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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Pyro (AE-24)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - November - Hotel
NENH
JANAP Tactical Voice Radio Call Sign - Key Brook (K)ilo - Section 6A of JANAP 119(F) 1968

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Secretary of the Navy Letter of Commendation
Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Unit Commendation (2) - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (2) - Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (2)
Second Row - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Vietnam, Persian Gulf) - Vietnam Service Medal (8)
Third Row - Southwest Asia Service Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal - Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)

Nitro Class Ammunition Ship:

Laid down, 21 October 1957, at Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Inc., Sparrows Point, MD.

Launched, 5 November 1958

Commissioned, USS Pyro (AE-24), 24 July 1959, at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA., CAPT. Robert A. Patton in command

During the Vietnam War USS Pyro (AE-24) participated in the following campaigns:

Campaigns and Dates	Campaigns and Dates
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Vietnam Service Medal
Vietnam Advisory Campaign 12 February 1965 to 9 March 1965 4 to 25 April 1965 13 ti 25 May 1965 4 to 8 June 1965 16 to 21 June 1965 29 June to 3 July 1965	Sanctuary Counteroffensive 1 to 2 and 11 to 16 May 1970
Vietnamese Counteroffensive 4 an 10 to 15 July 1965 27 July to 7 August 1965 17 to 27 August 1965 5 to 14 and 23 to 30 September 1965 24 March to 4 April 1966 18 to 27 April 1966 5 to 12 and 18 to 19 May 1966 3 to 13 and 25 to 30 June 1966	Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase VII 11 to 22 December 1970 3 January to 17 March 1971 1 to 18 February 1971 15 to 21 March 1971 29 March to 8 April 1971 12 to 14 April 1971 23 April to 1 May 1971
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase II 1 to 8 July 1966 27 July to 11 August 1966 26 August to 7 September 1966	Consolidation II 4 to 15 February 1972 26 February to 6 March 1972 21 to 27 March 1972
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase III 11 to 25 July 1967 7 to 22 August 1967 8 to 26 September 1967 5 to 24 October 1967 5 to 18 November 1967	Ceasefire Campaign 2 to 11 and 16 to 24 April 1972 2 to 19 May 1972 26 May to 12 June 1972 22 June to 7 July 1972 28 July to 14 August 1972 23 to 31 August 1972 16 to 30 September 1972 7 to 17 and 29 to 31 October 1972
Vietnam Winter-Spring 1970 4 to 17 November 1969 25 November to 17 December 1969 2 to 17 January 1970 24 January to 14 February 1970 10 to 29 March 1970 5 to 6 and 14 to 30 April 1970

Decommissioned, 31 May 1994, at Naval Station Treasure Island, CA.

Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, WA.

Struck from the Naval Register, 8 April 1997

Transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) for disposal

Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA., 17 August 2000

USS Pyro (AE-24) earned the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal for eight campaigns during the Vietnam War

Title transfer to MARAD, 24 February 2001

Moved to Mare Island, 25 January 2012, for cleaning prior to being towed to New Orleans for dismantling

Final Disposition, taken in tow, 10 February 2012, by the tugs Marine Retriever and Marshall Foss to be towed to Southern Recycling, New Orleans, LA. via the Panama Canal

