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Memories of USS Dixie (AD-14) [Home] Dixie Class Destroyer Tender 1940-1982 |
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The Webmeister served near the end of the Vietnam War on the ancient but lovable Dixie from 1970-72, forward deployed to Subic Bay in the Philippines, as a Fire Control Technician FTG3. Pictured here is Liberty Call in Hong Kong in 1971. This old American flag, the "First Navy Jack", has been required by the Secretary of the Navy since 9/11 to wave from the jack staff of all US Navy warships while at anchor. It proudly proclaims its motto "Don't Tread On Me", and dates from the American Revolution. In 1981, the USS Dixie was designated to alone fly this flag by the Secretary of the Navy, being the oldest ship in the Navy still in commission. This practice recognizing the oldest serving ship was handed down to other oldest serving ships until the practice was changed after 9/11.
This flag The Navy's very first destroyer tender was the original USS Dixie AD-1, built in 1898 and decommissioned in 1920. The keel of the USS Dixie AD-14 was laid in 1938, the first US Navy auxiliary ship built in 20 years. This was in response to the looming specter of a naval war in the vast Pacific against Japan plus another war in both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean against Germany and Italy (yes, even against France, as it turned out, in North Africa).
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Web links to USS Dixie information Pause cursor over all links marked with red arrow () to see pop-up description on other pages
Send your comments to Joseph C. Topping, Jr. at jct2tx@yahoo.com This site was begun 5 January, 2005, and last updated 24 October, 2006.
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