Yarnell represents a generation of missile escorts built during one of the Cold War's tensest periods. Ships of this group served for roughly three or four decades while remaining only a few steps from a global naval war. Some saw Vietnam or the Gulf War, but the battle-group conflict for which they had been designed never occurred. Sustained readiness and worldwide presence, rather than fleet combat, defined most of Yarnell's service.
Notable Point · 38:18-41:26
Cold War presence without the expected battle
Yarnell illustrates a Cold War missile escort that spent decades close to global conflict without fighting the fleet battle for which it was designed.