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The Ill-FatedUSS WILLIAM D. PORTER ["Willie D"] Kit Bonner, The Retired Officer Magazine, March 1994 --------------------------------------------------------- The "Willie Dee" created havoc from the time she was commissioned in July, 1943 until her unusual, and perhaps, charmed demise in June 1945. From November 1943 until her bizarre loss in June 1945, the American destroyer William D. Porter was often met with the clever greeting. "Don't shoot, we're Republicans!" when she entered port or joined other naval ships. The significance of this expression was almost a cult secret of the United States Navy until the story resurfaced and received wide publicity after...

An oil tanker collided with a U.S. Navy destroyer near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday but no one was hurt and shipping traffic in the waterway, through which 40 percent of the world's seaborne oil exports pass, was not affected, officials said. "Both vessels are okay and the Strait of Hormuz is not closed, and business is as usual there," an Oman coast guard official told Reuters, declining to be named under briefing rules. The collision nevertheless left a gaping hole in the starboard side of USS Porter, a guided-missile destroyer suffered, but no one was injured on either...

TOKYO (AP) - Pirates freed a Japanese chemical tanker loaded with highly explosive benzene off the coast of Somalia Wednesday, six weeks after seizing the vessel and its crew, a U.S. Navy spokesman said. All 22 crew members were unhurt, the Navy said, and the pirates were seen heading toward the Somali coast. The Golden Nori was seized off the east coast of Somalia in late October carrying up to 40,000 tons of benzene. The U.S. Navy came to the aid of the vessel that month, with the guided missile destroyer USS Porter opening fire to destroy pirate skiffs tied...

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- More than 600 Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) and the frigate USS Carr (FFG 52), homeported in Norfolk, deployed Nov. 28 in support of the global war on terrorism. Porter and Carr will participate in regional exercises with allies as a Surface Strike Group (SSG). The SSG will make diplomatic port calls and respond to any contingency operations, including those associated with the war on terrorism. “The primary focus is going to be enhancing the U.S. diplomatic missions by interacting with foreign countries,” said Cmdr. Douglas Nashold, commanding officer of Porter. Nashold...

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 03/26/03 - STRIKE VIDEOS, Baghdad, Karbala, Najaf, Yousifiya, Nasiriyah, Basra BREAKING: STRIKE VIDEOS Iraqi GPS jammer destroyed Iraqi patrol boat destroyed R republican guard tank destroyed BREAKING: STRIKE IMAGES Palace guard facility Special Security facility Iraqi Intelligence facility BREAKING: IMAGES OF FREEDOM THE MEDIA MAY HAVE MISSED Baghdad - Saddam as Palace as Ozymandius Baghdad - War Crimes against Civilians Baghdad - War Crimes against the Iraqi people Baghdad - War Crimes against POWs Baghdad - Shuffle at the top Karbala - Incredible weather Najaf, Yousifiya Nasiriyah - Ambush of Heroes Southern...