LTCDR Niles Berry

I posted this note earlier to some of the USS Preston (DD795) crew and discovered your web pages. Thought you might want to know...
Jay
http://www.rivdiv572.com/
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I pulled most of your email addresses off the destroyers on line web site: http://www.mustangone.com/cgi-bin/crewlisting.pl?classid=DD-445&hulln=795

I was at the 2006 reunion of the Preston crew in Baltimore this past week and many discussions were held about a variety of people and events. It was an enjoyable event! One of the persons several of us discussed was Niles Berry. He came aboard about 1961 or 1962 (I came aboard in 1963). He was the 2nd Div. officer and later became the Gunnery Dept. head until he left in early 1965. He even served as acting XO in late 1964 while awaiting the arrival of the new XO.
     He was a mustang, having risen to FT1, I believe after enlisting sometime in the mid-1950s. After the Preston, I have only the knowledge that he was in command of a swift boat division in 1969 in the Mekong River Delta area. Visit this site for some pictures of him during this period: http://www.rivdiv572.com/
     At the reunion I had a long discussion with Sandy Morrison, who had been one of the officers on the Preston at the time of Niles' arrival. Sandy had stayed in the Navy, retiring as a CDR. He had kept track of Niles, who eventually rose to the rank of CAPT. before retiring. Niles had a boat on which he spent his time after retirement, spending the summers at Chesapeake, VA and the winters either in Hilton Head or possibly further south in Florida.
     In doing further searching on the Internet we discovered a site for quilters that had a memorial quilt posted re Niles Berry. After further contact with the quilter, Niles' niece, I learned that he was diagnosed with very advanced lung cancer in March 2005 and died on May 31, 2005. She has posted a picture and a list of his decorations...which are VERY impressive (see attached).
     I wish I had more information of this very able officer. Even if you were in the Engineering Dept. or served elsewhere aboard the Preston, I am sure all of you remember Niles Berry!
                         Jay M. Sheppard   Laurel, MD

Born in Beverly, Massachusetts on 3 September 1934 Lieutenant Commander Berry enlisted in the US Navy in June 1953. He served as fire control technician on board USS Damato (DDE 871) and at White Sands Missile
Range, New Mexico.
    Upon completion of Officers Candidate School in March 1961 Lieutenant Commander Berry was commissioned an Ensign. He then reported to USS Preston (DD 795) where he served as Main Propulsion
Assistant, Damage Control Assistant and Weapons Officer. In 1965 he reported to Resident Supervisor of Ship Building at the Quincy Division of General Dynamics Corporation for duty as Ship Coordinator for three Apollo
instrumentation ships under conversion. Returning to sea, Lieutenant Commander Berry took command of USS Jacana (MSC 193) in Jan 1967. Following the decommissioning of USS Jacana he took command of River
Division Five Seven Two in Vietnam in 1969. After being hospitalized for wounds received in action Lieutenant
   Commander Berry relieved as Executive Officer of USS New on 1 June 1970.
    Lieutenants Commander Berry's decorations and service medals include: Silver Star, Bronze Star with combat distinguishing device, two Purple Hearts, Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon, two Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, Brigade and Regimental Level, two Navy Good Conduct, Navy Occupation, Europe, National Defense with one star, Vietnam with four stars and Vietnam Campaign.
    Lieutenant Commander Berry is married to the former Joyce Norris of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. They have two children, Jan and Niles.