This page is created to DISPLAY a WELCOME ABOARD Pamphlet handed out while the ship was in Victoria, Australia.
A friend Alan Anderson, a WWII U.S. naval veteran who now lives sent the pamphlet and photos he took.
 USS Cimarron
(
AO 177 ship model Ship Overview Crew List No.-1 No.-2 Facebook Suisun Bay Image Rivers Map Alan Anderson was a Yeoman aboard Rescue Tug ATR-7. See his photos taken in Victoria, Australia - below. |
| This is the pamphlet Alan received |
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 UNITED STATES SHIP CIMARRON AO-177 U.S. NAVY AUXILIARY OILER CIMARRON CLASS
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Welcome Aboard  USS CIMARRON AO-177 
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WELCOME
FROM THE CAPTAIN The
officers and men of the USS Cimarron ( <>Please
feel free to ask any crewmember for directions or information
while you are aboard. We want your visit to be rewarding and
informative, and
we will be
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Better
Photo welcomed COMMANDER JEROME A. PESCHKA JR. United States Navy Jerome
Aloysius Peschka,
Jr. was born August 13, 1943 in Roswell, New Mexico, to Jerome A.
Peschka and
Lucille M. Peschka. Upon graduation from New Mexico Military Institute,
he
enlisted in the Naval Reserve and continued his studies at |
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Upon
graduation and
commissioning in June 1965, he was ordered to USS McCaffery
(DD-860) where he served as Electronics Material Officer and Navigator.
Subsequently, Commander Peschka reported to Coastal Squadron One in
Danang RVN
where he served first as Officer-in-Charge of a Swift Boat and later as
Officer-in-Charge of the Chu-Lai Detachment. In
1969 Commander Peschka attended the Commander
Peschka’s
personal awards include Meritorious Service Medal, and the Navy
Commendation
Medal (with Combat ”V”) with a Gold Star in lieu of second award. He is
married
to the former Mary Porter Frese of Commander of Cimarron from 7
January 1983 - 7 August 1985 Book by: Jerome A. Peschka, Jr., "MANNING THE FOURTH ARM OF DEFENSE: TIME TO RESURRECT THE U.S. MARITIME SERVICE?", Unpublished Research Paper, U.S. Naval War College, Newport, RI: 1986. |
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THE
CIMARRON TRADITION
The
word "Cimarron" is of Spanish origin and translates in English to
"Wild" or Unruly." The Cimarron River for which the ship is named,
stretches for 600 miles through New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas and
Oklahoma before emptying into the Arkansas River. The historically
significant Cimarron River Valley is rich in the folklore of the Old
West and previous Navy ships named Cimarron had distinguished
operational records. This provides a firm foundation on which USS Cimarron
(AO-177) continues a fine tradition of sea-going excellence.
The Cimarron Valley is long and relatively narrow, running roughly from east to west and though it contains sites of some of the oldest human settlements in the United States, the region is sparsely settled today. Small tribes of Kiowa, apache, Comanche, Wichita, Cheyenne and Pawnee occupied the area because of the great quantity of bison in the valley. After the acquisition of Louisiana by the United States in 1803 the cimarron Region was frequented by the expeditions of such famous individuals as frontiersman Zebulon Pike and Indian scout Kit Carson. Many settlers made their way west on the Santa Fe trail, which passed through the area and there is even a legendary lost buried treasure in the valley somewhere near Richfield areas, example. The mid-nineteeth century were years of rapid change impelled by the extermination of the buffalo and by the occupation of the open range by the cattlemen. The rise in the cattle industry brought with it cattle thieves known as "rustlers." The most well known in the Cimarron territory as the infamous Coe Outlaw Gang, operating out of the Robber's Roost in the northwest corner of the Cimarron Valley called "No Man's Land." By the end of the 19th century, homesteaders were settling the land in and around the Cimarron area. This steady invasion by civilization brought with it the eventual discovery and exploration of petroleum and was the final boost in which the economy of the valley grew and matured, causing to mesh with the development of the nation. This oiler is the third United States Navy ship to bear the name Cimarron. The first Cimarron was a sidewheel, double-ended steam gunboat which was built by D. S. Merchon of Bordentown New Jersey. Launched 16 March 1962. She was outfitted at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and commissioned 5 July 1862. She provided active support of Civil War Army operations early in the war and later gave excellent service as a member of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Cimarron returned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 8 August 1865 and was decommissioned 17 August 1865. The second Cimarron, AO-22, was launched 7 January 1939 by Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Chester, Pennsylvania and commissioned 20 March 1939. She was sponsored by Mrs. W. D. Leahy, wife of Fleet Admiral W. D. Leahy, chief of Naval Operations prior to World War II. The first commander (1939-1940) was William W. Behrens. Prior to the war, Cimarron operated on both coasts and also supported convoys to Iceland. when the war began she was in the vicinity of Capetown, South Africa and operated from Brazilian ports to Iceland until March 1942 when she was transferred to the West Coast. Cimarron's first duty on the West coast was with the task force which made the first air raid on Tokyo, flown from the carrier Hornet by colonel James H. Doolittle's Army Air Corps pilots in B-25 bombers. Later, she supported the force which defeated the Japanese in the Battle of Midway, the Solomon Islands operation, the Guadalcanal campaign, the Marshalls operation, the attacks on Truk, the Marianas operation and the Palau operation. After the war, she supported the occupation of Japan and later operated primarily in the Far East. She served three tours of duty in the Korean War, participated in the 1959 Quemou-Matsu Island crises, and made three Western Pacific deployments during the Vietnam War. She received ten battle stars for World WAr II service and four for the Korean War. Usually referred to as the most dependable oiler in the Pacific fleet, cimarron provided outstanding service throughout her distinquished career. She was decommissioned on 30 September 1968 and transferred to Portugal the next day. The third Cimarron, AO-177, is the first of a new class of fleet oilers. she was launched 29 April 1979 at Avondale Shipyards Incorporated, Avondale, Louisiana. vice Admiral James H. doyle Jr., Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Surface Warfare at the time, was principal speaker at the ceremony, and his wife Jeanetta is the ship's sponsor. Commissioning took place 10 January 1981 at Naval Supply Center, Oakland, California with Vice Admiral Lee Baggett Jr. Commander Naval Surface Force, United States Pacific Fleet, as the principal speaker. |
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