Specifications:
Displacement 9,050 t.(lt) 15,688 t.(fl)
Length 512'
Beam 72'
Draft 27'
Speed 19 kts.
Complement 28 officers, 331 enlisted
Armament four twin 3"/50 gun mounts
Propulsion steam turbine, single shaft, 16,000shp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
	57k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24)** exiting San Francisco Bay, dates unknown.	USS Pyro (AE-24) web site / Ron Reeves
	258k		USS Pyro (AE-24) web site / Ron Reeves
	132k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24)** in bound to her homeport in San Francisco Bay following a deployment to WestPac. Note the homeward bound pennant flying, date unknown.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
	53k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24)** under way, date and location unknown. ©Marine Photos, San Diego, CA.	Mike Smolinski
	44k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24) steams alongside USS Midway (CVA-41)** during an underway replenishment (rearming) off the coast of Vietnam, circa July-September 1965. US Navy photo.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
	227k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24)** at anchor in San Francisco Bay in 1965.	Mike Smolinski
	268k	Officers and crew of *USS Pyro* (AE-24)** at quarters during the presentation of the Navy Unit Commendation award to the ship, 10 December 1965, at Mare Island. The official party is from left to right: ADM Roy L. Johnson, CINCPACFLT; Capt. Howard W. Dawson, Commanding Officer; RADM John T. Clark, Commandant, Twelfth Naval District and RADM Edward J. Fahy, Commander, San Francisco Bay Shipyard. US Navy photo File name: AE 24 709X3-12-65 courtesy Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum.	Darryl Baker
	99k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24)** steaming alongside an unidentified aircraft carrier, date and location unknown. US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine April 1966.	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
	42k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24)** under way in 1967, location unknown.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
	215k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24) highlines two pallets of five-inch gun powder canisters to USS Turner Joy (DD-951), during Vietnam War underway replenishment operations in the South China Sea, March 1970. Photographed from on board Turner Joy*. US Navy photo #: K-83111.*	Robert Hurst
	69k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24) during underway replenishment with USS Enterprise (CVN-65)**, circa 1970s, location unknown.	Photo by Dr. Kenneth Hartman
	66k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24) during underway replenishment with USS Enterprise (CVN-65)**, circa 1970s, location unknown.	Photo by Dr. Kenneth Hartman
	84k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24)** under way, circa 1970s, location unknown.	Photo by Dr. Kenneth Hartman
	201k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24)** standing out to sea passing San Francisco, circa 1976. US Navy photo File name: AE 24 1169X3-3-76 courtesy Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum.	Darryl Baker
	115k	*USS Southerland* (DD-743) going to the aid of USS Pyro (AE-24) after Pyro went dead in the water during an unrep with USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63)** off San Diego, circa late-1978-early-1979.	Richard Stiles
	115k		Richard Stiles
	140k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24)** breaks away after completing a replenishment at sea, date and location unknown.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
	539k	Overhead view of *USS Pyro* (AE-24)** underway, 18 March 1980, location unknown. DefenseImagery photo VIRIN: DN-SC-92-04035	Robert Hurst
	518k	Overhead view of *USS Pyro* (AE-24)** under way in 1980, location unknown.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
	63k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24)** underway while enroute to Kodiak Island, AK., date unknown. US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine January 1983.	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
	171k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24)** enroute to Kodiak Island, AK., date unknown. US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine January 1983.	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
	62k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24)** at Kodiak Island, AK., date unknown. US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine January 1983.	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
	79k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24)** under way, date and location unknown. US Navy photo.	Wendell Royce McLaughlin Jr
	323k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24)** under way, date and location unknown. US Navy photo by Fleet Air Cubi Point RP.	Ron Reeves
	402k		Ron Reeves
	51k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24)** under way, date and location unknown. US Navy photo	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
	307k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24)** underway, date and location unknown. US Navy photo	Ron Reeves
	285k	*USS Pyro* (AE-24)** underway, date and location unknown. US Navy photo.	Ron Reeves
09052445	226k	OUSS Pyro (AE-24) underway off San Diego, CA., date unknown. ©George Barber	Robert Hurst
	132k	Invitation to the decommissioning of *USS Pyro* (AE-24)** on 31 May 1994 at Naval Station Treasure Island, San Francisco, CA.	Ron Reeves
	144k	Cover for Decommissioning program for *USS Pyro* (AE-24)** at Naval Station Treasure Island, San Francisco, CA.	Ron Reeves
	185k	The decommissioned *USS Pyro* (AE-24)** moored pierside at Naval Station Treasure Island, CA., circa early June 1994.	Photo by Ron Reeves
	228k	Decommissioned ex-*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22) (left) and ex-USS Pyro (AE-24)** (right) moored pierside at Mare Island, 22 November 2001.	Ron Reeves
	64k	Series of photos showing ex-*USS Pyro* (AE-24)** passing under the Golden Gate Bridge at 11:45AM, 10 February 2012, on her final voyage from San Francisco Bay to Southern Recycling at New Orleans.	Photos by Mike McCullough
	60k
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	124k
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For more photos and information about USS Pyro, see:
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
AE-24 Booklet of General Plans
USS Pyro AE-1 / AE-24

Commanding Officers
01	CAPT. Patton, Robert Arthur	24 July 1959 - 19 September 1959
02	CAPT. Beebe, Marshall Ulrich	19 September 1959 - 19 November 1960
03	CAPT. Cramer, Donald Stanley	19 November 1960 - 18 November 1961
04	CAPT. Snipes, Beecher	18 November 1961 - 27 November 1962
05	CAPT. Healey, Vincent Patrick :RADM	27 November 1962 - 18 October 1963
06	CAPT. O'Brien, James Michael	18 October 1963 - 18 September 1964
07	CAPT. Dawson, Howard Waskom, USN (USNA 1944)	18 September 1964 - 16 February 1966
08	CAPT. Gersuk, Isper Jerome	16 February 1966 - 12 July 1967
09	CAPT. Johnson Jr., John David :VADM	1 July 1967 - 21 August 1968
10	CAPT. Holm, Kenneth Clark (KC)	21 August 1968 - 14 December 1969
11	CAPT. Evans, Jack R.	14 December 1969 - 16 January 1971
12	CAPT. Wikeen, Donald Bruce	16 January 1971 - 18 August 1972
13	CDR. Swan, William Ralph	18 August 1972 - 8 March 1974
14	CDR. McMichael, George Lee	8 March 1974 - 10 March 1976
15	CDR. Walker Jr., Edward Thomas	10 March 1976 - 14 March 1978
16	CDR. Bessey Jr., Roland Bruce	14 March 1978 - 12 March 1980
17	CDR. Manning, Sidney Elwood	12 March 1980 - 31 August 1982
18	CDR. Godley, John Bartlett	31 August 1982 - 10 July 1984
19	CDR. Romanski, Paul Arthur	10 July 1984 - 3 September 1986
20	CDR. McPheeters Jr., James Henry	3 September 1986 - 19 December 1988
21	CDR. Smith, Thomas M.	19 December 1988 - 2 November 1990
22	CDR. Schuler, John J.	2 November 1990 - 16 November 1992
23	CDR. McDonough, Robert James	16 November 1992 - 4 April 1994
24	CDR. Egan, Richard Thomas	4 April 1994 - 31 May 1994


Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves. Photos courtesy Bill Gonyo

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

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Last Updated 15 September 2023