NameGary W Baker
Retirement/Discharge DateJuly 1979
Tour 1 DatesFebuary 1977 - July 1979
Tour 1 Rank/RateMSSN
Tour 1 DivisionSupply
NATO Mixed Manned CrewNo
CommentMy time onboard was the highlight of my young life but I just did not know it and take advantage of it the way I should have. I was very proud to have served my country during this non-war period right after Vietnam and I obtained a great tradeoff cooking and baking and use that today. To this day I miss those days especially at sea where I feel God's presence in his massive creation and still to this day enjoy the high seas and being around the water and oceans. I miss the comraderie of my shipmates and the tours of other countries we visited and the times we crossed the Equator. I'm 55 years old now and I think about those days a lot and am back in the Norfolk area living now after my son was in and married out here. I would have loved to see the ship again. "Anchors Away"

« Return To The Crew Roster

The Crews of DDG-5
USS Biddle (5/5/62 - 7/28/64)
USS Claude V. Ricketts (7/28/64 - 10/31/89)

Below are the names of the men that, together, made up the crews of the USS Biddle and USS Claude V. Ricketts during her 27 year career.  The names below represent those who have registered on this site and do no comprise the whole of the men who served on board the DDG-5 during her career.  It is estimated that at least 4000 men served on board the DDG-5 during her lifetime.  If you were a crew member of either the Biddle or the Ricketts and you have not yet done so, you can register here.
(To edit your information or to email another shipmate, make sure you are logged in on The Big Nickel home page. Return here and click on your name to edit your informaiton or on the name of another shipmate to email him.  Note that some shipmate's email addresses are missing or not current and the email will "bounce" back to you with an indication that it was undeliverable.)