I'm pretty sure I posted a few pics on this about ten years ago, but came across some old pics just now and thought I'd chuck a few up from that day. We were invited to attend a decommissioning ceremony and celebration on the vessel USS Hawes, which was at port in Boston in 2010 within a stone's toss of another frigate, the fabled USS Constitution, AKA Old Ironsides.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constitution

Among other distinguished guests/honorees aboard that day, present was a MOH recipient and Boston native Thomas Kelly, who spoke to the guests. An unassuming and humble warrior. Mrs. KG and I were honored to be present and it was a thrill and pleasure to be guests on board. Here's a blurb and YT video about Kelley:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_G._Kelley



Some stuff on the Hawes:

Navy frigate Hawes earns one last salute

NORFOLK

Lt. Richard Hawes was nothing if not prepared.

Three days after Pearl Harbor, Japanese warplanes attacked the Navy yard in Manila Bay where his ship, the Pigeon, was undergoing repairs. Hawes had his entire crew aboard and his engines ready to make a quick escape.
His own ship safe, he saw a submarine about to be lost to bombs and fire. So he steered the Pigeon back to the dock, where his crew managed to tow the sub to safety despite flames so intense they blistered the ship's paint and melted the brim of Hawes' cap.
That heroism brought the Pigeon's crew the Presidential Unit Citation and Hawes a Navy Cross - his second. Hawes went on to design his own battle flag - a skull-and-crossbones with four red bars for each of the major battles fought by his crew.

On Friday, his namesake ship - the only one authorized to fly the Jolly Roger - left the fleet in a ceremony at Norfolk Naval Station.

At 25, the frigate Hawes is relatively young. But the Navy has decided to retire this class of ship rather than spend the money to maintain them because they were designed for one main mission, anti-submarine warfare. These days, the service favors ships capable of carrying out several different missions.

The departure of the ship is disappointing to some who believe it still has a lot of life left, including Hawes' grandson Richard Hawes III. But he said his grandfather, who died in 1968 after retiring as a rear admiral, would have been proud of the ship and those who served aboard.

The ship's motto is "ever ready, ever fearless" - words of praise given to Hawes and his crew in 1945.
"That's not just words," Richard Hawes III said. "That's something that every sailor, every officer who ever served on Hawes has lived by."
In 2000, Hawes raced to aid the Norfolk-based destroyer Cole after it was bombed in Yemen, killing 17 sailors.

"Having a missile-shooter just offshore had a desirable effect; the Yemeni MiGs no longer flew directly overhead," recalled retired Chief Petty Officer Norman Larson, who was aboard the Cole. "Hawes also sent her damage control teams and corpsmen over to give us some relief. When we were exhausted from trying to keep Cole intact, the Hawes and her sailors were a godsend."
Rear Adm. J. Scott Jones, the skipper of the Hawes at the time, said Friday that it will be sad to see the ship towed to Philadelphia. "Let's send her out with pride," he urged the crew.

For the last time, sailors hauled down the colors and, one by one, filed off the ship to the pier. Their skipper, Cmdr. Steve Fuller, presented the flags to Jones and to the Hawes' first C.O., Capt. Thomas Madden.
"Hawesmen, three cheers for our shipmates, past and present," called the executive officer, Cmdr. Pete Mirisola.
Their shouts rang out in the chilly air.













I wonder if there are any current US naval warships that are flying the old skull and crossbones. Black Sam Bellamy wants to know.

Not all of the folks serving seem to have the same commitment that they had even when the Cole was hulled.

Good story about those who served.

My dad's ship flew the skull & crossbones as their battle flag. They also had a pirate painted on one of their stacks. Check out the USS KIDD DD661...



https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Kidd_(DD-661)

Interesting stuff L,

Never knew there was a ship of the USN authorized to fly the Skull and Crossbones. Growing up I had learned that it was considered a symbol of armed aggression by privateers, but may be those were just old wives tales.

I have never understood seeing pleasure boaters flying it. To me it's like a weekend warrior Harley rider putting a 1%er patch on his HOG vest. Not cool.

Oh well, I learned something new again today.

Geno

Very cool and grateful for your old man's service. According to your link: "During her *initial cruise* to the Brooklyn Naval Shipyards, she sailed across New York Harbor with the Jolly Roger flying from the foremast."

If what is written in your link is to be believed, the sailors aboard The USS Kidd adopted Captain Kidd's likeness painted on their fore stack, but the vessel wasn't 'authorized' to fly the Jolly Roger. The sentiment and spirit was the same with her crew, I'm sure.

"Subsequently, during outfitting, her crew adopted the pirate captain William Kidd as their mascot, and commissioned a local artist to paint a pirate figure on the forward smokestack."

USS KIDD DD661 flew the Jolly Roger as her battle flag. Dad has a framed photograph of the KIDD shelling North Korean shore batteries and the skull and crossbones is clearly visible. He said they flew their unique battle flag throughout the Korean War and also in action against the Chinese communist in the Formosa and Taiwan Straits Crisis. I believe later versions of the KIDD, DDG993 and DDG100 may have also flown the Jolly Roger.

Thanks, Kamo. Great story post.,