Reclassified DER-393 in September 1954, HAVERFIELD was converted to
a radar
picket ship at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and recommissioned there 4 January
1955. Fitted with the latest electronic detection equipment and with 50 tons
of ballast in her keel to compensate for the topside weight of the new radar
antennae, HAVERFIELD trained off the East Coast and then reported to her
new
home port, Seattle, via the Panama Canal and San Diego 23 July.
HAVERFIELD
served as flagship of the newly created CortRon 5 in addition to regular
radar picket patrol off the Pacific coast. After 5 years of this duty, she
reported to Pearl Harbor 10 April 1959 for similar employment along the
Pacific Barrier.
Departing Pearl Harbor 16 May 1960, HAVERFIELD sailed to a new
homeport,
Guam, to make surveillance of the Trust Territory Islands and to ensure the
safety and welfare of the islanders. After participating in Operation
Cosmos, which provided navigational aids for and was prepared to render
emergency assistance to President Dwight Eisenhower's plane as the Chief
Executive crossed the Pacific on a good will tour, HAVERFIELD operated
with
the famed bathyscaph Trieste as it descended the Marianas Trench to a
near-record dive of 19,300 feet 30 June 1960.
Following her support of this scientific endeavor, HAVERFIELD conducted
antisubmarine and search and rescue patrols among the Bonins, the Marianas,
and the Caroline Islands. For almost 5 years, she served primarily in the
Trust Territory of the Pacific, though twice she deployed to the Far East.
Steaming to Japan in October 1960, she became the first radar picket escort
ship to operate with the 7th Fleet in the Western Pacific. In mid-October
1961, she returned to the Far East; and, upon relieving destroyer JOHN R.
CRAIG (DD-885) on patrol in the Formosa Strait, she became the first of her
type to join in this important peace-keeping operation. She continued
intermittent patrols off Taiwan until 10 January 1962 when she steamed via
Japan to resume patrol duty out of Guam.
In November, Typhoon Karen left widespread destruction on Guam, and
HAVERFIELD, the first ship to return to the storm-wracked Apra Harbor,
provided valuable supplies and services. HAVERFIELD returned to Pearl
Harbor
March 1965 and, after joining Escort Squadron 5, sailed 19 June for duty off
South Vietnam. There, she participated in "Market Time" patrols to guard
against infiltration of North Vietnamese troops and supplies by sea. She
served "Market Time" for 7 months, then returned Pearl Harbor 2 February
1966. Departing for the Far East 23 May, she resumed "Market Time"
operations 9 June.
Eleven days later, she participated in the most significant action of the
operation up to that time. A 100 foot, steel-hulled North Vietnamese
trawler, attempting to infiltrate "Market Time" patrols with a large cargo
of arms and ammunition for the Viet Cong, was detected by U.S. Coast Guard
patrol craft POINT LEAGUE (WPB-82304) near the mouth of the Co Chien
River
in the Mekong Delta. A chase and fire fight followed, during which the
patrol craft forced the enemy trawler aground.
