USS Mount Vernon (LSD-39)
Encyclopedia
USS Mount Vernon (LSD-39) was an Anchorage-class
Anchorage class dock landing ship
The Anchorage class dock landing ships were a series of five dock landing ships constructed and commissioned by the United States Navy between 1965 and 1972. US Navy decommissioned all five of them by 2003. They are succeeded by Whidbey Island class LSDs and Harpers Ferry class LSDs.-Ship List: ...
dock landing ship
Dock landing ship
A Dock landing ship or Landing ship is a form of amphibious warship designed to support amphibious operations. These amphibious assault ships transport and launch amphibious craft and vehicles with their crews and embarked personnel...
of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. She was the fifth ship of the U.S. Navy to bear the name. She was built in Massachusetts in 1972 and homeported in Southern California for 31 years until being decommissioned on 25 July 2003. Mount Vernon acted as the control ship for the cleanup of the Exxon Valdez oil spill
Exxon Valdez oil spill
The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989, when the Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker bound for Long Beach, California, struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef and spilled of crude oil. It is considered to be one of the most devastating human-caused...
. In 2005, she was intentionally destroyed off the coast of Hawaii as part of a training exercise.
History
Mount Vernon was awarded to General Dynamics Quincy Shipbuilding Division in Quincy, MassachusettsQuincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
on 25 February 1966. After commissioning in Boston Naval Shipyard in 1972, she was homeported in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
.
In April 1975, Mount Vernon participated in Operation Frequent Wind
Operation Frequent Wind
Operation Frequent Wind was the evacuation by helicopter of American civilians and 'at-risk' Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam, on 29–30 April 1975 during the last days of the Vietnam War...
, the evacuation of Saigon, Vietnam.
Beginning 22 July 1985, Mount Vernon was briefly homeported in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
before returning to San Diego.
In her 31 years of service, Mount Vernon completed 15 deployments in the U.S. Seventh Fleet in the Far East.
Because of the remote location of the cleanup sites of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, there was a desperate need for floating facilities to house shoreline cleanup workers. In response, the Navy provided amphibious transport docks and dock landing ships (LSDs). The arrived in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
on 24 April 1989 followed by the on 4 May 1989.
Over the summer months the Navy replaced the Juneau first with the and the , and then with the . Meanwhile, the Mount Vernon relieved the Fort McHenry and then left the cleanup operations on 18 July without a replacement, reducing the naval presence to one ship. The Duluth sailed without replacement on 16 September, ending the naval ship presence in the oil spill cleanup operations.
The ships functioned as floating hotels, providing medical, laundry, housing, dining, and sleeping facilities for shoreline cleanup workers. They also provided communications support and functioned as command and control platforms and helipads for the forward deployment of helicopters. They supported base operations of the landing craft, providing maintenance, fuel, and docking. Deployed with the ships were Marine Corps
Marine corps
A marine is a member of a force that specializes in expeditionary operations such as amphibious assault and occupation. The marines traditionally have strong links with the country's navy...
CH-46 helicopters and Army medical evacuation helicopters, which performed a variety of essential missions. Naval ship operations centered in Prince William Sound
Prince William Sound
Prince William Sound is a sound off the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System...
and were especially important in open sea areas because commercial berthing vessels could not operate in the rough water.
During her career, the Mount Vernon accumulated many awards, including:
- Joint Meritorious Unit AwardJoint Meritorious Unit AwardThe Joint Meritorious Unit Award is a military award that was established on June 4, 1981 by Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and was implemented by Department of Defense Directive 1348.27 dated July 22, 1982...
, - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation,
- Navy Battle "E" Ribbon, (2),
- National Defense Service MedalNational Defense Service MedalThe National Defense Service Medal is a military service medal of the United States military originally commissioned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower...
, - Armed Forces Expeditionary MedalArmed Forces Expeditionary MedalThe Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States military, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John Kennedy...
, (4), - Southwest Asia Service MedalSouthwest Asia Service MedalThe Southwest Asia Service Medal is a military award of the United States armed forces which was created by order of President George H.W. Bush on March 12, 1991. The award is intended to recognize those military service members who performed duty during the years of the Persian Gulf War...
, - Humanitarian Service MedalHumanitarian Service MedalThe Humanitarian Service Medal is a military service medal of the United States armed forces which was created on January 19, 1977 by President Gerald Ford under...
, (2), - Coast Guard Special Operations Service Medal, and the
- Kuwait Liberation MedalKuwait Liberation MedalThe Kuwait Liberation Medal is a military service medal of several countries. The medal is issued in different versions for each country, those being:*Kuwait Liberation Medal *Kuwait Liberation Medal *Kuwait Liberation Medal...
.
The Mount Vernon was decommissioned on 25 July 2003. Afterwards, she stayed at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility
Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility
A Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility is a facility owned by the U.S. Navy as a holding facility for decommissioned naval vessels, pending determination of their final fate...
, in Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. On 16 June 2005, she was sunk in a fleet training exercise for P-3 Orion
P-3 Orion
The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engine turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner. The aircraft is easily recognizable by its distinctive tail stinger or...
squadrons VP-1, VP-9
VP-9
Patrol Squadron 9 is a U.S. Navy patrol squadron located at Marine Corps Base Hawaii between the towns of Kailua and Kaneohe, in Honolulu County, Hawaii. As of 2011, it appears to be part of Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing Two, Commander, Naval Air Forces, Pacific.-See also:* History of the United...
, VP-46
VP-46
Patrol Squadron 46 , also known as the "Grey Knights", is a maritime patrol squadron of the United States Navy based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. Part of Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing Ten, VP-46 is the oldest maritime patrol squadron and the second oldest aircraft squadron in the entire U.S...
, and VP-47
VP-47
Patrol Squadron 47 , also known as "The Golden Swordsmen", is a maritime patrol squadron of the United States Navy based at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, attached to Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing Two. The squadron currently flies the P-3C Orion, and is scheduled to transition to...
. The sinking was part of operation "Patrolling Thunder" and took place off the northwest coast of Kauai, Hawaii. Expended in the sinking were 3 Harpoon missiles, 4 Maverick missiles, and 18 bombs of 500 pounds apiece.
Dock landing ships
Dock landing shipDock landing ship
A Dock landing ship or Landing ship is a form of amphibious warship designed to support amphibious operations. These amphibious assault ships transport and launch amphibious craft and vehicles with their crews and embarked personnel...
s support amphibious operations including landings via Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC), conventional landing craft
Landing craft
Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
and helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s, onto hostile shores. The Anchorage-class combined a well-deck with a flight deck to support both small-craft and airborne operations. These ships also featured the facilities necessary to provide services to small boats, including dry docking and repairs.
The Mount Vernon was the first West coast ship to be modified to support LCAC operations.