Jarvis III (DD-799)
1944-1972
James C. Jarvis, born in 1787, was appointed midshipman from the state of New York in 1799. Midshipman Jarvis was killed at the age of 13 during the historic engagement between the famed frigate Constellation and the French frigate La Vengeance 2 February 1800. Sent aloft in command of the topmen to secure Constellation's unsupported mainmast, he refused to come down when warned that the mast might topple: "My post is here. I can't leave it until ordered." As the mast crashed, Jarvis was swept over the side with the falling rigging. Honoring Jarvis for his bravery and devotion to duty, the Sixth Congress by Joint Resolution 29 March 1800 deemed his conduct "deserving of the highest praise" and his loss "a subject of national regret."
III
(DD-799: displacement 2,050; length 376'6"; beam 39'8" draft 17'9"; speed 35 knots; complement 320; armament 5 5-inch, 10 40 millimeter, 7 20 millimeter, 10 21-inch torpedo tubes, 6 depth charge projectors, 2 depth charge tracks; class Fletcher)
The third Jarvis (DD-799) was laid down on 7 June 1943 at Seattle, Wash., by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp.; launched on 14 February 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Harold Burkit, daughter of the Honorable Rufus C. Holman, U.S. Senator from Oregon; and commissioned on 3 June 1944, Cmdr. E. B. Ellsworth in command.
After shakedown off the California coast, Jarvis departed Seattle on 25 August 1944 for Pearl Harbor as escort for South Dakota (BB-57). Arriving on 31 August, she proceeded independently on 3 September to Adak, Alaska, to join the North Pacific Force, engaged in operations against the Kurile Islands. Operating out of Adak and Attu, Alaska, Jarvis battled stormy seas and prolonged bad weather to conduct eight raids on shipping and shore installations from Paramushiru to Matsuwa. After returning to Adak 15 August 1945 from her last raid, she steamed to Aomori, Honshu, to support occupation operations. Arriving Aomori 8 September, she plied the Sea of Japan, assisting occupation landings and destroying military installations on Honshu and Hokkaido. Jarvis departed Yokosuka, Honshu, 19 November for the United States. Arriving Pearl Harbor 29 November, she joined the "Magic Carpet" fleet and sailed 1 December for the East Coast via San Diego and the Panama Canal, returning veterans of the Pacific War. She reached Charleston, S.C., 22 December; deactivated as a unit of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet 11 April 1946; and decommissioned 29 June.
With the development and enlargement of the Korean crisis, Jarvis recommissioned 8 February 1951, Comdr. E. F. Rye in command. She operated in the Atlantic out of Charleston and Norfolk for more than a year before departing Norfolk 15 May 1952 for deployment to Korea. Steaming via Panama, the West Coast, and Japan, she arrived off Korea's eastern coast 23 June and began blockade and interdiction patrols. Under her skipper, Comdr. C. D. McCall, she ranged the coast from Songjin to Chongjin, conducting operations with the 7th Fleet until returning to Yokosuka, Japan, 18 August. Following operations in Japanese waters, she joined the Formosa Patrol from 26 September to 10 October. After completing this important duty, she proceeded to the Philippine Islands; and on the 18th she departed Subic Bay for the United States via Ceylon, Suez, and Gibraltar, arriving Norfolk 12 December.
Jarvis resumed operations with the Atlantic Fleet and on 4 May 1954 deployed to the Mediterranean, arriving Naples, Italy, 18 May. Before returning to Norfolk 9 July, she operated with the mighty 6th Fleet, America's deterrent to Communist aggression in the Middle East.
Clearing Norfolk 5 January 1955, Jarvis sailed to the West Coast, arriving Long Beach 26 January. After training off the California Coast, she departed 21 April on the first of five post-Korean war deployments to the Far East. As a unit of the powerful and versatile 7th Fleet, she ranged the Western Pacific from Japan to the Philippines, ever alert to insure peace in the unsettled Far East. While on her 1955 deployment to the Far East, she supported the evacuation of thousands of refugees from North to South Vietnam during Operation "Passage to Freedom." During all her deployments she conducted patrols in the Formosa Strait to help stabilize the Nationalist-Communist struggle and prevent the invasion of Formosa from the mainland. In 1958 she provided valuable assistance for the Chinese Nationalists during the threatened Communist invasion of Quemoy and Matsu.
Jarvis returned to Long Beach from her fifth deployment 4 March 1960 and resumed coastal operations until 24 September when she sailed for the East Coast. Arriving Philadelphia 16 October, Jarvis was decommissioned on 24 October 1960 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
On 3 November 1960 she was turned over to Spain on a five-year renewable loan under terms of the Military Assistance Program (MAP). She served the Spanish Navy as Alcala Galiano (D-24). Stricken from the [U.S.] Naval Vessel Register on 1 October 1972, she was permanently transferred on 1 December 1972.
Jarvis received one battle star for World War II service and one battle star for Korean service.
