{"product_id":"1960s-u-s-navy-dixie-hat-named-to-sailor-from-u-s-s-barton","title":"1960s U.S Navy Dixie hat, named to sailor from U.S.S BARTON.","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eU.S.N Dixie hat with the original owners details.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe hat says it belonged to a sailor named \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChunko, T. J.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, Navy service number \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e534 30 81\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, serving on the destroyer USS Barton (DD-722), dated 10 June 1963. In 1963 the Barton was in the Atlantic Fleet and spent that summer in the Mediterranean.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhat each marking means\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eU.S.S. Barton (DD-722):\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer launched in 1943 that served until 1968. \"DD\" means destroyer and 722 is her hull number.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e10 June 63:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e probably the date he marked or was issued the hat. The ship was then part way through a deployment. Crew records list a Mediterranean deployment from April to October 1963. At the end of it, in August 1963, Barton and Borie made a goodwill tour of the Baltic Sea in support of Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson's Scandinavian tour. Her captain at the time was George Dewey Wiemer Jr., from August 1961 to October 1963.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eChunko T. J.:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e sailors stencilled their kit with surname first, then initials, so his first name begins with T.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e534 30 81:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e a Navy enlisted service number. It is the right format for the period. By World War II the first digit gave a recruiting code and the last six were a personal identifier. The first three digits identified the recruiting station, recorded in a Navy \"Master Service Number Book\". I could not find a public key to decode 534 to a place.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eVietnam:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e the Barton never served there. From April 1965 she was flagship of Reserve Destroyer Squadron 30 in Philadelphia. She was decommissioned on 30 September 1968 and sunk as a target on 8 October 1969.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Gradia Militaria","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54509131137352,"sku":null,"price":40.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0924\/1103\/5976\/files\/IMG-3213.heic?v=1793879288","url":"https:\/\/www.gradiamilitaria.com\/products\/1960s-u-s-navy-dixie-hat-named-to-sailor-from-u-s-s-barton","provider":"Gradia Militaria","version":"1.0","type":"link"}