USS The Sullivans DDG 68 / George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, Albert Sullivan / Arleigh Burke class Guided Missile Destroyer – US Navy
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Guided Missile Destroyer

DDG 68   -   USS The Sullivans

USS The Sullivans (DDG 68)

US Navy photo

Type, Class:

 

Guided Missile Destroyer; Arleigh Burke – class / Flight I;

planned and built as DDG 68;

Builder:

 

Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, USA

STATUS:

 

Awarded: April 8, 1992;

Laid down: July 31, 1994;

Launched: May 13, 1995;

Commissioned: April 19, 1997;

ACTIVE UNIT/ in commission (Atlantic Fleet)

Homeport:

 

Mayport, Florida, USA

Namesake:

 

Named after and in honor of The 5 Sullivan brothers (died on board the USS Juneau in 1942);

> see history, below;

Ship's Motto:

 

> COURAGE HONOR COMMITMENT – WE STICK TOGETHER <

Technical Data:

(Measures, Propulsion,

Armament, Aviation, etc.)

 

see: INFO > Guided Missile Destroyer / Arleigh Burke - class.

 

Pictures, photos & more ...

 

The Sullivan brothers

 

(from left) Joseph, Francis, Albert, Madison & George Sullivan

 

Photo credits: US Navy, US Naval Historical Center,

 

Namesake & History:

The Sullivan brothers:

 

The Sullivan brothers were five siblings who all died during the same incident in World War II, the sinking of the light cruiser USS Juneau (CL-52), the vessel on which they all served.

 

The Sullivans were natives of Waterloo, Iowa. They were:

(Date of birth)

George Thomas Sullivan, 27, Gunner's Mate Second Class (December 14, 1914)

Francis "Frank" Henry Sullivan, 25, Coxswain ( February 18, 1916)

Joseph "Red" Eugene Sullivan, 23, Seaman Second Class (August 28, 1918)

Madison "Matt" Abel Sullivan, 22, Seaman Second Class (November 8, 1919)

Albert "Al" Leo Sullivan, 19, Seaman Second Class (July 8, 1922)

 

They enlisted on January 3, 1942 with the stipulation that they serve together. The Navy had a policy of separating siblings, but this was not strictly enforced. George and Frank had served in the Navy before but their brothers had not.

 

The Juneau fought in a number of naval engagements during the months-long Battle of Guadalcanal. On November 13, 1942, the Juneau was struck by a torpedo and had to withdraw. Later that morning, the Juneau was struck again, this time from a torpedo from Japanese submarine I-26. The ship quickly sunk and rescue efforts were not forthcoming due to fears about the Japanese naval presence. Eight days later ten survivors were retrieved from the water. The survivors reported that Frank, Joe, and Matt died instantly, Al drowned the next day, and George survived for four or five days.

 

The brothers were survived by their parents Thomas and Alleta and their sister Genevieve. Al was survived by his wife Katherine and their young son James.

 

USS The Sullivans (DDG 68):

 

The second The Sullivans (DDG-68) was laid down on 14 June 1993 at Bath, Maine, by Bath ron Works Co.; launched on 12 August 1995; sponsored by Kelly Sullivan Loughren, granddaughter of Albert Leo Sullivan; and commissioned at Staten Island, N.Y., on 19 April 1997, Commander Gerard D. Roncolato in command.

On 26 April, The Sullivans departed New York for Norfolk where, after arriving on the 27th, the crew completed underway replenishment qualifications with Platte (AO-186). The warship then sailed for Mayport on 29 April and arrived in her new homeport on 2 May.

After completing two days of gunnery trials in mid-May, The Sullivans embarked upon her shakedown deployment to the West Indies on 27 May. That cruise took her to the waters off Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, where the destroyer conducted numerous sonar, gunnery, and torpedo exercises. The warship also twice entered Roosevelt Roads and stopped once at St. Thomas for port visits. On 29 June, The Sullivans conducted test firings of Standard SM-2 ER missiles from her vertical launch system (VLS). After a brief stop at Mayport for the 4 July weekend, the warship joined other Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, cruisers, destroyers, and frigates off the Virginia Capes for a multiple-ship missile firing exercise. She returned to Mayport on the 12th for upkeep.

Following three days of damage control exercises in mid-August, the crew began preparations for a post shakedown availability. She sailed for Maine on 3 September, arriving at Bath Iron Works on the 5th. The shipyard repainted the hull, altered the superstructure, and installed equipment upgrades in the engineering plant and combat systems suite. When the yard work was completed The Sullivans got underway for Mayport, arriving there on the 23 November.

On 8 December the destroyer joined Enterprise (CVN-65) off Georgia for a week of underway training. While providing plane guard services on the 11th, a McDonnell Douglas T-45A trainer ("Goshawk") splashed following take-off. The Sullivans made a high-speed dash to the site. While the carrier's rescue helicopter safely rescued the pilot, boats launched by The Sullivans picked up considerable pieces of wreckage which were helpful in determining the cause of the crash. The crew also completed helicopter deck landing qualifications before returning to port for the holidays on the 12th.

In January 1998, the crew of The Sullivans began a series of exercises designed "to build the capability for long-term self-sustained training onboard." They included engineering, combat, seamanship, and battle scenario training exercises. These local operations lasted until 18 May when the warship got underway for New York and the annual "Fleet Week" celebrations.

Following a week long port visit, The Sullivans got underway on 26 May for Halifax, Nava Scotia to conduct training workups for the upcoming Exercise "Unified Spirit `98." During the exercise she joined an amphibious task force formed around Nassau (LHA-4), two LPDs, and two LSDs. The warship screened the "gator" ships during an exercise focusing on multi-national peace enforcement operations. Ships from Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, and Portugal also participated in the exercise. After this exercise, the ship visited Boston and then sailed with relatives and family for Mayport, arriving on 1 July.

After a summer of conducting midshipmen training off the Florida coast, Commander Roncolato was relieved by Commander E. Scott Hebner, USN, in a change of command ceremony on 4 September 1998. The Sullivans is assigned to Destroyer Squadron Twenty-Four, a component of the USS John F. Kennedy Battle Group. In 1999, the ship participated in various training exercises to prepare for her maiden deployment in October to the Mediterranean and then in 2000 continued into the Arabian Sea and participated in exercises and boarding operations until late March. On 9 February, 2000, Commander Daniel Paul Keller, USN relieved Commander Heber in a change of command ceremony, held at sea on station in the Arabian Gulf. After port visits in the Persian Gulf, she returned through the Mediterranean to her homeport in April 2000, successfully completing her first six month deployment. After participating in BEACHFEST at Port Canaveral, FL, The Sullivans underwent a major maintenance overhaul to prepare for future operations.

 

… and patches …

 

 

 

 

 

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