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General Characteristics Crew List Memorabilia Cruise Books About the Ship's Coat of Arms Accidents aboard the Ship Patch Gallery About the Name "Caron" History Image Gallery to end of page |  |  |
USS CARON was the eighth SPRUANCE - class destroyer and the first ship in the Navy named after Hospital Corpsman Third Class Wayne Maurice Caron. During CARON's more than 20 years of service, she has been involved in every conflict that the US has been involved in since her commissioning. CARON has been in Grenada, the Gulf of Sidra, the Black Sea and the Gulf War. USS CARON was last homeported in Norfolk, Va. On December 4, 2002, she was "accidentally" sunk as a target during explosive tests off Puerto Rico as CARON was believed to survice the tests and scheduled to be sunk as a target in 2003. Secondary explosions during the test finally caused her to sink. USS CARON was the first VLS-equipped ship ever used as target during a SINKEX. (Pictures at the end of the page).
| General Characteristics: | Keel Laid: July 1, 1974 |
| Launched: June 23, 1975 | |
| Commissioned: October 1, 1977 | |
| Decommissioned: October 10, 2001 | |
| Builder: Ingalls Shipbuilding, West Bank, Pascagoula, Miss. | |
| Propulsion system: four General Electric LM 2500 gas turbine engines | |
| Propellers: two | |
| Blades on each Propeller: five | |
| Length: 564,3 feet (172 meters) | |
| Beam: 55,1 feet (16.8 meters) | |
| Draft: 28,9 feet (8.8 meters) | |
| Displacement: approx. 9,200 tons full load | |
| Speed: 30+ knots | |
| Aircraft: one | |
| Armament: two | |
| Crew: approx. 340 |
back to top go to the end of the pageback to top go to the end of the pageCrew List:
This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS CARON. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.
back to top go to the end of the pageback to top go to the end of the pageUSS CARON Cruise Books:
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About the Ship's Coat of Arms:
Symbolism:
The design of the shield and crest of the coat of arms is based on service of Wayne Maurice Caron, Hospital Corpsman Third Class, United States Navy, who heroically sacrificed his life on 28 July, 1968 while aiding wounded Marines on the field of fire in Vietnam. The Medal of Honor was awarded him posthumously. USS CARON (DD 970) is named in his honor.
The light blue center section and the white five-pointed star allude to the Medal of Honor ribbon; the star is also inverted in reference to the silhouette of the Medal of Honor pendant. The one light blue and the two Navy blue sections refer to the courage, steadfast determination and selfless dedication of Petty Officer Caron in performance of duty while serving as Platoon Corpsman with Company K, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines, First Marine Division. The sweep of his unit through an open rice field in Quang Nam Province is indicated by the scarlet base and the embattled gold chevron. Navy blue and gold and scarlet and gold are the colors of the Navy and Marine Corps.
The Crest:
The Navy blue caduceus is the insignia worn on the white uniforms by Hospital Corpsmen, United States Navy. This insignia and the crossed bayonets (in the colors of the Marine Corps) allude to the medical services customarily provided the Marine Corps by the Navy. In particular, the caduceus and bayonets symbolize the combat operation in which Petty Officer Caron, though grievously wounded, was killed while giving medical assistance to his wounded comrades.
back to top go to the end of the pageAccidents of USS CARON:
| Date | Where | Events |
|---|---|---|
| February 22, 1988 | 9 miles off the Crimean Peninsula, Black Sea | USS YORKTOWN (CG 48) and USS CARON are bumped by a Soviet destroyer and frigate, respectively. The action came after the two US ships entered the Soviet's 12-mile territorial water limit. |
back to top go to the end of the pageUSS CARON Patch Gallery:
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back to top go to the end of the pageAbout the Ship's Name, about Wayne Maurice Caron:
Wayne Maurice Caron was born in Middleboro, Massachusetts, on 2 November 1946, son of Aime Joseph and Lorraine Janet (Paradise) Caron. He graduated from Memorial High School, Middleboro, June 1966, and on 12 July that year, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy at Boston, Massachusetts. He subsequently advanced to Hospital Apprentice 23 September 1966, Hospitalman 1 April 1967, and Hospital Corpsman Third Class 16 January 1968.
