astronomy

John J. Herrick

John J. Herrick is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand John J. Herrick rather than just read about it. In short: Captain John Jerome Herrick, USN (June 23, 1920 – August 2, 1997) was an officer in the United States Navy who was Commander of Destroyer Division 192 embarked aboard the USS Maddox (DD 731) during the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in August 1964. As the destroyer division commodore and Officer in Tactical Command, Herrick gave the order to return fire on three North Vietnamese patrol boats.

Key takeaways

John J. Herrick belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect John J. Herrick to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of John J. Herrick from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Captain John Jerome Herrick, USN (June 23, 1920 – August 2, 1997) was an officer in the United States Navy who was Commander of Destroyer Division 192 embarked aboard the USS Maddox (DD 731) during the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in August 1964. As the destroyer division commodore and Officer in Tactical Command, Herrick gave the order to return fire on three North Vietnamese patrol boats. In 2005, however, an internal National Security Agency historical study was declassified; it concluded that Maddox had engaged the North Vietnamese Navy on August 2. The report stated, regarding the first incident on August 2, that "at 1500G, Captain Herrick ordered Ogier's [then-Commanding Officer of USS Maddox, Commander Herbert Ogier, USN] gun crews to open fire if the boats approached within ten thousand yards. At approximately 1505G, Maddox fired three rounds to warn off the communist boats. This initial action was never reported by the Johnson administration, which insisted that the Vietnamese boats fired first." Herrick was born in Warren, Minnesota, son of James Orival Herrick and Lillian (Cowley) Herrick, where his father was depot agent for the Soo Line Railroad. He attended University of Wisconsin - Superior before entering the United States Naval Academy. At the academy, his nickname was Jiglig. On May 1, 1948, in La Jolla, California, he married Geraldine Kane (1921-2003), the daughter of a retired Navy dentist. They had three sons and a daughter. He was the commanding officer of a landing ship (medium rockets) during the Korean War and a destroyer escort and two destroyers during the Cold War. After his commodore tour, he was the commanding officer of Naval Ammunition Depot Portsmouth in Portsmouth, Virginia. Herrick died in 1997 and was buried at Santa Fe National Cemetery in New Mexico. Herrick's older brother, Curtis J. Herrick (1909-1971, USMA 1931), was a general in the United States Army.

References

External links link to photo

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John J. Herrick

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John J. Herrick claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to John J. Herrick before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about John J. Herrick ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of John J. Herrick

In research: John J. Herrick appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses John J. Herrick in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: John J. Herrick is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1920 births, 1997 deaths, 20th-century American naval officers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for John J. Herrick outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study John J. Herrick in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what John J. Herrick means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain John J. Herrick out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is John J. Herrick in simple terms?

Why does John J. Herrick matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study John J. Herrick?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on John J. Herrick.