History

^{1. HMS Crusader 4 trains}	^{10. USS Boyd 1 train}
^{2. USS Endicott 3 trains}	^{11. USS Trathen 1 train}
^{3. USS Orleck 2 trains}	^{12. USS Eversole 1 train}
^{4. HMCS Haida 2 trains}	^{13. USS Kyes 1 train}
^{5. HMCS Athabaskan 2 trains}	^{14. USS Chandler 1 train}
^{6 USS John R. Pierce 2 trains}	^{15. USS McCoy Reynolds 1 train}
^{7. HMS Charity 2 trains}	^{16. Hr. Ms. Piet Hein 1 train}
^{8. USS Porter 1 train}	^{17. USS Carmick 1 train}
^{9. USS Jarvis 1 train}	^{18. USS Maddox 1 train}

From 28 July through 1 August the Pierce shelled Chongjin and railroads daily.

In the northern patrol area (between Chongjin and Yang Do islands) on the 2nd she fired on sampans and troops. On the 3rd and the 4th and 5th she patrolled around "package 2" working over the railroads.

While patrolling "package 2", (the Songjin area) on the 6th she came under enemy fire at 0638 hrs. Over 100 rounds were fired at the Pierce. The first rounds straddled the ship. She was hit seven times with the main damage to both stacks and numerous holes all around the superstructure, torpedo deck and a hit on frame 21, one foot above waterline. She returned fire and possibly silenced one of the guns. According to the deck log of the ship on 6 August for the 1800 to the 2000 watch,"The Pierce was steaming on course when at 1815 hrs enemy shore batteries commenced firing on the ship. She changed course to 135 degrees (T) and changed speed to 25 knots. Called the crew to general quarters at 1816 hrs and at 1817 hrs commenced firing on enemy shore batteries. She was steaming on various courses zigzagging to avoid enemy fire. At 1835 hrs she ceased firing. Rounds expended were 38 rds 5-inch/38 h.c.1835 hrs shore batteries ceased firing." The following crewmembers received Purple Hearts as a result of the wounds they received from the enemy’s action.

PURPLE HEART AWARDS

James J. Jones BT3 USN

Donald L. Keach ENS USN

Richard W. Brennan ET3 USN

James C. Callais MM3 USN

Charles J. Simmons DC3 USN

Donnie D. Ford SN USN

William R. Fugitt SN USN

Ernest Sposato SN USN

Lawrence W. Kreske SN USNR

John E. Goetz SA USN

Lawrence R. Hartman SA USN

Ronald L. Grant TA USN

Ernest J. Weber HMC USN

She secured from general quarters at 2005 hrs and set condition 3. Then proceeded to rendezvous with the USS Carmick (DMS 33) to receive medical aid. She was then ordered back to Sasebo for repairs and to have the wounded attended to. About this same time two other destroyers were hit, the USS Barton (DD 722) our flagship of DesDiv21 and HMS Mounts Bay. She arrived at Sasebo on the 7th and stayed there until the 20th.

Major repairs were done to both stacks and repairs made to the rest of the damage. It was also a time for a little rest and relaxation for the crew. Two ship’s parties were held at the Cabaret Takarazuka in Sasebo, which were a real success and provided the whole crew with a couple evenings of real fun.

Repairs completed; on 20 August she left Sasebo with Commander TF 95 Admiral John E. Gingrich aboard, to deliver him to Commander TF 77 aboard the battle ship Iowa and then left the area for Yokosuka, Japan. Arrived on the 22nd for electrical repairs. A couple days of liberty for the crew. A few lucky ones got to go to the R/R rest camp at the Shizura Hotel in the mountains south of Tokyo.

On 25 August she was operating at anti submarine exercises off the coast of Northern Japan, where she entered the ports of Hokkaido and Aomori for liberty. She stayed there until 13 September.

Back with TF 77, on the night of 16 September the Task Force was about 90 miles east of Wonson when the USS Barton hits a floating mine. There were some peculiar aspects to the Barton mining said CDR H.B.Seim (from the book The Sea War in Korea). The Barton was the northernmost ship of the Task Force. (The Pierce was next to it.) The Task Force was southbound. It was necessary for the carriers and destroyers directly ahead of us to steam close aboard that mine before we hit it. When the explosion came, I had just finished reading a report on a ship’s vulnerability to floating mines. The report concluded that a ship making ten or more knots was safe, since the bow waves would push a floating mine aside. However the bow wave failed to protect the Barton, for the Task Force was steaming at fifteen knots. The mine hit at 2115hrs continued Seim. It fractured the shell plating from keel to the main deck. The forward fire room was completely gutted and flooded. A hole 40 feet long was opened to the sea. All five men in the forward fire room were lost. Engine room personnel working next to the destroyed fire room were seriously burned.

