USS ''Leftwich'' (DD-984) was a ''Spruance''-class

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

built by the

Ingalls Shipbuilding Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States, originally established in 1938, and now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries, HII. It is a leading producer of ships for the United States Navy, and at 12,500 ...

Division of

Litton Industries Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States named after inventor Charles Litton Sr. During the 1960s, the company began acquiring many unrelated firms and became one of the largest conglomerates in the United States. ...

Pascagoula, Mississippi Pascagoula ( ) is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula Combined Statistical Area. The population was 22 ...

. She was named for

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

William G. Leftwich, Jr. William Groom Leftwich Jr. (April 28, 1931 – November 18, 1970) was an officer of the United States Marine Corps who served during the Vietnam War. In 1970, he was killed in a helicopter crash during a combat mission in the Vietnam War. Early l ...

,USMC biography of LtCol William Leftwich

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

(1931–1970), commander of the

1st Reconnaissance Battalion 1st Reconnaissance Battalion (abbreviated as 1st Recon Bn) is a reconnaissance battalion in the United States Marine Corps. It is a stand-alone battalion with no parent regiment. Instead, it falls directly under the command of the 1st Marine ...

who was killed in action during Operation Imperial Lake in Quảng Nam Province

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

on 18 November 1970 in a helicopter crash during the extraction of one of his reconnaissance teams. For this action, Lieutenant Colonel Leftwich received the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

. Lieutenant Colonel Leftwich's medals and awards include: the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

, the Silver Star (posthumous), the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

with Combat "V" and two gold stars, the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: *Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Med ...

, the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

with one gold star, the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

with two gold stars, and various personal awards from the Republic of Vietnam. ''Leftwich'' was laid down on 12 November 1976; and launched 8 April 1978; and commissioned 25 August 1979. The Commissioning speaker was the

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

, Admiral

Thomas B. Hayward Admiral (United States), Admiral Thomas Bibb Hayward (May 3, 1924 – March 3, 2022) was Chief of Naval Operations for the United States Navy from July 1, 1978, until June 30, 1982, after which he retired from military service. Naval career Sho ...

, USN, who was a classmate of Bill Leftwich at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

. Also in attendance at the Commissioning was

H. Ross Perot Henry Ross Perot (; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American business magnate, billionaire, politician and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an inde ...

, also a classmate of Lieutenant Colonel Leftwich. Both of Colonel Leftwich's sons and his widow attended the commissioning as well.

1979–1985

''Leftwich'' sailed from Pascagoula, MS the morning following the commissioning on 26 August 1979, en route via the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

for her homeport,

Naval Station San Diego Naval Base San Diego, also known as 32nd Street Naval Station, is the second largest surface ship base of the United States Navy and is located in San Diego, California. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, cons ...

, from which she operated until March 1985. On sailing,

Hurricane David Hurricane David was an extremely deadly hurricane which caused massive loss of life in the Dominican Republic in August 1979, and was the most intense hurricane to make landfall in the country in recorded history. A Cape Verde hurricane that rea ...

was threatening to make its way into the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

, so shipping traffic on the transit to the Panama Canal was unusually light. Hurricane David did strike the Gulf coast, and was followed shortly after by

Hurricane Frederic Hurricane Frederic was an intense and damaging tropical cyclone that carved a path of destruction from the Lesser Antilles to Quebec, in particular devastating areas of the United States Gulf Coast. Though only five were killed directly, the US$ ...

, which caused many ships at Ingalls Shipbuilding and Drydock to sortie into the hurricane. The ''Leftwich'' made one of the fastest transits on record of the Panama Canal, making the passage without having to anchor. On sailing north in the Pacific Ocean, ''Leftwich'' found herself behind

Hurricane Guillermo The name Guillermo has been used for eight tropical cyclones in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. * Hurricane Guillermo (1979) * Tropical Storm Guillermo (1985) * Hurricane Guillermo (1991) * Hurricane Guillermo (1997) * Tropical Storm Guillermo (2003) * H ...

, which tracked along the western coast of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and then turned westward out into the Pacific, allowing the ship to arrive at her new homeport on schedule. While following the storm, ''Leftwich'' experienced waves. In the few months after arrival in San Diego, CA, ''Leftwich'' conducted "Shakedown" training under the guidance of Fleet Training Group, Pacific, in the San Diego Operations Area (OPAREA). In January 1980, ''Leftwich'' returned to Litton Industries at Pascagoula, MS for Warranty repairs and a Post-Shakedown Availability, which included the installation of the NATO

Sea Sparrow RIM-7 Sea Sparrow is a U.S. ship-borne short-range anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapon system, primarily intended for defense against anti-ship missiles. The system was developed in the early 1960s from the AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missile as a ...

and

Harpoon A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument and tool used in fishing, whaling, seal hunting, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch and injure large fish or marine mammals such as seals and whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the t ...

missile system. On 29 November 1982 she collided with the submarine USS ''Thomas A. Edison'' (SSBN-610) approximately east of

Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Subi ...

, Philippines. Both ships were conducting war games. ''Thomas A. Edison'' was at

periscope depth A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...

when the collision occurred. Both ships suffered damage and returned to Subic Bay. ''Edison'' suffered damage to her

sail A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...

, sail planes, and

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...

dome. ''Leftwich'' suffered damage to her sonar dome, sonar dome "banjo" strut, and forward fuel storage tanks located in the forward hull. Two months later, ''Thomas A. Edison'' made a surface transit to

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted u ...

for decommissioning without the damage having been repaired. In 1984, ''Leftwich'' suffered hull and sonar window damage due to high-speed operations in heavy seas during fleet exercises on her deployment to Indian Ocean/Western Pacific (WESTPAC 1984).

