The Chronicler's Web (TCW)

by DAN CALLOWAY
Published 1 February @ 18:07 UTC

PERSIAN GULF – (Unclassified: FOUO) On 19 September 1983, the Guided Missile Destroyer, USS Lawrence DDG-4, affectionately referred to as the “Lawrence of Arabia,” set sail for the Persian Gulf. The total transit time was a little over two weeks. During this transit, the ship passed through the Suez Canal, passed Egypt, passed the Mediterranean Sea, through the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Peninsula, into the Gulf of Oman and arrived on schedule at the Strait of Hormuz.

The wartime mission of the USS Lawrence was to safely escort US flag-bearing vessels through the strait of Hormuz. This, of course, was during the Iran-Iraq war that lasted from 1980 – 1988. During this mission, the USS Lawrence saw action when, during one of the escorts through the Strait of Hormuz, the ship came under fire from two incoming Iranian aircraft. These aircraft were detected at about 350 miles from the ship, and were extracted from the theatre after coming within 200 miles of the envelope surrounding the vessel. This incident was reported on ABC, NBC, and CBS World News. I was fortunate to have the bridge as my GQ (General Quarters) station. For those of you who may not know what General Quarters is, this is the condition on a Naval vessel also referred to as “battle” stations, where all-hands on deck prepare for battle readiness. I must tell you that what I observed on the bridge (where the ship’s Captain, XO, Officer-of-the-Deck, Communications Officer, and Navigator are stationed during GQ) was nothing short of the action you might see on an episode of Star Trek, where Captain Kirk executes battle station plans and maneuvers to avoid being hit and then retaliating with a salvo of weaponry to strike back at the enemy. It was very exciting, indeed!

During this Middle Eastern deployment, I visited such locales as Qatar, Bahrain, The United Arab Emirates, Oman, Pakistan, Karachi, Abu dhabi, Dubai, and on the return trip the city of Djibouti in Africa. At one point during the cruise, I was only 120 statute miles from Jerusalem, but was unable to travel there due to our mission requirements.

I served aboard the USS Lawrence DDG-4 as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Supply Corps as the logistics officer and department head for the Supply Logistics Department, and was responsible for feeding & berthing the crew, operating the ship’s stores, serving as the ship’s purser and bill payer, and maintaining the ship’s inventory of spare parts and weapons. The crew members who served under me will always be in my thoughts, and are regarded as some of the finest men with whom I have ever served. The Skipper (Captain of the ship) was Captain Brown, USN and the XO (Executive Officer) was Cmdr Richard Nye, USN.

During the Middle Eastern deployment, a young Ensign was flown out to the ship to serve as a replacement for a Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) who had to be flown off and returned to the States. This young Ensign was Francis Xavier Tisak, a fine Supply Corps Officer for whom I have high admiration and with whom I became very attached. Ensign Tisak relieved me of the foodservice and stores operations onboard the Lawrence during the entire duration of the mission. Ensign Tisak is now Captain Tisak, USN who is serving in Kabul, Afghanistan as the Senior Task Advisor for Budgeting and Security Operations with the Fort Eggers detachment who comprise the troops who are currently assisting in preserving our Nation’s freedom and security.

I have created a photo gallery of some photos that were taken during the Middle East deployment that I call “The USS Lawrence DDG-4.” Please enjoy the photos, and remember, some of these photos are around 27 years old. The initial 15 photographs that comprise the Gallery were graciously emailed to me by Captain Tisak. I have since discovered another 60 or more photographs that I will be adding to the Gallery in the near future. Unfortunately, the USS Lawrence DDG-4 has been decommissioned and “moth balled.”

This gallery completed on 7 February 2010 and contains 103 photos.