ComDesRon 2 Captain R.B. Levin, USN and his staff of six officers with all their gear transferred to the John R. Pierce. In order to complete the transfer the Pierce had to stop dead in the water, in the dark of the night not knowing if there were other mines in the water and complete the transaction.

She continued operating with Task Force 77. With mines becoming more frequent and the threat of Communist air attacks increasing, the last month of operations with the task Force passed slowly. Finally the release came on 10 October and the ship headed for Sasebo for replenishments and the necessary preparations for the 14,000-mile trip back to Norfolk. She departed Sasebo on the 14th with the USS Strong for Singapore, the first leg of the journey home.

The Pierce arrived in Singapore on the 21st and after two days of great liberty left on the 23rd. An article in the Singapore Standard on 22 October had two pictures of the John R. on their front page. According to the article six ships arrived in the harbor on the 21st, all under the command of Captain Levin, DesRon 2, his flag ship the USS John R. Pierce, the USS Strong, the USS Porter, the USS Jarvis, the USS VanValkenburg and the USS Kimberley. The USS Soley and the USS Barton were expected in Singapore next week. Lt. Commander John Van Guilder of the squadron staff aboard the Pierce told the Standard that "the boys were going to do the town, they deserved this respite after Korea." There were about 2,100 of them. He also stated "during the whole of the squadron’s operation in Korean waters the destroyers fired a total of about 10,000 rounds of 5x38"calibre and 24,000 rounds of 40mm ammunition."

The group left Singapore on the 23rd under way for Ceylon. Swinging south from the Malaccan Straits into the Indian Ocean she crossed the equator on 25 October at 88 degrees longitude at 2209hrs on course 230, speed 17 knots. The next morning there was strange and unusual events happening aboard the ship. At first glance one noticed the Jolly Roger flying at the mast in place of the Ensign. All hands were called to quarters and Davey Jones was piped aboard. There was to be about 300 unhappy Polywogs that day.

She arrived at Colombo Ceylon on the 27th and stayed for two days. A tour was arranged for some of the crew to visit Kandy the ancient Singhalese capital, about 70 miles inland. Some other crewmembers enjoyed riding the elephants. Under way again on the 29th, she headed for Bahrein in the Persian Gulf and arrived on the 3rd of November. The Royal Navy invited us to use the recreation facilities of the Naval Base located on an oasis near Bahrein. It afforded a pleasant afternoon of baseball and swimming. The 5th of November saw her on the way to Aden for a two-day stay. She arrived on the 9th and departed on the 10th for the Suez Canal. The transiting of the Suez Canal took the ship from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea through Egypt. As a convoy, the eight destroyers were giving priority passage. The ships arrived at the entrance of the canal at 0530hrs on the 14th and arrived at the mouth (Port Said) at 2030hrs. After entering the Mediterranean she arrived at Naples, Italy on the 17th for a four day stay. Many tours were arranged for the officers and men of the destroyers including Rome and the Vatican where His Holiness Pope Pius XII received the group at Castle Gondolfo, his winter residence outside Rome. Departing on the 21st and after a day of heavy seas she arrived at the maritime city of Genoa, Italy on the 23rd. Three days later she was on her way to Villa Franche, then on the 29th she was bound for Gibraltar and arrived on the 29th. This was to be the last port of call on her ‘World Cruise". The Pierce left Gibraltar on 1 December with the other seven destroyers for her homeport of Norfolk, VA.

Arriving at Norfolk on the 12th the squadron was given a gala reception at CE piers. Tugboats were present, with a watery salute for the 2,400 officers and men of the Destroyer Squadron, a Navy Band playing on the pier and a large crowd of family and friends waiting for their loved ones. The Norfolk Ledger gave a front-page story with a picture of the John R., stating that the group, led by the Pierce steamed up the harbor shortly before noon, with their crews in dress blues lining the rails. Tugs escorting them shot streams of water into the air with their fire hoses. It was a colorful sight as the sun, striking the spray, made brilliant rainbows. As the Pierce was docking, the band was playing "Auld Lang Syne". The pier was decorated with an enormous Welcome Home banner. The other ships that arrived were the USS Barton, the USS Strong, the USS Soley of Destroyer Division 21 and the USS Porter, the USS Jarvis, the USS Kimberly, and the USS VanValkenburg from Destroyer Division 262. Rear Admiral Chester C. Wood, Commander Destroyer Flotilla Four to which the destroyers are attached was on hand to welcome them home. After being away for seven months the crew was ready for liberty "at home."