Following his enlistment in 1966, he had recruit training at the Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, Illinois until October of that year, then was a student at the Naval Hospital Corps School, Great Lakes. From January 1967 to April 1968, he served at the Naval Hospital, Great Lakes, after which he had instruction at the Field Medical Service School, Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, California. In July 1968, he joined Headquarters and Service Company, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines, First Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force, and was serving as Platoon Corpsman with Company K, when he was killed in action on 28 July 1968. "For conspicuous gallantry at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty...during combat operations against enemy forces in the Republic Vietnam..," he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. The citation further states:
"While on a sweep through an open rice field in Quang Nam Province, Petty Officer Caron's unit started receiving enemy small-arms fire. Upon seeing two Marine casualties fall, he immediately ran forward to render first aid, but found that they were dead. At this time, the platoon was taken under intense small-arms and automatic weapons fire, sustaining additional casualties. As he moved to the aid of his wounded comrades, Petty Officer Caron was hit in the arm by enemy fire. Although knocked to the ground, he regained his feet and continued to aid the injured Marines. He rendered medical assistance to the first Marine he reached, who was grievously wounded, and undoubtedly was instrumental in saving the man's life. Petty Officer Caron then ran toward the second wounded Marine, but was again hit by enemy fire, this time in the leg. Nonetheless, he crawled the remaining distance and provided medical aid to this severely wounded man. (He) started to make his way to yet another injured comrade, when he was again struck by enemy small-arms fire. Courageously, and with unbelievable determination, (he) continued his attempt to reach the third Marine, until he, himself, was killed by an enemy rocket. His inspiring valor, steadfast determination, and selfless dedication in the face of extreme danger, sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service."
He was awarded the Purple Heart Medal for wounds received in the aforementioned action.
In addition to the Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart Medal, he has the Combat Action Ribbon, The National Defense Service Medal, and the Vietnam Service Medal. He also had the Vietnamese Military Merit Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm.
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back to top go to the end of the pageHistory of USS CARON:
USS CARON was laid down at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi, on July 1, 1974; launched on August 9, 1975, sponsored by Mrs. Teresa (Caron) Young; and commissioned on October 1, 1977, under Commander Earle G. Schweizer Jr., with Norfolk, Virginia, as her home port. The destroyer completed fitting out and post-commissioning trials in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic, then entered the Atlantic Fleet training rhythm - engineering trials, combat systems calibrations, and antisubmarine warfare (ASW) workups - typical of the new SPRUANCE-class, which had been optimized to screen carrier groups against increasingly quiet Soviet submarines.
In 1979, CARON made her first major overseas deployment to the Mediterranean. In August, she and the guided-missile destroyer USS FARRAGUT (DDG 37) executed a one-week Black Sea patrol. During that patrol, Soviet aircraft - including Backfire bombers - conducted repeated mock missile attack profiles against the two U.S. ships as they steamed under innocent-passage rules, a visible Cold War exchange that nevertheless remained below the threshold of armed conflict. CARON also operated with the USS INDEPENDENCE (CV 62) battle group before returning to the United States in December.
Through 1980-1982, CARON alternated Northern and Mediterranean evolutions with Caribbean and Western Atlantic periods, including high-latitude NATO ASW work in the Norwegian Sea and a Panama Canal transit for exercises in early 1982 - useful experience as the Navy refined blue-water tactics against Soviet submarines and long-range naval aviation. She also made standard Sixth Fleet port calls during these tours, typical of which were Toulon, France, and other Western Mediterranean liberty ports.
In October 1983, CARON shifted to crisis response. As the United States executed Operation URGENT FURY to evacuate U.S. citizens and stabilize Grenada after a violent coup, the destroyer operated off the island's southwest approaches on D-Day, October 25, 1983. Contemporary and veteran accounts credit CARON with multiple at-sea recoveries over 25-26 October: first, a 20-man Navy SEAL/U.S. Air Force reconnaissance element whose combat rubber craft had been swamped in heavy surf off Point Salines before H-hour; later that day, ten additional SEALs forced off a radio transmitter site near St. George's; and on October 26, eleven U.S. Army Rangers who had been left on a raft off Grand Anse Beach after the large helicopter evacuation of medical students. These actions occurred as U.S. naval forces - carriers, amphibious ready groups, and surface combatants - secured sea and air control around the island.
Immediately thereafter, from November 1983 into early 1984, CARON joined the eastern Mediterranean rotation supporting the Multinational Force off Lebanon during the closing phase of the Beirut mission. On February 8, 1984, as Druze and Syrian forces pressed attacks around Beirut, CARON and the destroyer USS MOOSBRUGGER (DD 980) delivered heavy naval gunfire in support of U.S. and Lebanese government positions - about 400 rounds of 5-inch ammunition in coordinated fire missions, part of the heaviest U.S. naval bombardment since Vietnam that winter. CARON remained on station until March 1984 as the situation deteriorated and the Multinational Force withdrew.
