U.S.S. HALEAKALA

USS HALEAKALA (AE-25)

Haleakala (AE-25) was launched 17 February 1959 by Bethlehem-Sparrows Point Shipyard Inc. Baltimore Md.; sponsored by Mrs. Maurice E. Curts wife of Vice Admiral Curts; and commissioned 3 November 1959 Captain Miles P. Refo III in command.

After shakedown out of Guantanamo Bay Haleakala transited the Panama Canal and visited Chile and Costa Rica before arriving San Francisco 17 March 1960. The fifth of a new class of ammunition ships designed from the hull up for carrying and transferring at sea the latest in munitions and guided missiles Haleakala spent the first part of April with Vega conducting replenishment exercises to test new equipment.

Haleakala departed San Francisco 7 July 1960 on her first Western Pacific deployment. Visiting Pearl Harbor Yokosuka and Sasebo she provided services to various units of the 7th Fleet before returning to Port Chicago Calif. 19 December 1960.

Haleakala departed on her second deployment to the Western Pacific 18 April 1961 and again serviced units of the 7th Fleet returning to Port Chicago 8 September. In October in company with Mount Katmai she steamed to Long Beach to participate in Exercise "Covered Wagon" an effort to test realistically a representative Attack Carrier Strike Force in all of its wartime tasks in the face of opposition similar to that which might be expected of a potential enemy.

Haleakala made two subsequent deployments to the Western Pacific between 29 May 1962 and February 1964. She arrived Todd Shipyard Inc. Seattle 28 February 1964 for overhaul and modernization to increase her efficiency and safety. With conversion completed by May 1965 through the fall of 1965 Haleakala participated in Operation "Baseline." On 20 November she sailed for Yankee Station via Pearl Harbor to support combat operations in Vietnam returning to Subic Bay 31 December.

Most of 1966 was spent on another WestPac deployment. Haleakala departed Subic Bay 23 August for the West Coast arriving San Francisco 12 September. After training exercises off Mare Island through December Haleakala returned for further replenishment operations off Vietnam into 1967.

[Note: The above USS HALEAKALA (AE-25) history may or may not contain text provided by crew members of the USS HALEAKALA (AE-25) or by other non-crew members and text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]