USS HARRY E. HUBBARD DD-748
Hubbard crew members served with pride in World War II,
Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War Era

   
USS HARRY E. HUBBARD DD-748

 

KOREAN CONFLICT

 

"Packsaddle"

 

(Hubbard's radiotelephone call sign during the Korean Conflict).

 

 

Sea of Japan, 1952, distance: 1/2 mile. Photo by Roy Thomas, DD-725.

 

 

 

"Men mean more than guns in the rating of a ship"

 

-- John Paul Jones

 

 

 

Captain Burris D. Wood, Jr.

 

Died April 26, 2002
Dallas, Texas

 

 



 

Commanding Officer, USS Harry E. Hubbard DD-748, 1950-1952
Awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service.
Retired 1965 with 30 years of dedicated service to his country

 

 


 

 



 

Thanks to Roy Thomas for sending us this photo and the following information:

 


"I served on USS O'Brien DD-725 from 12/51 - 12/54 sailing many miles alongside Hubbard. I attached a pic showing our div tied at Pearl homeward bound from WestPac in Jan 1953. The ships shown are O'Brien DD-725 (fwd, outboard), Hubbard DD-748, (fwd, inboard), Brown DD-546, (aft, outboard), and Walke DD-723, (aft, inboard). Philippine Sea, CV-47 is in background."

--Roy C. Thomas SO1 USN (long ago)


Following the invasion of South Korea, USS Harry E. Hubbard was recommisioned 27 October 1950. Commander Burris D. Wood in command. After initial shakedown along the coast of California she departed San Diego 2 January 1951 for two months of training in Hawaiian waters. She then steamed to assist the U.N. forces in Korea. Besides helping guard the fast carrier task force making repeated air strikes against the enemy, she frequently joined in gun strike missions to bombard coastal rail and communication centers and performed as sea-going artillery to support the advance of land troops. Her bombardment missions were conducted against targets at Yongdae Gap Wonsan, Songjin, Chingjim, Kyoto, Chako, Bokoko, Chuminjin and other enemy strongholds of supply an reinforcement. When destroyer Walke DD-723 was heavily damaged by underwater explosion off Wonson 11 June 1951, Harry E Hubbard, with the same skill as off Okinawa in 1945, moved to render effective medical and damage control assistance. She returned to the California coast in October 1951 for overhaul and completed a similar tour of duty with the 7th fleet off Korea July to December 1952. Hubbard was with the helicopter carrier USS Siapan CVL 48 during the prisoner exchange in Inchon in the fall of 1953.

She returned to San Diego in January 1953 but again departed 11 July to guard fast carrier task groups watching over the uneasy truce in Korea. Intervened by patrol in the Taiwan Straits, this duty continued until 13 January 1954. She returned to San Diego for overhaul and refresher training along the western seaboard.

LT Andy Kremm 1951-52

We were awarded the China Service Medal, awarded to us for detaching from TF77, to sail into the Yellow Sea, which was under British Control in 1951.


 

 



 

Hubbard & Walke 1953 contributed by Barb and Gene Gerwe

 




 

Hubbard at Wake Island 1953 contributed by Barb and Gene Gerwe

 




 

Hubbard receives mail 1953 contributed by Barb and Gene Gerwe

 




 

Hubbard's sister ship from the bridge 1953 contributed by Barb and Gene Gerwe

 




For an account of Hubbard's attack on a Russian submarine read:

 

Inchon to Wonson From the Deck of a Destroyer in the Korean War

 




CARRIERS WITH TASK FORCE 77 KOREAN CONFLICT

USS Essex CV 9

USS Yorktown CV 10

USS Boxer CV 21

USS Bataan CVL 29

USS Bon Homme Richard CV 31 

USS Kearsarge CV 33

USS Princton CV 37

USS Coral Sea CV 43

USS Valley Forge CV 45

USS Philippine Sea CV 47

USS Siapan CVL 48

USS Leyte CV 32

USS Lake Champlain, CVA39

planes from VF111, flying from the Lake Champlain, dropped the last bombs of the Korean War.