On March 10, 1986, CARON deployed with the USS AMERICA (CV 66) battle group for the Mediterranean. In late March, she and USS SCOTT (DDG 995) deliberately crossed south of Libya's claimed "Line of Death" in the Gulf of Sidra during a freedom of navigation exercise. Libyan forces reacted over March 23-24, 1986. U.S. Navy aircraft shot down two Libyan fighters and struck Libyan surface-to-air missile sites and patrol craft when fired upon. CARON's role was to take station south of the line as a surface combatant presence. She did not fire weapons during the exchange. She completed the Med tour and returned to Norfolk later in 1986.
CARON returned to the Black Sea in the winter of 1987-1988 as part of routine but politically sensitive U.S. assertions of navigation rights. On February 12, 1988, while transiting inside Soviet-claimed territorial seas near Crimea with USS YORKTOWN (CG 48), she was deliberately bumped by the Soviet patrol combatant SKR-6 in a choreographed attempt to push the U.S. ships out of the area. YORKTOWN was rammed by the frigate BEZZAVETNYY. Both U.S. ships maintained course and speed, completed their transit, and departed without casualties. The incident - filmed by both sides - became one of the most visible Cold War freedom-of-navigation episodes.
Following stateside workups, CARON completed a second major overhaul on February 27, 1990, departed New Orleans on February 28, and returned to Norfolk on March 5. Within months, Iraq invaded Kuwait, and CARON redeployed with Atlantic Fleet units to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. On January 17, 1991, CARON, operating in the Persian Gulf alongside USS HEWITT (DD 966) and USS STUMP (DD 978), took part in the opening salvoes of the war by launching Tomahawk land-attack missiles as coalition air and sea strikes commenced against Iraqi military targets. After the cease-fire she remained on station for post-war maritime security tasks before returning home.
Back in the Western Hemisphere, CARON joined the sanctions-enforcement posture off Haiti as United Nations measures tightened in 1993. Pre-positioned on October 14, 1993, she helped the coalition enforce maritime embargoes intended to bring Haiti's military rulers to a negotiated transition - an emblematic example of early-1990s naval presence and sanctions enforcement in the Caribbean.
In early 1995, the destroyer shifted to a mine warfare leadership role. On March 22, 1995, CARON sailed from Norfolk as flagship for Mine Countermeasures Squadron Two to lead four AVENGER-class mine countermeasures ships across the Atlantic for NATO's "Blue Harrier '95" exercise off Denmark, integrating a fast U.S. surface combatant with dedicated minehunters and allied units in cold-water, shallow-sea MCM scenarios. The deployment underscored the Navy's post-Gulf War emphasis on coalition mine countermeasures.
From January to July 1996, CARON returned to the Arabian Gulf with the Middle East Force, enforcing U.N. sanctions on Iraq and supporting Operation Southern Watch. During the deployment, in mid-June, her embarked SH-60B detachment rescued a lone survivor from a capsized merchant craft in rough seas about 28 miles off Oman, a reminder of the routine search-and-rescue demands that accompanied sanctions patrols. The ship returned to Norfolk on July 8, 1996.
After workups that included a joint task force exercise with the JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN 74) group, CARON deployed again from February 26 to July 3, 1998 with USS JOHN C. STENNIS and Carrier Group Seven, operating in the Mediterranean and Arabian Gulf. Early in the cruise she participated in the undersea warfare exercise "Shark Hunt '98" off Spain, with liberty calls that included Malaga and Palma de Mallorca, before transiting eastward for Fifth Fleet operations. She completed the deployment and returned to the East Coast in July.
From January 1 to June 4, 1999, CARON underwent an overhaul at Newport News that, among other alterations and maintenance, reconfigured accommodations to integrate female sailors as the fleet completed gender-integration modifications across legacy surface combatants. After a brief training cycle she joined the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73) battle group on June 21, 2000 for a six-month Mediterranean/Arabian Gulf deployment that relieved USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN 69) and concluded with a December homecoming.
Following nearly twenty-four years of service, CARON was decommissioned at Norfolk on October 10, 2001, struck from the Naval Vessel Register on June 5, 2002, and subsequently used in an instrumented explosives test off Puerto Rico. She sank on December 4, 2002, about 75 nautical miles south of Roosevelt Roads, during the first test sequence.
back to top go to the end of the pageUSS CARON Image Gallery:
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The photo below was taken by Thomas Zera and shows the CARON laid up at Philadelphia, Penn., on July 13, 2002.
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