Officers of ship walk off the USS Crommelin as part of
decommissioning ceremonies today at Pearl Harbor.
The ongoing evolution of the U.S. Navy came to Pearl
Harbor today with the first of two frigate decommissionings — a
class of warship being replaced by new littoral combat ships.
For about 20 Crommelin family members, who came from California,
Oregon, and even Australia,
the retirement amounts to a loss of one of their own — the USS Crommelin, named
for brothers who fought in the Pacific in World War II.
John G. Crommelin the fifth, 32, who lives on the Hilo
side of Hawaii island, said it was an honor to be a part
of the decommissioning.
His grandfather, John G. Crommelin III, was one of five
brothers from Alabama dubbed the
“Dixie Demons” and a “one-family navy” for their participation in every major
campaign in the Pacific.
Cold War-era Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates are being
replaced by smaller and speedier littoral combat ships that can get closer to
shore and are designed to defeat “anti-access” threats such as mines, quiet
diesel submarines and fast surface craft.
The Navy's only other frigate at Pearl Harbor,
the Reuben James, is scheduled to be inactivated Aug. 30 2013
More than 250 people attended the decommissioning ceremony
at Pier M-2.
“This is a special ship,” said retired Capt. James Orvis,
the first commander of Crommelin. “Its contributions are not diminished by the
fact that like many of us, she’s grown older. Those of us who have served in
her can be proud to have walked the decks and contributed to her reputation.”
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