A letter was sent to the “Reunion President” from one of the survivors of the plane crash, Oather Morper of El Cajon, California. “…the ship’s came by ‘The Shack’, the little shop I operated at Fleet Landing, a day or two later and I expressed to him my gratitude for the rescue. You may be [Read more…]
“The aircraft carrier, USS LEXINGTON (The Blue Ghost, The Lady Lex) is now permanently located at Corpus Christi, Texas as a museum. She was decommissioned last year. The USS ORLECK spent a great deal of time on plane guard duty for the LEXINGTON. We honor her for her service.”
“True to form, TCG YUCETEPE, (ex-USS ORLECK), arrived at Golcuk, Turkey on Christmas Day, as scheduled.”
“At 1000 on 1 October 1982, ORLECK was decommissioned, transferred to the Turkish Navy and renamed TCG YUCETEPE D-345 in a ceremony held at her berth at Tacoma, Washington.”
“The News Tribune reports that “”USS ORLECK, to be retired Oct. 1st, was the last of WWII vintage destroyers still active.”
“ORLECK entered the stand-down period for decommissioning on 15 August. Beginning in early August, accelerated preparations were made for decommissioning and transfer of the ship to the Turkish Navy. The entire crew worked hard throughout this period, putting the ship in order.”
August 13-14, 1982 is the final Naval Reserve Training Weekend for ORLECK Selected Reserve Crew members.