General Characteristics

Crew List

Memorabilia

About the Ship's Name

Patch Gallery

Image Gallery

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USS John L. Hall (FFG 32)

USS JOHN L. HALL is one of the OLIVER HAZARD PERRY class guided missile frigates and the eleventh ship in that class built by Bath Iron Works in Maine.

Assigned to Western Hemisphere Group, JOHN L. HALL mainly operates in the Caribbean Sea and near South America, conducting counter-drug operations and bi-lateral/multi-lateral training exercises with South American navies. Western Hemisphere Group ships may be called upon on short notice to surge and replace other battle group units for short periods of time in other areas.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS JOHN L. HALL. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

• Click here to view the list.

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• Click here to see which USS JOHN L. HALL memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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About the Ship's Name:

General Dwight D. Eisenhower gave him the nickname "Viking of Assault". General George Patton, tough critic of fellow military leaders, heaped high praise on him. He was one of the toughest and best athletes of the U.S. Naval Academy.

These descriptions of Admiral John L. Hall, Jr., for whom the ship is named, were befitting of his huge frame, his daring military exploits and his prowess as an athlete.

However, to Dr. Susan Hall Godson, his niece and biographer, he was a "gentle giant," with more than a fair share of humility.

Admiral Hall was a brilliant attack force commander of World War II and former Commander Amphibious Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. He was the Chief of Staff of the Western Naval Task Force during the North African landings in 1942 and received the Distinguished Service Medal for opening ports and preventing sabotage while Commander Northwest African Sea Frontier.

In February 1943, he became Commander Amphibious Force, North African Waters (Eighth Fleet), expertly cross-training Army artilleryman and Navy gunners so that his ship call-fire missions could be conducted in direct support of troop advance rather than at "targets of opportunity." His concept proved devastating to enemy forces and tank divisions as he led one of the major assault forces engaged in the Sicilian Occupation (9-12 July 1943) and the bitterly contested landings at Salerno (9-21 September 1943).

These bold achievements brought him two awards of the Legion of Merit. In November 1943, he took command of the ELEVENTH Amphibious Force in England, earning the Army's Distinguished Service Medal for his superb leadership of this amphibious Force "O" which landed and so effectively supported the Army V Corps on the "Omaha" beach sector off the coast of Normandy in June 1944. he received a second Navy Distinguished Service Medal for command of the Southern Attack Force (TF 55) during the invasion throughout the Okinawa campaign. In October 1945, he became Commander Amphibious Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

He later was Commandant of the Fourteenth Naval District and Commander of the Armed Forces Staff College at Norfolk, Virginia. From August 1951 until his retirement in May 1953, he was Commander Western Sea Frontier with additional duty as Commander Pacific Reserve Fleet.

Admiral Hall was a native of Williamsburg, Virginia, and attended the college of William and Mary for three years before transferring to the U.S. naval Academy where he graduated in 1913. He starred in football for three seasons at William and Mary and for years at the Naval Academy. As a matter of fact, he excelled in three sports at the Academy and was awarded the coveted "Academy Sword" for athletic excellence. Admiral Hall passed away in 1978 at the age of 87.

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USS JOHN L. HALL Patch Gallery:

contributed by CDR John Westerbeke, then LCDR

contributed by LT Sean Hainer

Background information to the first patch (HSL-42 Det. 6 - UNITAS '96):

The Shadowmen of HSL-42 Det. 6, embarked aboard USS JOHN L. HALL for the UNITAS cruise in 1996, were the East coast's first prototype Night Vision Goggle (NVG) capable SH-60B detachment. Because of the high success of this deployment, the use of NVGs on SH-60B aircraft spread rapidly and today all deploying SH-60B aircraft use NVGs.

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USS JOHN L. HALL Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by Sean Hainer (FFG 32 Disbursing Officer May 89 - April 92). The photos were taken at Jacksonville Landing near the ship's old home port of Mayport, FL, and during the Med 90 cruise.

		464 'Ginger' from HSL-46 Det.4

The following photos of USS JOHN L. HALL were taken by me and show the ship during a port visit of the STANAVFORLANT (Standing Naval Force Atlantic) to Kiel, Germany, on June 23. 2001.

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