After almost three months stay in Norfolk, the ship left on 3 March for plane guard duty and exercises with fast aircraft carriers in and around the Jacksonville FL. Area. She returned back to the Norfolk area and went into the Portsmouth, VA, Naval Shipyards for a major overhaul on 15 May 1953. Many of the crew that never had a chance to go to various schools now went. The ship was put into dry docks and repaired from the bow to the fantail. The crew that was there lived in barracks.

In late August the John R. Pierce completed her overhaul and renovations at Portsmouth. Her 40mm guns were replaced with the new 3/50 automatics, and some of the temporary repairs due to the damage in Korea were finished. She left for a shakedown and exercise cruise to Guantanamo Bay Cuba, under her new Skipper Commander Raymond Berthrong. While on this assignment she visited the ports of Kingston, Jamaica and Port of Prince, Haiti. After completion of her shakedown cruise she returned to Norfolk on the 26 of October, where she remained until 4 January 1954.

The next day she left CE piers in Norfolk for her second Mediterranean Cruise, which included operating with the U. S. Sixth Fleet. She visited five ports on this cruise which included Algiers, Algeria, Augusta, Sicily, Naples, Italy, Athens, Greece and Cannes, France. She returned to Norfolk on 11 March and remained until 4 May1954 when she left for her 3rd Mediterranean trip. She would again operate with the 6th Fleet which carried her the length and breadth of the sea and included visits to the following ports: Gibraltar, Palermo, Sicily, Hyeres, France, and again to Naples Italy and for her excellency in training and winning a Navy (E) twice, she was awarded a goodwill trip to Northern Europe which included many stops at ports that haven’t been visited by an American warship since WW11. She left the Mediterranean on 6 July accompanied by the destroyer USS Murray DD 576 heading for Plymouth, England and arriving on the 9th. Five days later she was in Douglas Isle of Man for two days and then headed for Londonderry, Northern Ireland until 31 July. The Pierce operated out of Londonderry with the Royal Navy on Anti-submarine warfare exercises for almost two weeks. She left there on 31 July and arrived in Bremerhaven, Germany on the 3rd and stayed for 3 days, and then up the Wiser River to Bremen, Germany until the 12th. On the way she passed concrete submarine pens that had been destroyed by the Allies in WW11. It was said that the Pierce was the first destroyer to go to Bremen since the end of the war. Tours of the ship were provided to the many visitors that came aboard. The visitors told crew members of the many bombings of Bremen. She left on the 12th and was under way for another port of relaxation, South End on the Sea, England, a British resort area south of London. All hands enjoyed this five-day stay. Next it was on to Trondheim, Norway another nice liberty town and arrived on the 21st. The Pierce had her picture on the front page of the local paper with a write up of the ship. Sailing from Trondheim on the 26th she arrived in Dundee, Scotland on the 28th, and also another picture in the Dundee newspaper. She stayed there until the 3 September and the headed for Esbierg, Denmark arriving on the 4th. After 5 days in Denmark she went to Torquay, England and arrived on the15th. From 21 September to the 23rd she was in Boulogne, France. Back to Portsmouth, England on the 24th and on her way home on the 25th, with a one-day stay in Argentia, Newfoundland on 1 October. She arrived back in Norfolk, VA on 4 October1954. Never one to miss a good storm, the Pierce was anchored in Hampton Roads, VA when hurricane Hazel hit with full force on 15 October 1954. The storm was a category four with wind 131-155 mph. The storm surge was 13-18 ft. After dragging anchor for a while, the ship escaped with some moderate damage. In November Commander Garrow replaced Commander Berthrong as Captain of the USS John R. Pierce.

