Tours of destroyer to be 'very limited'

by Robb Fulcher

Only a "very limited" number of civilians will be allowed to tour a 563-foot US Navy destroyer that will anchor a half-mile offshore and make the city its port of call this weekend.

With the Hermosa pier closed for refurbishing, city officials plan to use the double-decker "Voyager" whale watching vessel to shuttle residents from the Redondo fishing pier behind Chiller's to the USS Elliot for promised tours on Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets for the tours will be sold at the Pier Plaza at 6 a.m. Saturday and Sunday for tours the same day.

Some 800 tickets will be available each day, with a limit of two tickets for each person in line. The cost is $5, exact change only. The money will go into a city fund for community events, such as this one, according to a prepared statement by the Community Resources Department.

The "Voyager" will make its shuttle runs every hour 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. both days.

The USS Elliot will steam in on Friday, and sailors will stream ashore throughout the weekend, which will include a Friday night reception complete with fireworks.

Other highlights of the weekend include:

* 7 p.m. Friday, welcoming reception, Pier Plaza.

* 8:30 p.m. Friday, fireworks salute, Pier Plaza and beach.

* 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, tours of the Elliot.

The 23-year-old vessel will anchor offshore Friday, and sailors will enjoy liberty onshore through the weekend. The Elliot will be showing off its holiday regalia of full lights and flags.

A navy vessel has not formally stopped at Hermosa since 1928, when the city was visited by the U.S.S. Arizona, which now stands as a monument at Pearl Harbor, Mayor J.R. Reviczky said.

The Elliot, commissioned Jan. 22, 1977, is the fifth ship of the 31-ship class of Spruance destroyers. It is named in honor of Lt. Cmdr. Arthur J. Elliot II, who was killed in action on Dec. 29, 1968 in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Elliot is the first ship of the class to bear the name of a decorated Vietnam veteran.

Elliot is described as one of the most lethal warships afloat, armed with Tomahawk ship-to-land cruise missiles, Harpoon and Penguin anti-ship cruise missiles, NATO Sea Sparrow anti-air missiles, large guns, anti-submarine torpedoes, and two 20mm close-in weapon systems. ER