Isbell veteran Steve Johnson provided access to these deck logs from the 1971-72 Westpac cruise. Steve is submitting these logs to the US Congress for inclusion in the agent orange list which will allow those on the last cruise to file for VA disability.
Deck logs 10/21/71 through 12/26/71 (PDF format)
Deck logs 1/16/72 through 2/16/72 (PDF format)
Combat Naval Gunfire Support File (CONGA)
Records About Isbell’s Naval Gunfire Support During the Vietnam War, documenting the period 3/1966 – 1/1973. (Full, fielded search page is here.) Records are from the The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
Request Your Military Service Records Online
Includes DD 214/Separation Documents, Personnel Records, and/or Medical Records
This site is dedicated to all former Isbell officers, crew, and other interested destroyer and navy buffs. It’s important to keep alive the memory of these old tin cans and the good and bad times we all had while aboard.
Arnold J. Isbell (DD-869) was laid down on 14 March 1945 at Staten Island N.Y., by the Bethlehem Steel Co. and launched on 6 August 1945, the day the US dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Read the rest of this entry »
The crew of the USS Arnold J. Isbell (DD-869) will gather for their 12th reunion to renew old friendship, make new ones and spin sea stories, this time in St. Louis, Missouri.
Friday, September 26 – Monday, September 29
St. Louis, Missouri
We will explore the St. Louis area highlights via three tours:
Saint Louis Arch and Cahokia Mounds
Grant’s Farm and Brewery
Lewis and Clark and Lock & Dam
Download these documents for registration and tour information:
2014 Reunion Announcement (PDF)
2014 Reunion Registration (PDF)
2014 Reunion Tour Schedule (PDF) (coming soon)
Thanks again to Barry Dahlberg for another great organizational job.
Captain Arnold J. Isbell was assigned command of the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown near the end of World War II. It was while enroute to that assignment aboard USS Franklin that he lost his life when the Franklin came under attack near Okinawa. Captain Isbell’s name is etched in the Honolulu Memorial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific as one of those missing in action, or lost or buried at sea in the Pacific. Below is Captain Isbell’s name and the serene setting of his permanent memorial.
Wayne Tripp (RMSN/RM3) recently ran across these photos of some of the officers aboard Isbell on the 1971-72 Westpac cruise. Click here to see all of Wayne’s Westpac photos.
Lt. Dillon:
Lt(jg) Giesemann:
Lt(jg) Nute:
Lt(jg) Schauer:
Ens. Bagley:
Ens Nakayama:
The crew of the USS Arnold J. Isbell (DD-869) will gather for their 11th reunion to renew old friendship, make new ones and spin sea stories.
Thursday, September 12 – Sunday, September 15
San Francisco, California
We will explore the San Francisco area highlights via three tours:
Muir Woods, Sausalito & Ferry
Mare Island & Vineyard
San Francisco City & Pier 39
Download these documents for registration and tour information:
2013 Reunion Announcement (PDF)
2013 Reunion Registration (PDF)
2013 Reunion Tour Schedule (PDF)
Thanks again to Barry Dahlberg for another great organizational job.
USS Arnold J. Isbell (DD-869) 