleet training exercises, seven were sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping, and two became museums. SEATO The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization ( SEATO )

680-509: The American Truman Doctrine of creating anti-communist bilateral and collective defense treaties. These treaties and agreements were intended to create alliances that would keep communist powers in check ( Communist China , in SEATO's case). This policy was considered to have been largely developed by American diplomat George F. Kennan . President Dwight D. Eisenhower 's Secretary of State John Foster Dulles (1953–1959)

720-617: The Barry sub-class. These ships were fitted with an eight cell ASROC launcher in place of the No. 2 5-inch (127 mm) gun, and with a variable-depth sonar system. Six other ship modernizations were cancelled due to Vietnam War budget constraints. As a test platform, the Hull carried the Navy's prototype 8"/55 caliber Mark 71 light-weight gun from 1975 to 1978 when the program was canceled, and

760-841: The Cholera Research Laboratory in Bangkok, later establishing a second Cholera Research Laboratory in Dacca , East Pakistan . The Dacca (now Dhaka) laboratory soon became the world's leading cholera research facility and was later renamed the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh . SEATO was also interested in literature, and a SEATO Literature Award was created and given to writers from member states. Though Secretary of State John Foster Dulles considered SEATO an essential element in U.S. foreign policy in Asia, historians have considered

800-596: The Manila Pact a failure, and the pact is rarely mentioned in history books. In The Geneva Conference of 1954 on Indochina , Sir James Cable , a British diplomat and naval strategist, cabled the Foreign Office and described SEATO as "a fig leaf for the nakedness of American policy", citing the Manila Pact as a "zoo of paper tigers ". As early as the 1950s Aneurin Bevan unsuccessfully tried to block SEATO in

840-717: The U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru . She reached Naval Station Long Beach, California, her home port, on 2 March, and through the remainder of the year perfected her readiness with exercises along the west coast. On 5 January 1960, she sailed from Long Beach for her first deployment in the Far East, during which she patrolled in the Taiwan Straits and took part in amphibious operations off Okinawa , and exercises of various types off Japan . On 29 April, she rescued three aviators from USS  Ranger , whose A-3D aircraft crash landed in

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880-516: The alliance. While SEATO military forces held joint military training, they were never deployed because of internal disagreements. SEATO was unable to intervene in conflicts in Laos because France and the United Kingdom rejected the use of military action. As a result, the U.S. provided unilateral support for Laos after 1962. Though sought by the U.S., involvement of SEATO in the Vietnam War

920-508: The attack carriers USS Ranger and USS Ticonderoga and spent the month of December patrolling the straits between Taiwan and the mainland of Communist China. On Friday, 13 March 1964, Edson departed for her third WESTPAC deployment. After the transit, Edson began duties with the Taiwan Patrol Force, CTF 72. The end of May and the months of June and July 1964 were filled with carrier operations, Gunfire Support Training in

960-660: The class became museum ships, nine were sunk in training exercises, and the others were scrapped. Nine ships were constructed by Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine , five were built by Bethlehem Steel at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts , two were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding at Pascagoula, Mississippi and two were built by Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company in Seattle, Washington . These destroyers were assigned hull numbers 931 to 951, but

1000-580: The collective defense of the member states. The organization, headquartered in Bangkok , was created in 1955 at the first meeting of the Council of Ministers set up by the treaty. This was contrary to Dulles's preference to call the organization "ManPac" (Manila Pact) to avoid public identification of the pact with NATO. Organizationally, SEATO was headed by the Secretary General, whose office

1040-403: The early 1970s, the question of dissolving the organization arose. Pakistan withdrew in 1973, after East Pakistan seceded and became Bangladesh on 16 December 1971. South Vietnam was defeated in war and annexed by North Vietnam and France withdrew financial support in 1975, and the SEATO council agreed to the phasing-out of the organization. After a final exercise on 20 February 1976,

1080-654: The following year became a museum ship at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York . Returning to Navy lay-up in 2004, it was agreed in 2012 that she should again become a museum ship, at Bay City, Michigan . A National Historic Landmark , she is one of only two surviving Forrest Sherman -class destroyers, the other being the USS ; Turner Joy . USS Edson was named for Major General Merritt "Red Mike" Edson USMC (1897–1955), who

1120-540: The lingering threat coming from communist North Vietnam and the possibility of the domino theory with Indochina turning into a communist frontier, SEATO got these countries under its protection – an act that would be considered to be one of the main justifications for the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War . Cambodia, however rejected the protection in 1956. The majority of SEATO members were not located in Southeast Asia . To Australia and New Zealand, SEATO

