Guided missile frigate USS Carr (FFG 52) celebrated the 27th anniversary of her commissioning July 27, which occurred at Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle, Washington.
While deployed to the Caribbean, Carr’s crew took a moment to reflect upon their namesake Paul Henry Carr and celebrate Carr’s achievements over the years.
Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class Paul Henry Carr died from the injuries he sustained during the Battle of Samar while serving on board USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE 413).
Although severely outgunned by the Japanese, Paul Henry Carr manned Samuel B. Robert’s aft mount [mount 52] until a round “cooked off,” either killing or fatally wounding the gun crew. Despite his injures, Paul Henry Carr still attempted to continue to load mount 52 until he finally succumbed to his injuries.
The crew recalled significant events throughout USS Carr’s service, including the March 1988 rescue of the diesel submarine Bonefish (SS 582) crew. Bone Fish experienced an electrical fire while underway off the coast of Florida; Carr was the first ship on the scene and rendered assistance to rescue and assist 89 submariners.
Carr is homeported in Norfolk, Va., and is currently deployed in support of Operation Martillo, under operational control to U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet (COMUSNAVSO/C4F) while conducting operations to combat transnational organized crime (C-TOC) operations in support of Joint Interagency Task Force – South, U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), and U.S. Coast Guard District Seven.
Operation Martillo (Spanish for ‘hammer’) is a U.S., European, and Western Hemisphere partner nation effort targeting illicit trafficking routes in coastal waters along the Central American isthmus. This joint service, interagency, and multinational operation is being led by Joint Interagency Task Force-South, a National Task Force charged with detection, monitoring, and supporting the interdiction of illicit trafficking in a 42 million square mile area primarily in the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) area of operations. Operation Martillo is a component of the U.S. government’s coordinated interagency regional security strategy in support of the White House strategy to combat transnational organized crime and the U.S. Central America Regional Security Initiative.
U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet (COMUSNAVSO/C4F) supports USSOUTHCOM joint and combined full-spectrum military operations by providing principally sea-based, forward presence to ensure freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain, to foster and sustain cooperative relationships with international partners and to fully exploit the sea as maneuver space in order to enhance regional security and promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South American regions.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, August 1, 2012