From January through March of 1955 she was in the Caribbean Sea again, making stops at Saint Thomas, VI, Kingston, Jamaica and San Juan Puerto Rico. In April of 1955 she had a three-day stay in Miami, FL. From May through August she operated out of Norfolk on training exercises. In September of 1955 the Pierce went into The Philadelphia Navy Yards for an overhaul and remained until February of 1956. In March she left Philadelphia for a shake down cruise to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which lasted till June. Then on to Mayport, FL for plane guard operations and then back to Norfolk, VA

On 13 August she departed Norfolk for her fourth Mediterranean cruise. On 23 August she was anchored in Gibraltar, on the 28th she was in Augusta, Sicily and on the 3rd of September was moored to the USS Cascade (AD16) at Palermo, Sicily. The Pierce left Sicily on the 5th of September in route to Gulf de Palmas off the coast of Sardinia and anchored in Gulfo di Olbie, Sardinia. One of the highlights of this Med. cruise was the arrival of the USS John R. Pierce in Rosslare Harbor, Ireland on 15 September for the dedication ceremonies and unveiling of a statue of John Barry (the Father of the United States Navy.) The Irish government had requested a US Naval ship for the ceremonies and the Pierce was selected. She was the first US ship to Wexford, Ireland. She left Ireland on the 18th and arrived at Plymouth, England on the19th, then to Gibraltar until the 24th, and then on to the Mediterranean for more exercises with the 6th Fleet.

One of the worst tragedies of the John R. Pierce’s long history happened on 1 October in the Mediterranean 75 miles south of Ville Franche. The ship was on aerial gunnery exercise firing at a towed aerial target, when at 0950 hrs a shell exploded in the breech of mount 53 killing a member of the mount and seriously wounding nine others. Three of the injured were in grave condition and later died. Doctors from the nearby cruiser USS Salem were taken by helicopter to the destroyer and then transferred the wounded to the cruiser at sea. Then the USS Salem took the men to Ville Franche to be transported to Nice Airport, France where a Flying Boxcar ambulance waited to fly them to a military hospital in Frankfort, Germany. One of the seriously wounded was Ensign John T. Pierce, son of John R. Pierce for whom the ship was named. After the wounded were transferred the Pierce went to Cannes, France and arrived on the 2nd of October. She stayed there until the 15th and then got under way for the states. She refueled at San Miguel in the Azores on the 20th and again in Bermuda on the 25th and arrived in Norfolk on the 27th. From there she went to the Philadelphia naval yards for repairs.

Back at sea again in May of 1957 off the coast of New England she was briefly part of the filming of a movie called Windjammer. The movie was about the 231-day cruise of the Norwegian sailing ship the Christian Radich. The movie was filmed in what at that time was a new process called Cinemiracle. The Pierce made a brief appearance in the movie was also in a small picture on the back cover of the book called Louis DeRochemont’s Windjammer, published by Random House in 1958.

Back in the Mediterranean when the communist-controlled Syrian Army threatened King Hussein’s pro-western government of Jordan during August and September 1957, destroyers including the Pierce, patrolled the ancient sea-lanes of the eastern Mediterranean to guard against the possible intervention by Nassar’s Egypt. She was now under the Command of Commander C.O. Williamson.

The John R. Pierce returned to the same area in December 1958 to bolster the security of Lebanon, recently threatened by the Soviet-backed United Arab Republic.

The Pierce’s performance during fire fighting and salvage operations on board the tanker SS Mirador in Iskenderum, Turkey, from18-27 December, 1958 has materially contributed to the accomplishment for which the ship received congratulatory messages from the following: Chief of Naval Operations Arleigh Burke, CINCNELM Admiral James L. Holloway, COMSTS, COMSIXTHFLT Ekstrom, COMDESLANT, E.B. Taylor, and COMDESRON 2. All of the messages cited the crew for their excellent performance and their high degree of readiness for all eventualities.

In March of 1960 the Pierce was once again under extremely bad weather during ASW exercises when her Captain O.C. Williamson sent a message of "Well Done" to her crew for their performance in an outstanding manor, as working as a team in extreme bad weather. He states that "he has seen rougher seas and weather, but never have I seen it so bad for so long." Also in 1960, she had a Mediterranean, Caribbean and a shake down cruise. Following the assassination of General Trujillo 27 May 1961, this versatile destroyer patrolled off the Dominican Republic, thus helping to stabilize a potentially explosive situation. She was back to her homeport, Norfolk on 1 April 1962. Also in April, she took a group of Midshipmen for a cruise to Rockland, Maine, for sea duty and getting acquainted with Navy shipboard life.

