  | The Virginian-PilotVa.’s Flag of Love Flies in Air of WarWednesday, 19 June 1972 |
| Norfolk – Up the yardarm goes an oversized flag with two red hearts on a white background. Emblazoned on the flag is: “Virginia Is for Lovers”.
Some of the lovers have gone to war. The well-known slogan about Virginia, which has appeared in recent months on everything from sweatshirts to ballpoint pens to bumper stickers, is now appearing on a flag carried by the Norfolk-based destroyer Mullinnix, at sea off Vietnam. Cmdr. J. R. Cannon, skipper of the ship, said that the flag is flown every time the Mullinnix is re-supplied with 5-inch shells to hurl at the enemy. The vessel’s theme song, "Riders on the Storm,” also is played in celebration of each ammunition replenishment,” Cannon said in a letter to the Virginian-Pilot. He said that when the flag is displayed and the song played, “everyone knows that this hard-charging 7th Fleet destroyer has just completed another alongside under way replenishment.” Cannon added that the “Virginia Is for Lovers’ slogan is fast becoming as familiar in the Western Pacific as it is in the Old Dominion. “We are spreading the word with our flag,” he said. The skipper told the Virginian-Pilot in his letter, dated June 5, that the Mullinnix had just completed her eighth under way ammunition replenishment, during which she loaded 1,000 five-inch projectiles. Within an hour after the last projectile was stowed, Canon said, the Mullinnix was back on the gun line two miles off shore, about 12 miles east of Quang Tri City, pounding a heavily camouflaged North Vietnamese encampment. He said that the ship let loose a barrage of 50 five-inch shells in less than five minutes. An Atlantic Fleet spokesman said that the Mullinnix, carrying its message of love from Virginia, is credited with destroying enemy emplacements in South Vietnam and causing more than five secondary explosions east of Quang Tri City. The Mullinnix left Norfolk in mid-April. So far, almost 8,000 persons have gone to war on Norfolk-based warships. Other vessels are the cruiser Newport News, the guided-missile frigate Biddle, the aircraft carrier America, and the oilers Waccamaw and Savannah. The destroyer Lawrence reportedly is preparing to depart for the war zone this summer. |
Mullinnix Bow 1972
Courtesy Dennis Wenske