THOMAS J GARY DER 326

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

USS THOMAS J. GARY DE-326
Commissioned November 27 1943 - Decommissioned March 7 1947
Converted to Rader Picket Escort Ship (DER) November 1 1956
USS THOMAS J. GARY DER-326
Recommissioned August 2 1957 - Decommissioned September 22 1973

Struck from Naval Register September 30 1973
PRESIDENTE HABIB BOURGUIBA E-7 (Tunisian Naval Service)
Transferred to Tunisia October 22 1973 and renamed
INDAKH
Renamed (Date unknown)
Stricken by engineroom fire 1992

Decommissioned by Tunisia 1992
Acting fleet headquarters berthed at Bizerte

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

Thomas J. Gary Covers Page 1 (1944-72)

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.

>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Date From to Date To	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

1st Commissioning November 27 1943 to March 7 1947

Locy Type
2z

1944-03-09

As DE-326

2nd Commissioning August 2 1957 to October 22 1973

Locy Type
FDC 2t(nu)

1957-08-02

As DER-326
First Day in Commission

Locy Type
2t(nu)

1957-11-02

As DER-326

Locy Type
2t(n+u) (USS)

1966-11-29

As DER-326
Operation "DEEP FREEZE" R/S cachet

Locy Type
2t(n+u) (USS)

1967-09-14

As DER-326
Welcome to Norfolk, cachet by Tazewell G. Nicholson

Locy Type
9fu

1966-02-01

As DER-326

Other Information

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons...
Navy Unit Commendation w/ 1 star - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - Navy Expeditionary Medal - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal Third Row: National Defense Service Medal - Antarctic Service Medal w/ 1 star - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal

NAMESAKE - Seaman Thomas Jones Gary USN (September 16 1922 - December 7 1941)
Gary was killed during the Pearl Harbor attack. During the raid, his ship USS CALIFORNIA BB-44 suffered torpedo and bomb hits causing extensive fires and flooding. After he had rescued three or four wounded men from closed and burning compartments, Seaman Gary continued his efforts to save others until he lost his own life. He was posthumously commended by the Secretary of the Navy for his courageous action and disregard for personal safety in assisting his endangered shipmates.

If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.