On May 24th, under the command of Commander Adrian Lorensten The USS John R. Pierce wrote her own page in the history of space pioneering when she recovered Aurora 7, LCDR Scott Carpenter’s spacecraft, after the United States second successful manned orbital flight. The Pierce steamed at high speed for approximately six hours and 206 miles to reach the spacecraft’s recovery area east of Puerto Rico. She recovered the floating space capsule and delivered it safely to Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico. The astronaut was himself recovered by helicopters from the carrier USS Intrepid.

On 1 July 1962 the Pierce was awarded the Engineering "E" for outstanding engineering performance for the year.

Navy pilots discovered Russian offensive missile bases in Cuba 14 October. Deeming this Soviet capability a threat to our national security, President Kennedy ordered on the 22nd an immediate sea and air blockade to prevent all offensive weapons from entering the island. In response to the President’s call for a "quarantine of Cuba" the Navy deployed ninety ships into waters off Cuba to prevent further military buildup and to enforce American demands that the Russians withdraw their missile threat.

Under the command of Commander J.W. Foust, the John R. Pierce departed Norfolk 22 October, joined the quarantine forces (Task Group136) on the 24th, and during the next five days investigated 13 ships. On 26 October Pierce tracked the Lebanese registered freighter Marucra and reported to the USS Joseph P. Kennedy that she had the vessel and was about to board and search her as previously ordered, when she was told to await the arrival of the Kennedy, which was named after the President’s brother. She arrived after daybreak, steaming on four boilers and almost out of fuel. The Kennedy lowered her whaleboat and came to the Pierce to pick up LCDR D.G. Osborne, Executive Officer of the Pierce. As senior officer Osborne headed up the boarding party. When boarded the captain of the freighter was very cooperative, giving all that was asked for, including opening up of one of the hatches so its cargo below could be visually inspected. The ship was cleared and headed for Havana. Commendations were received from the Chief of Naval Operations, Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet and Commander TG 136 for the Pierce’s outstanding communications and performance during the crisis. She departed from her assigned duties the following day and headed for San Juan and then on to Cristobal, Panama Canal Zone to await the Pacific Amphibious ships that had the Pacific Marine Battalion on board. She then steamed around the Caribbean Sea for a while until the decision was made not to invade Cuba.

14 December 1962 found her back in Norfolk, VA. She departed on 29 March 1963 for the Mediterranean and Middle East for duties with the 6thFleet. After two weeks of maneuvers with the 6th Fleet, she transited the Suez Canal 30 April and commenced an 11-week cruise through the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Persian Gulf. Returning to the Mediterranean 16 July, she resumed fleet operations. On 14 August the Pierce rescued three survivors of a plane that splashed off her starboard bow while attempting an emergency landing on the USS Enterprise (CVAN-65).

She departed Palma, Mallorea on 24 August and arrived in Norfolk, VA on 4 September 1963.

The Pierce spent the next year, 1964 operating out of Norfolk, and on off shore surveillance patrols in January, she escorted five Cuban boats, which were illegally fishing in U.S. territorial waters, to Key West for internment. Once again on 8 October she departed Norfolk for her eighth and last cruise to the Mediterranean, operating with the 6th Fleet along the western coast of Italy for the remainder of the year.

Upon arrival in Norfolk on 22 February 1965 the Pierce commenced grooming for her new role as a Group 1 Naval Reserve Training ship. On 1 April 1965 the Pierce reported to the Commandant of the 3rd Naval District in Brooklyn, New York for duty. The Pierce’s homeport was officially changed from Norfolk, VA to the New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn, New York. Her nucleus crew now numbering about 125 men joined forces with one of the nation’s finest Selected Reserve Crews formally of the USS Sullivans (DD537) to become the integrated Ships Company of the USS John R. Pierce. Her duty now was a reserve training ship. She began a schedule of two-week training cruises for Naval reserves. She made several short cruises up and down the Atlantic coast and one through the St. Lawrence to Detroit MI.

An article in a New York newspaper on 25 December 1966 describes how she was the only ship at the old Brooklyn Navy Yard. Bright colored lights that decorate her steel decks blink a salute to the holiday season bringing a vestige of cheer to a place where Christmas is practically a memory. The article tells how the Pierce is a proud ship, a valiant lady, a veteran of the Pacific Theatre during WW11 and of Korea, gained world prominence in May of 1962, when she recovered Aurora 7, Scott Carpenter’s space capsule. But the article was not about the ship’s past history. It is about her and her crew assuming another role. She is the good ship Santa Clause come to give Old St. Nick a seafarer’s hand in his annual visit to a Brooklyn orphanage.

