BIOGRAPHIES - Class of 1952

Rear Admiral Paul C GIBBONS USN (Ret)

Paul C GIBBONS Jr
BA LAS Zoology 1952
Warfare Specialty Surface Warfare
Commissioned Ensign USN 1952
Further Education Unknown
[Deceased] - Coronado, CA 92118 -
Spouse Mrs Valerie D GIBBONS

Biography:

Rear Admiral Paul C Gibbons USN (Ret) was born in Los Angeles CA 1930. He attended the University of Southern California, graduating in 1952.

As a CAPTAIN, he served as the COMMANDING OFFICER of the USS PROVIDENCE (CLG-6), from 17 JUNE 1972 - until decommissioning in 15 JUNE 1973.

His death was reported in the Spring 2002 edition of The Log.

Below is a Sea Story he published as a Rear Admiral (Ret):

There are so many anecdotes that I remember that deal with my days in PROVIDENCE. I have been unequivocal in insisting that the best job I ever held, and the best command I ever had, was Commanding Officer PROVIDENCE. But time, illness, and aging have mixed up my memory to the extent that I can't remember names of many of the wonderful shipmates that I had in 1972-73. Herb Nelson was the Exec, and he relieved me in command as we prepared the ship for decommissioning after our return from Viet Nam.

One anecdote that comes to mind involved George Gaines, who had the unenviable assignment of Gunnery Officer and JA Talker on the bridge with me on all the raids that we made north of the DMZ. We got to know each other pretty well, but two nights after I had relieved Ken Haynes as skipper, I had my first venture north of the DMZ. It was about one or two o'clock in the morning, and we were at General Quarters with all four boilers on the line. I stepped out on the starboard wing of the bridge, and there was George hanging in there as we came under what proved to be very intense shore fire. My first comment to George was, "What are these buzzing sounds going over our heads?" George answered, "Those are bullets, Captain."

Our task that night was to take the military barracks and artillery positions along the coast of Thanh Hoa under fire. Because of mines that had been dropped by our Air Force friends in the middle of Thanh Hoa harbor, there weren't very many evasive courses that we could use getting in and out of firing position. You had to make a high speed run toward the coast, then at the appropriate point slow to 16 knots and move along the shore firing at the assigned targets as you went. This was a very exciting, challenging, and scary mission! I ducked inside the pilot house and looked at the bright flashes directly ahead of us. I asked the wonderful young officer who was the OOD what those were, and he said they were coming from the little island in the center of Thanh Hoa harbor. I cut through the pilot house to get on the port wing of the bridge and thought I saw Bud Reagan, who was my Chaplain, standing there. I said, "Get out of the way, Bud, I'm coming through," and clapped him on the shoulder as I went by. I was later somewhat chagrined to find that the "Bud" I had pushed asid was in fact Admiral John Kern who was the embarked Flag. I confirmed that what the OOD had said was correct and ordered our triple 6-inch gun turret to take the island under fire. The results were stupendous and dramatic. The entire top of the mountain on this little island seemed to explode. We had hit munitions and fuel with incredible results--three towering bursts of flame about one minute apart. There were no further shots fired by the enemy.

Later, as we were preparing the after action report, Admiral Kern joined us, and I immediately apologized for having called him "Bud" while pushing him aside. He answered by saying, "Paul, I've been called 'Bud' by my friends all my life, and that was a magnificent display of surface gunnery." I thanked him profusely and finished up the report which I found to be limited to reporting three secondaries on Thanh Hoa island and that I could embellish the report no further.

Transcribed by Major Kuehl USMC (Ret)

Sea Story:

I had the pleasure of serving with Paul Gibbons on the staff of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval Forces Europe in London from 1979-1982. He was a Rear Admiral and came to London in 1980 from being the Deputy Chief of Naval Education and Training. In London, he was the Deputy CINC serving under VADM Ron Hays, and I was VADM Hays' Executive Assistant and Senior Aide. Paul Gibbons and I worked together very closely, although in those days we were not on a first name basis.

Back then, before the Internet, when long distance phone calls to the States cost about two dollars a minute, we didn't spend a lot of time on the phone with friends and relatives in the States. But, Paul had a friend or relative in southern California who called him regularly and sent newspaper clippings with the highlights of the Trojan football games. In those days, Marcus Allen was the big story in college football, and each week Paul was only too happy to share the news of how many yards Marcus Allen had run for in the previous game.

Paul retired from the Navy and settled in Coronado with his wife, Valerie, and I went on to take command of the NROTC Unit at Northwestern University. On a trip to San Diego, we stopped in for a visit with the Gibbons.' At that time, Paul had just begun a job working for UCLA that required him to make frequent visits to Saudi Arabia. Paul was a delightful guy who took his work very seriously, but whose robust personality made him a pleasure to be around. We were saddened at the news of his illness and passing.

Submitted by Victor Stanley GULLIVER Class of 1957.

Obituary

There is no obituary on file. His last residence before his death was Coronado, CA 92118. This was noted on Mar 27, 1997. His death was reported in the Spring 2002 edition of The Log.

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