|
Rear Admiral Isaac
Campbell Kidd (March 26, 1884 – December 7, 1941):
Isaac Campbell Kidd was
born in Cleveland, Ohio, on 26 March 1884. He entered the U.S. Naval Academy in
1902, graduating with the Class of 1906 in February of that year, and was
commissioned an Ensign in 1908. Kidd participated in the 1907-09 "Great
White Fleet" cruise around the World while serving in USS New Jersey
(BB-16). Following service in USS North Dakota (BB-29) and USS Pittsburgh
(Armored Cruiser # 4), he became Aide and Flag Secretary to the Commander in
Chief, Pacific Fleet, the first of his many flag staff assignments. He was an
instructor at the Naval Academy in 1916-17.
During and after the First World War, Kidd was stationed on USS New Mexico
(BB-40), then had further staff and Naval Academy service. He was executive
officer of the battleship Utah (BB-31) in 1925-26, then commanded USS Vega
(AK-17) until becoming Captain of the Port at Chrisobal, Panama Canal Zone in
1927-30. Promoted to the rank of Captain, he was Chief of Staff to Commander,
Base Force, U.S. Fleet in 1930-32. After three years at the Bureau of
Navigation in Washington, D.C., he was Commander Destroyer Squadron ONE,
Scouting Force, in 1935-36.
Captain Kidd next attended the Naval War College and served on the College
staff. He was Commanding Officer of USS Arizona (BB-39) from September 1938
until February 1940, when he was promoted to Rear Admiral and assigned as
Commander Battleship Division ONE and Chief of Staff to Commander,
Battleships, Battle Force. On 7 December 1941, he was killed in action on
board Arizona during the Pearl Harbor Raid. Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd was
posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Pearl
Harbor attack.
Three U.S. Navy destroyers have been named in honor of Rear Admiral Kidd: USS
Kidd (DD-661), 1943-1974 (still afloat as a memorial at Baton Rouge,
Louisiana); USS Kidd (DDG-993), 1981-1998 and USS Kidd (DDG-100), 2007--
Medal of Honor citation of Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd:
(as printed in his official Navy Office of
Information Biography, June 1974):
"For conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage, and complete
disregard of his own life, during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor,
Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese Forces on December 7, 1941. He immediately
went to the bridge and as Commander Battleship Division ONE, courageously
discharged his duties as Senior Officer Present Afloat until the USS ARIZONA,
his Flagship, blew up from magazine explosions and a direct bomb hit on the
bridge, which resulted in the loss of his life."
|
|
USS Kidd (DDG
993):
USS Kidd (DDG-993) was the lead ship in her class of destroyers operated by the
U.S. Navy. Derived from the Spruance class, these vessels were designed for
air defense in hot weather. The vessel was the second named after Medal of
Honor recipient Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who was aboard the USS Arizona
during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and was the first American flag officer to
die in World War II.
Originally named Kouroush, the ship was
ordered by the Shah of Iran, but was undelivered when the 1979 Iranian
Revolution occurred. Subsequent to this, the U.S. Navy elected to commission
the Kidd class for service in the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Sea, as they
were equipped with heavy-duty air conditioning and were also well suited to
filtering sand and the results from NBC warfare.
History:
8 December 1982: Deployed to the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean under
the command of Commander William J. Flanagan. While in the Mediterranean Sea,
the USS Kidd visited the ports of Palma de Majorca, Spain; Beirut, Lebanon;
and Catania, Italy. She visited the ports of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, and
Mombasa, Kenya, while on station in the Indian Ocean before returning to the
Mediterranean and calling on Benidorm, Spain. The deployment ended with her
return to Norfolk on 2 June 1983. In September 1983, the Kidd was awarded the
Battle Efficiency "E".
16 February 1984: The USS Kidd left Norfolk, Virginia, to participate in
battle-readiness maneuvers as part of Operation United Effort. She returned
home to Norfolk on 29 April.
12 March 1985: READEX 1-85, with Commander Fred Moosally in command. She
conducted Caribbean operations from 28 March to 6 April, before anchoring at
Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico. Following a transit of the Atlantic Ocean, she
passed through the Straits of Gibraltar on 17 April. While in the
Mediterranean, the USS Kidd called on the ports of Taormina, Sicily, and
Gaeta and Naples, Italy.
30 May 1985: U.S. Sixth Fleet operations in the Black Sea through 3 June. The
USS Kidd cut short a port visit to Haifa, Israel, on 16 June in response to
the TWA Flight 847 aircraft hijacking. She returned to Haifa on 15 July
before visiting Alexandria, Egypt, and Constanta, Romania. Black Sea
operations continued with the Sixth Fleet in August. The Kidd called on
Istanbul, Turkey, before returning to Naples, Italy. She conducted operations
in the Western Mediterranean with the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) through September.