Her Yuletide cargo, a small mountain of wrapped gifts of clothing, games and toys was distributed among 42 youngsters 3 to 17 years old at the Norwegian Children’s Home. One of the largest presents was a sparkling new Ping-Pong table presented by the "selres" or selected reservists, many of whom come from the Brooklyn, Queens and other parts of Long Island. Scores of other gifts were presented by the ship’s "nucleus" personnel, which comprises nine officers and 143 enlisted men. The article goes on to tell how the children constantly talk about the wonderful fellows on the Pierce. They say that those navy fellows are like brothers to us. The Christmas fete was not the first time men of the Pierce visited the orphanage. They answered the home’s SOS last summer when it issued a plea for help in painting the three-story structure. The story also states that the Pierce is slated to get under way next month for Puerto Rico, with later cruises planned for Bermuda, Jamaica and South America.

On 4 October 1968 Commander Charles L. Meserve relieved Commander Robert W. Hall as Commanding Officer.

Finally after a very long and distinguished career, which encompassed over twenty-nine years, the "Grimm Reaper" finally found the John R.

She was decommissioned on 7 January 1973 and on 6 November 1974 was sold to Aardvark International and scrapped.

AWARDS PERMITTED TO BE WORN BY U.S.S. JOHN R. PIERCE

European, African, Middle East Campaign Medal

American Campaign Medal

Asian-Pacific Campaign Medal

World War 11 Victory Medal

Navy Occupation Medal W/ Europe Clasp

Two Navy "E" Awards

Korean War Service Medal W/1 Battle Star

Korean War Presidential Unit Citation

Republic of Korea Service Medal

Combat Action Ribbon

United Nations Service Medal

National Defense Service Medal

United Nations Medal

Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal

I would like to thank the following people who have sent information to me so that I could put this history of the USS John R. Pierce together. I wish that I could have done more, especially during the late 50’s and 60’ and 70’s, but this is all that I had to work with.

Hugh Yarrington, Robert Chambers, Donald Clark, Irwin Polatsek, Ronald Piper, David Cushion, Michael Colello, Arnold Tester, Bradford Allen, Paul Smolarz, Thomas Grace, Rear Admiral J. R. Wadleigh Ret., Capt Dwight G. Osborne Ret., John Biernacki, Captain James W. Foust Ret., Gary Cleasby, Captain O. C. Williamson Ret., Bud Rutter, Steve Astulfi, and Lieutenant Thomas Austin.

Other articles contributing to this history are from:

"The Sea War in Korea" by Commander Malcom W. Cagle and Commander Frank A. Manson of the United States Navy.

Articles from the New York Times

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. From the web site of the USS Salem

The Archives Washington, D.C.

New York Sunday News, December 25, 1966

New York Daily News, Saturday, March 25, 1944

Ships Data Section, Office of Publication Information, Navy Department

Biographies sent in by former ship’s crew members

AUTHOR

Eugene R. Slavin RD2 1951-1955

USS John R. Pierce (DD753) Sailors Organization

In August of 1991 a ship’s association was formed for the former members of the USS John R. Pierce. We hold reunions once a year at different cities in the US. Reunions have been held in the following locations:

1991

1991	Poughkeepsie, NY
1992	St. Louis, MO
1993	Alexandria, VA
1994	Corning, NY
1995	Norfolk, VA
1996	Baton Rouge, LA
1997	Des Moines, IA
1998	Jacksonville, FL
1999	Myrtle Beach, SC
2000	Boston, MA
2001	San Antonio, TX
2002	Atlantic City, NJ
2003	Tampa, FL
2004	Branson, MO
2005	CANCELLED - HURRICANE KATRINA - GULF COAST
2006	Excelsior Springs, MO
2007	Norfolk, VA
2008	Mobile, AL
2009	Norfolk, VA
2010	Kalamazoo, MI
2011	Charleston, SC
2012	Orlando, FL
2013	Clemmons, NC
2014	Ocean City, MD
2015	Atlantic City, NJ
2016	Tampa, FL

Past Presidents of the USS JOHN R PIERCE SAILORS ORGANIZATION:

Wes Kreske, Alfred Lawson, Edward Millett, Bob Chambers,

Ben Bowden, James Diegel, and Charles Twigg