" USS COOK APD-130 was launched 26 August 1944 by Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich., sponsored by Mrs. A. F. Cook, mother of second lieutenant Cook and sergeant Cook; and commissioned 25 April 1945, Lieutenant Commander D. N. Hamilton, USNR, in command"

"USS COOK APD 130 sailed from Norfolk 19 June 1945 for San Diego, arriving 2 July for training. On 20 September she arrived at Tokyo carrying men of Underwater Demolition Teams. After transporting troops to Okinawa, Cook reconnoitered Hakodate before its occupation. She sailed home from Yokohama by way of Guam, Eniwetok, and Pearl Harbor, to San Diego, arriving 13 November. After repairs, she spent the month of January transporting troops along the west coast. USS Cook APD-130 was placed out of commission in reserve 31 May 1946, berthed at San Diego."

"USS COOK APD-130 was recommissioned 6 October 1953, and took part in training and landing exercises off San Diego. She entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard for conversion to an APD flagship between 28 November 1953 and 15 March 1954 and continued training operations out of San Diego until 19 November, when she sailed for the Far East. After participating in amphibious exercises on the west coast of Korea, she operated from 21 January 1955 to 19 May as flagship for Operation "Passage to Freedom," the evacuation of refugees from North Vietnam."

"USS COOK APD-130 returned to San Diego 12 June 1955, and sailed in various landing and training exercises as primary control vessel or antisubmarine ship. In November she joined in a combined amphibious operation with Canadian forces. Local operations off California, including a period of service as a submarine target vessel, continued until 21 March 1956, when she sailed to Kauai, Hawaii, for an amphibious exercise in which she served as control vessel."

"USS COOK APD-130 returned to San Diego 23 April 1956 for maintenance antisubmarine exercises, and public orientation cruises, until 22 August 1957 when she departed for a tour of duty in the western Pacific based at Yokosuka. She stood by off Borneo during the Indonesian crisis from 14 to 22 December. Back home in San Diego 10 April 1958, USS Cook APD 130 participated in operations along the west coast, including major interservice exercises, and between 13 October 1959 and 29 April 1960 cruised in the Far East (WESTPAC) once more. Returning to the States, USS Cook APD 130 operated along the west coast for the remainder of 1960."

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/APD/apd130.html

"On the night of 19 September 1960, USS REDFISH and the Amphibious Transport USS COOK APD 130 joined in the training of UDT Navy Frogmen and a US Marine Corps Reconnaisance Team. When one of the Marines developed "bends" the following afternoon, USS REDFISH became his recompression chamber. The Marine was sealed in her airlocked escape hatch with a hospital corpsman; she submerged to a depth where recompression could be started, and the Marine experienced immediate relief of his symptoms. For more than 16 hours and some 200 miles, USS REDFISH stayed under the surface, slowly proceeding towards the San Francisco Naval Shipyards. The patient was put in the Recompression Chamber ashore and transferred to the Naval Hospital at Oakland, where he completely recovered."

http://www.escape.ca/~navcom/navred2.html

http://www.oocities.org/cookstories/email.htm

"1 August 1962, US Minesweeping Division 71 sailed from the area, thus ending the 7-month-long combined patrol. Other Seventh Fleet ships gathered information on the suitability of South Vietnamese beaches for amphibious landings. During January 1962, high-speed transport USS Cook APD-130 conducted beach surveys along the South Vietnamese coast from Quang Tri in the north to Vung Tau in the south. In February and March of the following year, USS Weiss APD 135 made a similar transit along the South Vietnamese littoral. On several occasions, the Viet Cong fired on shore parties from the ship. Fleet units also transported American support forces to South Vietnam."

