cut to just over $400,000, well short of the $750,000 needed for major engineering plant repairs and replacement of parts of the hull, as well as the usual items addressed in a major overhaul. The crew, undeterred by the situation, on their own, re-tubed all four boilers, and with some assistance from the shipyard, made major repairs to the electric generators and to the evaporators that produced fresh water for the ship. Vietnam war In 1962, she was redesignated DD-577. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, Sproston, which was deployed to the Seventh Fleet at the time, was detailed to patrol the straits of Tsushima to block any attempt by Soviet submarines to sortie from the Sea of Japan into the Pacific. The only submarine encountered was the USS Queenfish. During the transit back to Hawaii in December 1962, Sproston was part of the Hornet group which had taken the great circle course across the northern Pacific. Several days prior to their scheduled arrival at Pearl Harbor, the group ran into a heavy gale, with winds in excess of 60 knots, accompanied by towering seas. Damage among the ships of the group was so extensive, they had to put into Midway for voyage repairs. A great circle route is the shortest sailing distance on the earth's spherical surface, and was taken in order to arrive home for Christmas as quickly as possible. However, it was ill-advised to do so in the North Pacific in winter, when storms such as that encountered are the norm. Thus the ships arrived later than if they had sailed the longer southern rhumb line route. "The best laid plans . . . ." Normal operating duties continued through 1963 and 1964. In March 1965, she began a five-month overhaul in the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard. When this was completed, she conducted extensive refresher training to prepare her crew for deployment to the western Pacific.Sproston departed Pearl Harbor on 27 December with (CVA-61), (DLG-22), and (DD-825) and headed, via Subic Bay, for the Vietnam coast. The group arrived at Dixie Station off the coast of South Vietnam on 16 January 1966 and remained there until 13 February. Sproston was assigned rescue and antisubmarine screening duties. On the 18th, she was directed to proceed to Phuoc Hui Bay to provide naval gunfire support. During the night, the ship shelled Viet Cong base camps and assembly