USS Clarion River LSMR 409 History

The USS Clarion River was commissioned at Charleston, SC on May 9, 1945. The skipper was Lt. (j.g.) Herbert H. Boltin, USNR. The ship was de-commissioned February 6, 1947 at San Diego, California.

She was re-commissioned October 5, 1950 for Korean service and was awarded Korean Service Medals for the Communist China Spring Offensive May 23-June 6, 1951; U.N. Summer-Fall Offensive July 15-30, 1951 and August 26-September 21, 1951. She was also awarded Korean Service Medals for the Third Korean Winter April 16-30, 1953 and the Korea Summer-Fall May 1-July 20, 1953.

James Stewart (Skipper beginning in 1952) with his wife Vera in December 2000. The occasion was a special reunion for Captain Stewart in his home town of Montesano, Washington.

She was later re-commissioned for Vietnam service September 18, 1965 and following Vietnam service the ship was sold for scrap in 1970 in Japan.

I am still researching the statistics of the USS Clarion River, It’s statistics as I know them included:

Displacement: 968 tons (loaded)	Length: 203'6"'
Beam: 34'6"'	Draft: 5'6" - 5'9"'
Speed: 13.2 knots (max, loaded)	Complement: 5 officers, 76 enlisted
2- GM 1440 BHP @ 720 rpm (each)	Armament: 1 5"/38 DP
Direct Drive twin screw diesels	8 continuous loading 5" Twin Tube SS Rocket launchers

Configuration of the 8 twin tube launchers: Four port were launchers 2, 4, 6 and 8. Four starboard launchers were 1, 3, 5 and 7.

During the Korean service Bob Vasquez tells me there were a total of 10 launchers. In addition to the 8, there was another launcher forward of the group and a tenth aft of the group. Also 20mm guns were in the bow, just aft of the forward 40mm mount. Two more 20mm were also mounted one on either side of the super structure. See the Korean era area of the page for Bob's photo.

The above 3 photos were taken from the deck of the USS Carronade IFS-1, but they give you an idea of how rough the water can be in the open seas. Combine the sea and a flat bottom boat - what a ride we would get! Those who rode any of the LSMR's remember vividly seeing scenes like these. Photo's courtesy of Bernie Howlett. He also comments that he never remembered hearing the recruiting office mention this type assignment. Thanks Bernie!