http://www.ausvets.com.au/vietnam/ops/ops1847.htm

• "1962, (24 October-30 November): USS Cook APD 130 participated in the Cuban Missile Crisis with the following ships and units (all received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal):
• USS Cook APD 130 8 November to 5 December 1962"

http://www.oocities.org/flatleyk/supplement.htm

15 Jan 1964  Mare Island NSY, Vallejo, CA for 3 month overhaul

(Authors recollections) During a WESTPAC Cruise in 1965, prior to my joining the Cook, she lost three persons to hostile fire in Viet Nam. I was told these were advisors and they were killed in the Mekong Delta region on one of the USS Cook's small boats. From what I remember, they were amongst the first Naval Personnel killed in Viet Nam. Hopefully, someone can update this story)

Story Updated by BT2 Victor Moshier 12/20/01:

"Yes, we did lose three men from the Cook, but they were not advisors, they were sailors from the crew of the Cook. We were ambushed while deploying Marine Recon. in Chu Lai."

Mystery? BT2 Victor Moshier wrote:

"It seems like the Navy covered up when ENS. Charles Sanborn jumped ship in the South China sea, after we were followed by a Russian trawler for a few days. Maybe you can find something on this."
(How about it, anybody have any information on this? ANDY)

I went aboard the USS Cook APD 130 in October of 1965. At that time, she was tied up on the end of Pier 8 at the 32nd Street Naval Station. LCDR. James Hayes USN was her Captain and Lt Pete Roeder USN was her Executive Officer. A first Class Boatswains mate named Fiestel was in charge of Deck, Gunnery was under a Chief who was also the Master-At-Arms. We had  a Chief Corpsman and supply division was run by a first class. A Chief Boilerman was head of Engineering. The engineering officer was a Ensign. The Operations Officer was, I believe LTJG. Gerry Heuber.

11 Nov 65   Authorized to display the Operations Green “E” with one service stripe and the Amphibious Assault Award with one service stripe to 3 April 67

Late 65  Awarded the Battle efficiency plaque for PHIBRON One for yr ending 5 Dec 65.

Late 65 Won the Arleigh Burke Fleet trophy Award for competitive year 1965 for the most improvement in battle efficiency during the year. USS COOK was the first ship of the amphibious Forces to receive the Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy and the first ship of any type to win both the Burke Trophy and Squadron Battle Efficiency award in the same year.

After some Operational Maneuvers in the latter part of 1965 and the first part of 1966, the Cook set sail for a WESTPAC Cruise.

"The command ship (USS Mt. McKinley AGC-7) sailed again from San Diego 15 March, arriving Subic Bay 17 April via Pearl Harbor. Based there, the ship visited ports in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Okinawa, acting as flagship of ComPhibGru 1"

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/AGC/agc7.html

About half way to Hawaii during a routine refueling from the COMPHIBGRU 1 flagship, USS Mount McKinley AGC7, the Cook lost steering control in her electromechanical steering assembly. She was pulled inside the bow wake of the Mt. Mckinley and collided with her. An emergency breakaway was performed by First Class Ron Fiestel who was heading the refueling effort. The hose and lines were cut with an axe to complete the emergency breakaway.

"Search and destroy missions against Viet Cong and North Viet-Namese Army units followed, as USS Princeton  provided transportation, medical evacuation,logistics and communication support for the amphibious operation "DeckhouseI", 18-27 June, in the Song Cau district and the Song Cai river valley,then supported 1st Air Cavalry and 101st Airborne units engaged in "NathanHale" to the south of the "Deckhouse I" area. "DeckhouseII" and support for "Hastings" followed as Navy, Marine,and Army units again combined, this time to impede enemy infiltration from the DMZ."

"USS Tortuga then returned to the west coast -- via Yokosuka, Buckner Bay, Subic Bay, Hong Kong, and Pearl Harbor -- and arrived at Long Beach on 9 March 1968. For the remainder of the year, the landing ship conducted exercises and local operations out of Long Beach until again deploying to WestPac in February 1969. On 17 February, while en route to Yokosuka, Tortuga conducted her first underway refuelingwith USS Cook (LPR-130) -- receiving 31,000 gallons of Navy Special Fuel Oil (NSFO)."

http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/amphib/lsd26.htm