There were several ways to get officer commission's back when I was in the navy, and one of the ways was through the Limited Duty Officer program.(LDO) About half of the officers in "Destroyer Development Group Two" at Newport, RI. had come through this program.

This photograph shows Commodore Donald Granville Dockum, and a newly commissioned LT JG, in the summer of 1969.

MORE About Donald G. Dockum


CDR Donald G. Dockum was the commanding officer of the USS Young, DD580 from August 1944 until November 1945.

Captain Dockum was Commanding Officer of DESDIV 342 Newport, RI in 1955

Commanding Officer of the USS Marias, AO 57 from Oct. 31, 1959 until Oct. 27, 1960.

First Commanding officer of the USS Wilkinson.


I though a lot of Commodore Dockum, and after a few years back home I tried to get in touch with him. It took several years to find out that he had died of a heart attack in 1969, while hunting in upstate New York. He often came back to the base on the weekends, or at at night to fish from the piers.

I got to travel with him for six weeks aboard the USS Hugh Purvis, DD 709, in early 1962. No duties, and I got to make a lot of the personal photographs showed here.(Project Mercury)