I was immediately taken up to the wardroom where I met the CO and XO. It was at the Long Beach naval station on Terminal Island, only a few piers away from the minesweepers that I had left 7 years earlier. I called the ship on the phone to find out where it was located. There would be plenty of adventures over the next couple of years.

We proceeded to find a home in Huntington Beach. We still had several close friends from our single days there. I had been stationed in Long Beach in the late 1950s, which was where I had first met my wife. The ship was USS England (DLG 22) homeported in Long Beach.

The DLG’s were relatively new and were considered to be the top of the line of the destroyer force at the time. He said that he needed to find a replacement for an officer aboard a guided missile frigate (DLG) who had just resigned. When I went in to see him, I was pleasantly surprised when he asked me if I would take another Chief Engineer’s tour. Our Detailer from BUPERS was due to visit with us to discuss orders. I was due to graduate in September, 1967.

This episode starts when I was a student at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. (US Navy Photo/NAVSOURCE)By Captain George Stewart, USN (Ret.) USS England Stern view, Firing Terrier missile from stern launcher.

Us navy lst ships vietnam war