| Commissioning Ceremony | Commissioning Pennant |
| Principal Speaker | Silver Service |
| Frigate Punch | |
 and Ship's Company request the honor of your presence at the commissioning of the United States Ship CALIFORNIA (DLGN 36) at Pier Twelve Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia on Saturday, the sixteenth of February nineteen hundred and seventy-four at eleven o'clock |
USS California (DLGN 36)
Commissioning Ceremony
16 February 1974
CINCLANTFLT Band
INVOCATION
Captain H. E. Keen, CHC, USN
Force Chaplain, Cruiser-Destroyer Force
United States Atlantic Fleet
WELCOMING REMARKS AND INTRODUCTION
OF DISTINGUISHED GUESTS
Captain Floyd H. Miller, Jr., USN
Prospective Commanding Officer
USS CALIFORNIA (DLGN (36)
INDRODUCTION OF THE PRINCIPL SPEAKER
The Honorable Robert D. Nesen
Assistant Secretary of the Navy for
Financial Management
ADDRESS BY THE PRINCIPAL SPEAKER
The Honorable James E. Johnson
Former Assistant Secretary of the Navy for
Manpower and Reserve Affairs
INTRODUCTION OF THE COMMANDANT FIFTH NAVAL DISTRICT
Captain Floyd H. Miller, Jr., USN
Prospective Commanding Officer
USS CALIFORNIA (DLGN 36)
READING OF COMMISSIONING DIRECTIVE
Rear Admiral Roy G. Anderson, USN
Commandant Fifth Naval District
COMMISSIONING
Prospective Commanding Officer Reads His Orders
The National Anthem; Raising of the Flag of
The United States of America, the Union Jack
and the Commission Pennant
ACCEPTANCE OF COMMAND
Captain Floyd H. Miller, Jr., USN
Reports Ship in Commission and
accepts Command
SETTING THE WATCH
The Commanding Officer directs
the Executive Officer
Commander Edwin M. Baldwin, USN
to set the first watch
BREAKING THE FLAG
Commanding Officer request permission to break the
personal flag of Admiral Ralph W. Cousins, USN
Commander in Chief, United States Atlantic Fleet
HONORS
Ruffles and Flourishes, honors
and mustic and 19 gun salute to
Commander in Chief, United States Atlantic Fleet
INTRODUCTION OF DIRECTOR OF FINANCE,
OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Captain Floyd H. Miller, Jr., USN
Commanding Officer, USS CALIFORNIA (DLGN 36)
PRESENTATION OF SILVER SERVICE
The Honorable Verne Orr
Director of Finance of the State of California
ACCEPTANCE OF SILVER SERVICE AND CLOSING REMARKS
Captain Floyd H. Miller, Jr., USN
Commanding Officer, USS CALIFORNIA (DLGN 36)
BENEDICTION
Captain H. E. Keen, CHC, USN
Force Chaplain, Cruiser-Destroyer Force
United States Atlantic Fleet
BAND SELECTIONS
CINCLANTFLT Band
| The commissioning ceremony marks the acceptance of a ship as a
unit of the operating forces of the United States Navy. At the moment
of breaking the commission pennant, USS CALIFORNIA (DLGN 36)
becomes the responsibility of the Commanding Officier, who, together with
the ship's officiers and men, has the duty of making and keeping her ready
for any service required by our nation in peace or in war. The commission pennant is believed to date from the 17th century,
when the Dutch were at war with the English. The Dutch Admiral Maarten
Harpertszoon Tromp hoisted a broom at his masthead to indicate his intention
to sweep the English from the sea. This gesture was answered by
the English admiral who hoisted a horsewhip, indicating his intention to
subdue the Dutch. The English were victorious, and ever since, the narrow
"coachwhip" pennant has been adopted by all nations as the distinctive
mark of a ship of war. The modern U.S. Navy commission pennant is blue at the hoist with a union of seven white stars, and a horizontal red and white stripe at the fly. In lieu of a commission pennant, flagships fly commodores' or admirals' personal flags hence the term flagship. |
The Principal Speaker |
The Honorable James E. Johnson |
| James E. Johnson was born in Madison, Illinois, on March 3, 1926. He attended Orange University, received an Associate of Arts Degree from Santa Ana College and his Bachelor of Arts Degree from George Washington University, where he majored in Business Administra- tion. |
| During World War II he entered the United States Marine Corps as an enlisted man and rose through the ranks to the grade of Chief Warrant Officer. He retired from the military service in 1965 and became an executive with the Prudential Life Insurance Company. In 1967 he was appointed Director, California State Department of Veterans Affairs. |
| In 1969 he became Vice Chairman, U. S. Civil Service Commission, one of three members who govern the affairs of 3 million civil service employee. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs from June 16, 1971 until August 2, 1973. |
| Mr. Johnson is a member of the District of Columbia Health and Welfare Council; Board of Directors, United Givers Fund; Advisory Board, National Capital Area Council; Boy Scouts of America; National Executive Board, Boy Scouts of America; Board of Directors, Golden Empire Centers; Board of Governors, Anaheim YMCA; Advisory Committee, National Concortia for Bilingual Education; an Area Governor, Toatmasters Internation; Past President, Orange County Chapter, Childres' Asthma Research Institute and Hospital; and was formerly a member of the Board of Directors, Sacramento Safety Council; Director, Youth Leadership Program; and Finance Chairman. Planned Parenthood Association. Mr. Johnson is married to the former Juanita Butler, and they have four children-Kenneth, Verne, Kurtis, and Juan. |
Silver Service Presentation |
The Honorable Verne Orr |
| Present at the Commissioning Ceremony, as the official representative of the State of California, was the Honorable Verne Orr. Mr. Orr was the Director of Finance for the State of California, responsible for the overall fiscal management of the California State Government. |
| Mr. Orr served in the Navy in the Pacific theater in World War II and is a former president of the Investor's Savings and Loan Association of Pasadena. He has headed his own investment firm and previously served as the Director of Motor Vehicles and the Director of General Services for the State of California before being appointed to his present position by Governor Reagan on January 1, 1970. He has long been active in civic and cultural affairs in Pasadena. |
| During the ceremony, Mr. Orr presented a thirty-two piece silver service to the officers and men of CALIFORNIA. The silver service, crafted by Shreve and Company of sterling silver and 18-karat gold, was originally presented to the armored cruiser CALIFORNIA in 1908. The silver was purchased with donations from the citizens of California. On most pieces the word "CALIFORNIA" appears in raised 18-karat gold letters. The State of California and the Navy Department Seals are cast in 18-karat gold on each piece. A figure of the California bear in 18-karat gold is mounted atop those pieces with covers. The punch bowl tray is engraved as follows: |
| "Presented to the UNITED STATES CRUISER CALIFORNIA By the People of the State 1908" |
| The silver service has been transferred from ship to ship through the years since the decommissioning of USS CALIFORNIA (BB 44). It has at times been used aboard the USS LAKE CHAMPLAIN, USS CORAL SEA, USS RANDOLPH, USS INTREPID, USS FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, and USS FORRESTAL. The silver service was refurbished with funds raised by the Navy League of California. |
|
Frigate Punch Created especially for the ship's company of the U.S.S. CALIFORNIA on the occasion of its commissioning, 16 February 1974, Norfolk, Virginia, by the California Brandy Advisory Board.
1 quart bottle California brandy |
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