1985–1998

On 1 April 1985 ''Leftwich'' arrived at her new homeport of Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This remained her homeport for the rest of her career. Leftwich, under the command of RADM (then Commander) Daniel Bowler, participated in

Operation Nimble Archer Operation Nimble Archer was the 19 October 1987 attack on two Iranian oil platforms in the Persian Gulf by United States Navy forces. The attack was a response to Iran's missile attack three days earlier on , a reflagged Kuwaiti oil tanker at an ...

on 19 October 1987. This was a response to Iran's 16 October 1987 attack on the MV Sea Isle City, a reflagged Kuwaiti oil tanker at anchor off Kuwait, with a Silkworm missile. ''Leftwich'' with Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 3 Detachment 5 embarked, arrived at Naval Station Pearl Harbor homeport. In 1990–91, under the command of Commander Patrick Garrett in support of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, the destroyer conducted more than 200 merchant ship interceptions and one boarding. She was one of the first ships to fire

BGM-109 Tomahawk The Tomahawk () Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is a long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile that is primarily used by the United States Navy and Royal Navy in ship and submarine-based land-attack operations. Under contract f ...

cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhe ...

s during the conflict, and was the first combatant to conduct a wartime reload of Tomahawks for continued operations. With embarked

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

s and

SEALs Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

, she captured the first Iraqi territory repatriated in the war (an island off the coast of the al-Faw waterway), multiple enemy prisoners of war, and conducted 16 combat search and rescue cases. For her efforts in the Persian Gulf, The Leftwich and her crew were awarded the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon and the Combat Action Ribbon. During her career, ''Leftwich'' made eight deployments in the Western Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean and

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

. She participated in

Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

, and

Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

as well as operations in support of UN sanctions against

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. ''Leftwich'' was decommissioned and stricken from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 27 March 1998. She was sunk as a target on 1 August 2003 at in the Pacific Ocean. Awards, Medals, and Commendations for ship and/or crew: (needs more help) Sept 87 – Nov 87, Jan 97 – Mar 97, Apr 97 Three

Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John Kennedy. The medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who, after ...

s, Jan 91 – Feb 91

Combat Action Ribbon The Combat Action Ribbon (CAR, ), is a high precedence United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States Marine Corps military decoration awarded to United States sea service members "who have actively participated in ground or sur ...

, Jan 91 – Feb 91

Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy and U.S. Marine Corps commands may recommend any Navy or Marine Co ...

, Jul 81- Sept 81

Navy Expeditionary Medal The Navy Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was established in August 1936. Award criteria The General Orders of the Department of the Navy which established the medal states, "The medal will be awarded, to ...

, Jan 88 – Jun 89 & Jan 91 – Dec 92 Two

Battle Effectiveness Award The Battle Effectiveness Award (formerly the Battle Efficiency Award, commonly known as the Battle "E"), is awarded annually to the small number of United States Navy ships, submarines, aviation, and other units that win their battle effectiveness c ...

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four sp ...

, Dec 90 – Mar 91

Southwest Asia Service Medal The Southwest Asia Service Medal (SASM or SWASM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created by order of President George H.W. Bush on March 12, 1991. The award is intended to recognize those military service members ...

, 8

Sea Service Ribbon A Sea Service Ribbon is an award of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine Corps, United States Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard, the United States Army, U.S. Army, and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps which recognizes thos ...

s, Dec 97 – Dec 98 Chief of Naval Operations Letter of Commendation,

Kuwait Liberation Medal Kuwait Liberation Medal may refer to: *Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) *Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) * Medal for the Liberation of Kuwait (Bahrain), see Gulf War military awards#Medal for the Liberation of Kuwait (Bahrain) * Kuwait Libe ...

Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) The Naut Tahrir al-Kuwait ( ar, نوط تحرير الكويت) (Medal for the Liberation of Kuwait) was instituted by King Fahd ibn Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia for service during the Liberation of Kuwait campaign. Background The Saudi Arabian ...

1990? Coast Guard Special Operations Ribbon (drug interdiction ops, relieved the Ingersoll)

Gallery

File:USS Ingersoll (DD-990) and USS Leftwich (DD-984) at Pearl Harbor on 1 April 1983.jpeg,

USS Ingersoll Two ships of the United States Navy have borne the name USS ''Ingersoll'', honoring members of the Ingersoll family. DD-652 was named for Rear Admiral Royal R. Ingersoll (1847–1931) — and for his grandson, Lieutenant Royal R. Ingersoll, II (1 ...

and USS ''Leftwich'' in

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

on 1 April 1983 File:US Navy 330-CFD DN-SC-92-06798 Starboard beam view of USS Leftwich (DD-984) underway.jpg, USS ''Leftwich'' on 1 April 1987 File:USS Leftwich (DD-984) underway on patrol in the Gulf of Oman on 1 October 1987.jpg, USS ''Leftwich'' in the

Gulf of Oman The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ar, خليج عمان ''khalīj ʿumān''; fa, دریای عمان ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ar, خلیج مکران ''khalīj makrān''; fa, دریای مکرا� ...

on 1 October 1987 File:USS Leftwich (DD-984) underway in the Pacific Ocean on 16 December 1988 (6483090).jpg, USS ''Leftwich'' in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

on 16 December 1988

Notes

External links

*
navsource.org: USS ''Leftwich''
* ttps://www.linkedin.com/groups/1790779 LinkedIn.com Group: USS Leftwich DD-984br>USS Leftwich Alumni Association page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leftwich (Dd-984) Spruance-class destroyers Cold War destroyers of the United States Gulf War ships of the United States 1978 ships Ships sunk as targets