GARY FFG 51
Ship Name and Designation History
This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.
Keel Laid 18 December 1982 - Launched & Christened 19 November 1983 |
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This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).
Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.
- USS Gary FFG-51 Covers Page 1 (1984-2015)
Postmarks
This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.
A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an
image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN
THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the
existing example.
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Postmark Type |
Postmark Date |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
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Ship Postmarks
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Locy Type |
1984-11-17 |
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First Day of Commission, cachet by the USS America Chapter No. 71, USCS
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Locy Type |
1997-06-09 |
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Portland Rose Festival
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Locy Type |
2010-06-21 |
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First Day of Cachet, cachet by Richard Hoffner
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Locy Type |
2015-08-05 |
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Last Day of Commission, cachet by Wolfgang Hechler
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Locy Type |
2015-08-05 |
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Last Day of Commission, cachet by Wolfgang Hechler
USPS Pictorial Postmark
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USPS Pictorial |
2015-08-05 |
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Last Day of Commission, cachet by McIntosh Cachets
Other Information
USS GARY FFG-51 earned the following awards during her Naval career - Joint Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon, Navy Unit Commendation Medal w/ 1 star, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon, Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (4 awards), National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 star, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal w/ 5 stars, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal w/ 1 star, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon w/ 13 stars and the Navy / Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon w/ 6 stars.
NAMESAKE - Commander Donald Arthur Gary, USN (July 23 1903 - April 9 1977)
Gary enlisted in the Navy in December 1919, serving continuously in the enlisted ranks until November 1943, when he received a commission to Lieutenant (Junior Grade). In 1943, Lt(jg) Gary was assigned to the Third Naval District as an inspector of machinery at the Babcock and Wilcox Company. In December 1944, he was sent to the aircraft carrier USS FRANKLIN CV-13 as an engineering officer. When that ship was severely damaged by Japanese air attack on March 19 1945, Lt(jg) Gary distinguished himself as he helped hundreds of trapped men to escape from below decks, organized and led fire-fighting parties and directed the restoration of power in one boiler room. For his heroism on that occasion, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. Subsequently promoted to the ranks of Lieutenant and Lieutenant Commander, Gary remained with FRANKLIN until she was decommissioned in February 1947. He was then assigned to the Naval Disciplinary Barracks at Terminal Island, California, where he served until relieved from active duty pending retirement in June 1950. On the basis of his combat awards, he was advanced to the rank of Commander upon retirement. Commander Gary died in 1977 and was buried at Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.
The ships sponsor is Mrs. Dorothy G. Gary, widow of Cmdr. Gary, and Mrs. George D. Leamer.
If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.
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