1160-471: The ocean. Edson returned to Long Beach on 31 May for an overhaul which continued through October. Edson spent the remainder of 1960 conducting training off San Diego . In June 1961 Edson , together with the other ships of DESDIV 231, sailed to Portland, Oregon , to represent the U.S. Navy at the annual Rose Festival. On 11 August 1961, Edson sailed from Long Beach harbor to start her second WESTPAC deployment. She spent three months in operations with

1200-500: The region but with an interest either in the region or the organization itself. They were Australia (which administered Papua New Guinea , until 1975), France (which had recently relinquished French Indochina , by 1955), New Zealand , Pakistan (which, until 1971, included East Pakistan , now Bangladesh ), the Philippines , Thailand , the United Kingdom (which administered Hong Kong , North Borneo and Sarawak ) and

1240-861: The series skipped over the numbers used to designate the war prizes DD-934 (the Japanese ex- Hanazuki ), DD-935 (the German T35 ), and DD-939 (the German Z39 ). DD-927 to DD-930 were completed as destroyer leaders . At the time they entered service, these ships were the largest US destroyers ever built, 418 feet (127 m) long, with a standard displacement of 2,800 tonnes (2,800 long tons). Originally designed under project SCB 85 , they were armed with three 5-inch (127 mm)/54 caliber guns mounted in single turrets (one forward and two aft), 4 3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber AA guns in twin mounts, as well as hedgehogs and torpedoes for ASW. However, over

USS Edson - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-559: The years, weaponry was considerably modified. The hedgehogs and 3-inch (76 mm) guns were removed from all ships during the 1960s and 1970s. In addition the fixed torpedo tubes were replaced by two triple 12.75 inches (324 mm) Mark 32 torpedo tube mounts . Hull and later ships were built under SCB 85A with their fire control directors reversed from the SCB 85 configuration. They were equipped with B&W Bailey Meter Company's new automatic boiler combustion control system, and

1320-666: Was an international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty signed in September 1954 in Manila , Philippines. The formal institution of SEATO was established on 19 February 1955 at a meeting of treaty partners in Bangkok , Thailand. The organization's headquarters was also in Bangkok. A total of eight members joined the organization in its lifetime. Primarily created to block further communist gains in Southeast Asia, SEATO

1360-846: Was awarded the Medal of Honor (while serving as Commanding Officer of the First Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal ) and the Navy Cross and Silver Star for other actions in World War II . Edson was laid down on 3 December 1956 by Bath Iron Works Corporation and launched on 4 January 1958, sponsored by Mrs. M. A. Edson, widow of General Edson; and commissioned on 7 November 1958. Edson called at Ciudad Trujillo and Caribbean ports while conducting shakedown training en route to Callao , Peru, where she lay from 18 to 21 February 1959 delivering supplies for

1400-502: Was created in 1957 at a meeting in Canberra , with a council of representatives from member states and an international staff. Also present were committees for economics, security, and information. SEATO's first Secretary General was Pote Sarasin , a Thai diplomat and politician who had served as Thailand's ambassador to the U.S. between 1952 and 1957, and as Prime Minister of Thailand from September 1957 to 1 January 1958. Unlike

1440-734: Was decommissioned on 15 December 1988, and towed to the Philadelphia Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility for storage. At the time of her decommissioning, she was the last all-gun destroyer in the United States Navy. Edson served as a museum ship at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City from 30 June 1989 to 14 June 2004 when she was replaced by a Concorde airliner. The ship was declared

1480-530: Was denied because of lack of British and French cooperation. Both the United States and Australia cited the alliance as justification for involvement in Vietnam. U.S. membership in SEATO provided the United States with a rationale for a large-scale U.S. military intervention in Southeast Asia. Other countries, such as the UK and key states in Asia, accepted the rationale. In 1962, as part of its commitment to SEATO,

1520-545: Was kept updated with key developments due to its close relationship with the United Kingdom. The states newly formed from French Indochina ( North Vietnam , South Vietnam , Cambodia and Laos ) were prevented from taking part in any international military alliance as a result of the Geneva Agreements signed 20 July of the same year concluding the end of the First Indochina War . However, with

1560-466: Was recognized with the first of three Navy Unit Commendations. During the following years she was shelled by North Vietnamese land forces, and apparently received friendly fire from the US Air Force . Following an onboard fire in 1974, Edson returned to the West Pacific and was later commended for her roles in the evacuation of Phnom Penh and Saigon . She was decommissioned in 1988, but

1600-527: Was seen as a more satisfying organization than ANZUS – a collective defense organization with the U.S. The United Kingdom and France joined partly due to having long maintained colonies in the region, and partly due to concerns over developments in Indochina . The U.S., upon perceiving Southeast Asia to be a pivotal frontier for Cold War geopolitics, saw the establishment of SEATO as essential to its Cold War containment policy . The membership reflected

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