USS Henry B. WILSON DDG-7

04/29/2023 14:15 Last Up Date

From: Frank Parker [mailto:fparker@industryinet.com]
Sent: Sunday, June 04, 2017 7:04 PM
To: marks@DDG7.com
Subject: Pictures from DDG7 Shakedown cruise

Hi Dan, and thanks for returning my call.  I’m attaching the first set of pics that I took in Feb and Mar of 1961 when I was assigned to ride Wilson as the Boston Naval Shipyard representative.  I graduated with the class of 57 at USNA, and BNS was my last duty station prior to transferring to the Naval Reserve later that year.  I was single, the Korean war was over, and nobody had heard of Vietnam in 1961.  As a southern boy, I couldn’t understand much of what people were saying in Boston, and Alan Shepard had just taken his first flight into space that year – so I decided to go off active duty and join our country’s space program.  The trip aboard Wilson was very enjoyable, and I hope some of these pictures will fill in some blanks for the shakedown cruise on your excellent website.  Here are the first set of pics that I’m attaching to this first message:

click on pics to see larger view

Frank at work at BNS                                                                                                                    

Tartar missile launcher                                                                              Loading missiles                                             

     

ASROC launcher

Loading Ammo                                                                       Off southern Cuba

Entering GTMO harbor                                                                     Nearing Colon, Panama

Canal Entrance                                                                                                Approaching the 1st Locks