Guided Missile Frigate
FFG 51 - USS Gary
Type, Class:		Guided Missile Frigate; Oliver Hazard Perry – class (long hull) planned and built as FFG 51
Builder:		Todd Pacific Shipyard, San Pedro, California, USA
STATUS:		Awarded: May 22, 1981 Laid down: December 18, 1982 Launched: November 19, 1983 Commissioned: November 17, 1984 ACTIVE UNIT/ in commission (Pacific Fleet)
Homeport:		San Diego, California
Namesake:		Named after and in honor of Commander Donald Arthur Gary (1901 - 1977) > see history, below;
Ship's Motto:		FREEDOM'S FOREMOST GUARDIAN
Technical Data: (Measures, Propulsion, Armament, Aviation, etc.)		see: INFO > Oliver Hazard Perry - class Guided Missile Frigate
ship images
Donald Arthur Gary
President Harry S. Truman presents the Medal of Honor to Lt. Donald A. Gary / January 1946
Namesake & History:
Commander Donald Arthur Gary (July 23, 1901 – April 9, 1977):
Donald Arthur Gary was born on 23 July 1901 in Findlay, Ohio. He enlisted in the U. S. Navy on 12 December 1919 and served as an enlisted sailor until November 1943, when he was commissioned a Lieutenant (junior grade). He progressed to the rank of Lieutenant Commander in March 1946 and, when he retired on 1 June 1950, he was advanced to the rank of Commander on the basis of combat awards. Commander Gary died on 9 April 1977. His onshore duties during his naval career included assignments in the Third Naval District, New York City; the Office of Assistant Inspector of Machinery, B&W Company, Ohio; the staff of Commander Submarine Group ONE, New York; and the Naval Disciplinary Barracks, Terminal Island, California. His sea duty tours included ELCANO (PG 38), HANNIBAL (AG 1), SWAN (AM 34), IDAHO (BB 42), INDIANAPOLIS (CA 35) for two tours, ENTERPRISE (CV 6), and FRANKLIN (CV 13), that (then) Lieutenant Gary joined as an Engineering Officer in December 1944. On 19 March 1945, FRANKLIN was operating with a fast carrier task force against remnants of the Japanese fleet when it was severely damaged by fires caused by two Japanese bombs in an attack. Only outstanding efforts on the part of the crew, and Lieutenant Gary in particular, saved the ship from destruction and the lives of many sailors. On 23 January 1946 Lieutenant Gary was presented the Medal of Honor at the White House by President Harry S. Truman. The damaged FRANKLIN returned to New York harbor, and Commander Gary remained aboard the ship until it was decommissioned in 1947. Medal of Honor citation of Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Donald A. Gary (as printed in the official publication "Medal of Honor, 1861-1949, The Navy", page 191): "For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as an Engineering Officer attached to the U.S.S. Franklin when that vessel was fiercely attacked by enemy aircraft during the operations against the Japanese Home Islands near Kobe, Japan, 19 March 1945. Stationed on the third deck when the ship was rocked by a series of violent explosions set off in her own ready bombs, rockets and ammunition by the hostile attack, Lieutenant Gary unhesitatingly risked his life to assist several hundred men trapped in a messing compartment filled with smoke, and with no apparent egress. As the imperiled men below decks became increasingly panic-stricken under the raging fury of incessant explosions, he confidently assured them he would find a means of affecting their release and, groping through the dark, debris-filled corridors, untimately discovered an escapeway. Staunchly determined, he struggled back to the messing compartment three times despite menacing flames, flooding water and the ominous threat of sudden additional explosions, on each occasion calmly leading his men through the blanketing pall of smoke until the last one had been saved. Selfless in his concern for his ship and his fellows, he constantly rallied others about him, repeatedly organized and led fire-fighting parties into the blazing inferno on the flight deck and, when firerooms 1 and 2 were found to be inoperable, entered the No. 3 fireroom and directed the raising of steam in one boiler in the face of extreme difficulty and hazard. An inspiring and courageous leader, Lieutenant Gary rendered self-sacrificing service under the most perilous conditions and, by his heroic initiative, fortitude and valor, was responsible for the saving of several hundred lives. His conduct throughout reflects the highest credit upon himself and upon the United States Naval Service."
USS Gary (FFG 51):
-- FFG 51 history wanted --
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