Calling on Benidorm, Spain, she then passed through the Straits of Gibraltar
again on 20 September. After visiting Rota, Spain, the Kidd crossed the
Atlantic under the power of her gas-turbine engines, arriving in Norfolk. and
ending her deployment on 2 October 1985.
September 1987: The USS Kidd was awarded her third Battle Efficiency
"E" award while deployed as part of the Middle East Force 3-87. She
departed Norfolk on 6 June 1987, returning to port on 4 December 1987. During
the operations in the Persian Gulf, from about 4 July to 2 October, the Kidd
led the first ten convoys of Kuwaiti tankers which were reflagged with
American flags. This reflagging was in response to Iranian threats to close
the Persian Gulf shipping lanes, through which more than 50% of the world's
oil ourput passes.
9 January 1991: The USS Kidd departed from Norfolk, bound for the Persian
Gulf, along with the USS McInerney (FFG-8), in support of Operation Desert
Storm. The Kidd faced several roles while operating in the Persian Gulf,
among them the location and destruction of naval mines and maritime
interdiction force operations. To assist in these duties, a detachment from
Anti-Submarine Light Helicopter Squadron 34 (HSL-34) was embarked. The
"Green Checkers" came aboard with two SH-2 helicopters which were
used early on in SSSC missions – flying beyond the visual horizon of this
warship to visually observe all radar contacts on the surface. In early April,
two U.S. Army OH-58 AHIPS helicopters were embarked, giving a total of four
helicopters embarked on board the Kidd at one time.
December 1991: The USS Kidd was again awarded the Battle Efficiency
"E", this time for excellence during Desert Shield and Desert
Storm.
October 1992: Counter-narcotics operations off the South American coast. The
USS Kidd transited the Panama Canal on 8 November 1992. During this mission,
she patrolled Latin American waters as a deterrent to smugglers of illegal
contraband. A detachment from the Anti-Submarine Light Helicopter Squadron 34
(HSL-34) was carried on this cruise.
December 1992: The USS Kidd was awarded her sixth Battle Efficiency
"E". Admiral Isaac Kidd, Jr., USN(Ret.) presented this award to the
crew at a pierside ceremony.
October 1994: The USS Kidd is assigned to Carrier Task Force 60 (CTF-60),
forming around the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). During this period, the
task force provided support of the naval weapons and ammunition embargo of
the war-torn republics of the former Yugoslavia ("Operation
Sharpguard"), the enforced no-fly zone over the area (Operation Deny
Flight), and air drops of humanitarian aid to the residents of the city of
Sarajevo ("Operation Provide Promise").
1996: The USS Kidd was in the Caribbean Sea on counter-narcotics patrols,
under the command of Commander John J. Decavage.
16 April 1997: Port visit three-day port visit to Boston, Massachusetts, to
coincide with the 100th running of the Boston Marathon. From there, she moved
southward to Port Au Prince, Haiti, for a community relations project before
assuming drug interdiction duties in the Caribbean. She transited the Panama
Canal to the Eastern Pacific on 30 April. Following another transit of the
Canal and a brief stop in Charleston, South Carolina, the USS Kidd ended her
final deployment in Norfolk on 1 June 1997.
12 March 1998: The USS Kidd was decommissioned for placement into storage as
a reserve warship on 12 March 1998, at Norfolk Naval Base, Virginia. Present
at this decommissioning ceremony were several of Admiral Isaac Kidd's
surviving family members, including his son, Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, Jr., USN
(Ret.). The USS Kidd's last American Commanding Officer was Commander Thomas
R. Andress, USN.
Current status:
The vessel has been renamed the ROCS Tso Ying
(DDG-1803), a Kee Lung-class guided-missile destroyer currently in
active service of Republic of China Navy. She was formally commissioned at
the Su-ao Naval Base in northeastern Taiwan on 2006-11-03, along with her
sister ship, the ROCS Ma Kong (DDG-1805). Due to her somewhat run-down
condition from her storage, she was the third former USS Kidd-class vessel
commissioned by ROCN.
The Tso Ying is named after the largest naval base in Taiwan, the Tso Ying
Naval Base in the Tsoying District, Kaohsiung, of southern Taiwan. The Tso
Ying Naval Base is also the location of the Republic of China's naval academy
and fleet headquarters.
source: wikipedia
|
