USS ''Halyburton'' (FFG-40), an , is a ship of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

named for Pharmacist's Mate Second Class William D. Halyburton Jr. (1924–1945). Halyburton was posthumously awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

for his heroism while serving with the 5th Marines, during the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

in 1945.

Construction

''Halyburton'' was laid down on September 26, 1980 by the

Todd Pacific Shipyards Vigor Shipyards is the current entity operating the former Todd Shipyards after its acquisition in 2011. Todd Shipyards was founded in 1916, which owned and operated shipyards on the West Coast of the United States, East Coast of the United St ...

Co., Seattle Division,

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

; launched on October 13, 1981, sponsored by Mrs. William David Halyburton Sr., mother of PhM2 Halyburton; and commissioned on January 7, 1984, Commander Robert K. Peters in command.

Operations

USS Iowa - USS Hallyburton - Ocean Safari 85 - DN-ST-86-02523

Over its commissioned service, ''Halyburton'' earned numerous Battle 'E' awards for combat readiness. ''Halyburton'' was also one of the escorts for on July 21, 1997 as "Old Ironsides" celebrated her 200th birthday and her first unassisted sail in 116 years.

''Maersk Alabama'' incident

On April 8, 2009,

Somalian pirates Somali may refer to: Horn of Africa * Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region ** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis ** Somali culture ** Somali cuisine ** Somali language, a Cushitic language ** Somal ...

captured U.S.-flagged motor vessel and her 22 crewmembers, 300 miles from the Somali coast. The crew recaptured their ship along with one of the pirates, but the three surviving pirates held the vessel’s master, Capt. Richard Phillips, hostage on a lifeboat. ''Halyburton'' was part of a U.S. Navy rescue mission, along with amphibious assault ship , guided missile destroyer , off the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

. A

ScanEagle The Boeing Insitu ScanEagle is a small, long-endurance, low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built by Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing, and is used for reconnaissance. The ScanEagle was designed by Insitu based on the Insitu SeaScan, a co ...

unmanned aircraft system An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controlle ...

provided timely intelligence during the confrontation.

U.S. Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy, U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command, Naval Special Wa ...

s, on board ''Bainbridge'', brought the standoff to an end by simultaneously shooting and killing all three pirates in the lifeboat, then being towed by ''Bainbridge'', and rescued Phillips on April 12. The fourth pirate was on board at the time of the shooting, negotiating the hostage's release, and was taken into custody.

Constable's Dues ritual

On July 16, 2009, ''Halyburton'' visited the

Port of London The Port of London is that part of the River Thames in England lying between Teddington Lock and the defined boundary (since 1968, a line drawn from Foulness Point in Essex via Gunfleet Old Lighthouse to Warden Point in Kent) with the North Sea ...

, mooring in South Dock,

West India Quay West India Quay is an area in the London Docklands, London, England. It is immediately to the north of the West India Docks and Canary Wharf. The warehouse at West India Quay was used to store imported goods from the West Indies, such as tea, sug ...

for three nights. On Saturday July 18, she became the first non-

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

ship to take part in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

's Constable's Dues ritual. Dating back to the 14th century, the ceremony involved the crew being challenged for entry into the

capital, mirroring an ancient custom in which a ship had to unload some of its cargo for the sovereign to enter the city. Commander Michael P Huck and Ship's Officer, Lieutenant Commander Tony Mortimer led the crew to the Tower's West Gate, where after being challenged for entry by the Yeoman Gaoler armed with his

axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

, they were marched to

Tower Green Tower Green is a space within the Tower of London, a royal castle in London, where two English Queens consort and several other British nobles were executed by beheading. It was considered more dignified for nobility to be executed away from ...

accompanied by Yeoman Warders, where they delivered a keg of Castillo Silver Rum, representing the dues, to the Tower's Constable, Sir Roger Wheeler.

2014

''Halyburton'' departed her homeport of Naval Station Mayport in January 2014, for her final deployment. She was scheduled to be decommissioned in late 2014. On February 6, 2014, a Panamanian helicopter crashed while working with ''Halyburton'' on illicit trafficking operations. The

Bell 412 The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter of the Huey family manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212, with the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor. Design and development Development began in the ...

helicopter had nine people aboard, one of whom died in the crash. ''Halyburton'' was ceremonially decommissioned on September 6, 2014, at Naval Station Mayport. ''Halyburton'' was formally decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register, September 8, 2014. Ex-''Halyburton'' was listed as being berthed at the

Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility A Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF) is a facility owned by the United States Navy as a holding facility for decommissioned naval vessels, pending determination of their final fate. All ships in these facilities are inactive, but s ...

, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For a time it was thought that she might be transferred to the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establi ...

in 2015. In 2013, a bill to transfer ''Halyburton'' to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

in 2015 passed the US House of Representatives. However, the Senate did not take action on the bill and it did not become law.

Museum plans

Plans are currently underway to tow the decommissioned frigate to

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

and moor her permanently as a floating museum at one of several possible locations, notably an as-yet undeveloped section of

Presque Isle Bay Presque Isle Bay is a natural bay located off the coast of Erie, Pennsylvania, United States. Its embayment is about in length, about across at its widest point, and an average depth of about . The bay is at an elevation of 571 ft (174 m) ...

. The location is significant to ships of the ''Perry'' class as, historically, it was their namesake

Oliver Hazard Perry Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was an American naval commander, born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. The best-known and most prominent member of the Perry family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace A ...

who won the

Battle of Lake Erie The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, on Lake Erie off the shore of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of the Briti ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. The future of this effort is far from certain, however fundraising is ongoing and the application process, begun in 2020, is underway.

References

External links

USS ''Halyburton'' official website
*

at the

Naval History & Heritage Command The Naval History and Heritage Command, formerly the Naval Historical Center, is an Echelon II command responsible for the preservation, analysis, and dissemination of U.S. naval history and heritage located at the historic Washington Navy Yard. ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halyburton (FFG-40) 1981 ships Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates of the United States Navy Ships built in Seattle Gulf War ships of the United States