History

USS Joseph Hewes (DE/FF/FFT 1078) was the 27th ship of the Knox class of Frigates, she was named for Joseph Hewes.

Joseph Hewes was born in 1730, at Kingston, New Jersey, and was educated at what is now Princeton University. After engaging in business in Philadelphia, he moved to Edenton, North Carolina in 1763 where he became a prosperous and influential merchant skipper. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1774, and in 1775 became a member of the Marine Committee. In this capacity Hewes played a major part in the procurement and outfitting of Continental vessels, and had the distinction of securing a commission in the Continental Navy in December 1775 for one of the sea's greatest heroes-to-be, John Paul Jones. John Adams often said that Hewes "laid the foundation, the cornerstone of the American Navy." Alongside General George Washington, Hewes became one of the greatest military achievers in American history. He was also involved with the secret committee of claims, which further promoted the independence of the colonies. Hewes was one of the primary reasons why North Carolina submitted to independence before any other colony. He was also one of the few reasons why the Declaration of Independence was ever signed. Hewes continued to take an active part in the movement for independence in North Carolina. He also took part in the discussions leading to the Declaration of Independence and signed the historic document. He died 29 October 1779 shortly after his return to the Continental Congress.

USS Joseph Hewes (DE 1078) (1971-1994) was the second ship to be named in his honor, she was preceded by AP 50 (1942-1942).

Service history

JOSEPH HEWES was constructed by Avondale Shipyards, Westwego, Louisiana. The ship was launched on 7 March 1970 under the sponsorship of Mrs. Noel A.M Gaylor Wife of the Director of the National Security Agency. JOSEPH HEWES was placed in commission on 24 April 1971 at Boston Naval Shipyard, Charlestown, Massachusetts. The Honorable Hastins Keith, Republican Congressman of the 12th District, Massachusetts, was guest speaker. Commander Robert E. Klee, USM assumed command of JOSEPH HEWES that day.

She joined the fleet and was assigned "Ocean Escort" duties. JOSEPH HEWES's first homeport was Newport, Rhode Island.

The ship made a West Pac cruise to Vietnam in 1972, participating in a gunfire support role off the coast of Quang Tre, Vietnam. JOSEPH HEWES would provide gunfire support all day, and then reload at night. During the highly successful Vietnam tour, a LAMPS helicopter, an SH-2D from HSL30 was deployed aboard JOSEPH HEWES. This was the first deployed LAMPS helicopter in the history of the Navy. After leaving Vietnam, JOSEPH HEWES took the long way home in the form of an Around-the-World cruise.

JOSEPH HEWES was the platform that tested the protoype SQR-18 towed array. The ASW ops of the year or so after it came aboard - Westlant ops with US units and ops in the Med against Soviets during the '73 war - redefined ASW. During the period 72-75 the ship deployed once a year - June-Dec 72 to Westpac, Sep 73-Jan 74 to the Med, and Jan 75-Jun 75 to the Indian Ocean. JOSEPH HEWES was the first USN ship to make an operational transit of the Suez Canal after it was reopened in 1975.

Redesignated Frigate on June 30, 1975, her hull number changed to FF-1078, and she was reassigned to an "Anti-Submarine Warfare" (ASW) role.

The ship went through a major overhaul at the Brooklyn Navy yards between January 1981 and February 1982. The ship then left for Charleston, went to GTMO in June and July of 1982 for Refresher Training, and did local ASW Yankee Box operations off of Bermuda in the fall of 1982 and early 1983 for the work-up for deployment in April 1983 as part of the International Peace-Keeping force in Beirut. JOSEPH HEWES did a lot of ISE (Independent Steaming) in the Med, visiting Cannes, Gaeta, Haifa, and St. Tropez during a very successful Med '83 tour. JOSEPH HEWES was approximately 10-12K yards from the Marines when they were bombed by the terrorists at BIA (Beirut Intl Airport) on October 23, 1983. JOSEPH HEWES then operated for a while with USS NEW JERSEY, during her infamous 390 days away from her homeport of Long Beach, 1983-1984.

On 15 February 1985, JOSEPH HEWES arrived to the scene where the M/V A. Regina, a passenger cargo ferry ran aground on a reef off Isla de Mona. Due to surf conditions, JOSEPH HEWES was unable to use its boats to transport the evacuees which had landed on the nearby island. JOSEPH HEWES remained on scene to assist and using its helicopter, delivered hot food, soft drinks, and water to the A. Regina evacuees on Mona Island.

The ship was decommissioned 30 June 1994 and struck 11 January 1995. She was disposed of through the Security Assistance Program (SAP), transferred, cash sale, ex-US fleet hull foreign military sale, transferred to as Taiwan as Lan Yang (FF-935).

Awards

- Combat Action Ribbon
- Joint Meritorious Unit Award with oak leaf cluster
- Meritorious Unit Citation
- Navy E Ribbon (3 awards)
- Navy Expeditionary Medal
- National Defense Service Medal with bronze star
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with two bronze stars
- Vietnam Service Medal with one campaign star
- Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
- Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal

Commanding Officers

1 - Cmdr. Robert Erhart Klee (USNA '53) (Tacoma, Wash.) (ret. as Radm.) ( 24 Apr 1971 - 30 Jun 1972)
2 - Cmdr. Jerry Ray Haynes ( 30 Jun 1972 - 07 Dec 1973)
3 - Cmdr. Thomas Bingham Buell ( 07 Dec 1973 - 05 Sep 1975)
4 - Cmdr. Zeanious Lee Newcomb (NROTC '56) (Roanoke, Va.) ( 05 Sep 1975 - 16 Aug 1977)
5 - Cmdr. Richard John Fromholtz ( 16 Aug 1977 - 01 Aug 1979)
6 - Cmdr. Guy Reeder Campbell III (NROTC '62) (Salina, Kan.) ( 01 Aug 1979 - 18 Nov 1982)
7 - Capt. Lorry Michael Hardt ( 18 Nov 1982 - 05 Apr 1985)
8 - Cmdr. Carl I. Lundquist (NROTC '68) (Newton, Mass.) ( 05 Apr 1985 - 05 Aug 1987)
9 - Cmdr. Gary S. Nelson ( 05 Aug 1987 - 15 Dec 1989)
10 - Cmdr. Frank Joseph Dobrydney ( 15 Dec 1989 - 26 Jul 1991)
11 - Cmdr. Kristopher M. Kennedy ( 26 Jul 1991 - 26 Mar 1993)
12 - Cmdr. Wayne K. Frey ( 26 Mar 1993 - 30 Jun 1994)