USS Thomaston
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | USS Thomaston |
Namesake | Thomaston, Maine |
Awarded | 28 February 1952 |
Builder | Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi |
Laid down | 3 March 1953 |
Launched | 9 February 1954 |
Commissioned | 17 September 1954 |
Decommissioned | 28 September 1984 |
Stricken | 24 February 1992 |
Motto |
|
Fate | Sold for Scrapping 28 July 2011 to All Star Metals, Brownsville, Tx |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Thomaston-class dock landing ship |
Displacement |
|
Length | 510 ft (160 m) |
Beam | 84 ft (26 m) |
Draft | 19 ft (5.8 m) |
Propulsion | 2 × steam turbines, 2 shafts, 23,000 shp (17 MW) |
Speed | 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) |
Boats & landing craft carried | 21 × LCM-6 landing craft in well deck |
Troops | 300 |
Complement | 304 |
Armament |
|
Aircraft carried | One helicopter |
Aviation facilities | Helicopter landing area usually of wood construction; no hangar |
USS Thomaston (LSD-28) was the
Thomaston (LSD-28) was laid down on 3 March 1953 at
1955–1964
Following shakedown in the Caribbean, Thomaston transited the Panama Canal and joined the Pacific Fleet Amphibious Force. From July through October 1955, Thomaston participated in the Arctic Resupply Project, provisioning stations on the Distant Early Warning Line before taking part in cold-weather landing exercises in the Aleutians in November 1955 and again in January and February 1956.
The landing ship's duties soon took her southward to the warmer climes of the
She subsequently deployed to the Western Pacific (WestPac) in 1959 and participated in exercises off
She commenced the year 1963 at her home port,
After operating in
Vietnam War
1964-1965
Thomaston operated locally and trained through the early fall of 1964, when she sailed for the
1966
Departing San Diego on 10 January 1966 for WestPac, Thomaston arrived in Vietnamese coastal waters on 5 February and immediately commenced operations at Chu Lai and Da Nang, serving as boat haven at the latter port. She returned to the United States in the spring and remained at San Diego from 9 April to 9 July 1966. The ship then headed back to the western Pacific and operated out of Subic Bay from 28 July through the end of the deployment. She participated in Operations Deckhouse III (phases one and two) and Deckhouse IV in August and September. In the former, Thomaston landed marines north of Vũng Tàu and served as primary control ship and boat haven during the subsequent operations. She then landed marines at a point just south of the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Vietnam. She thus continued in her familiar role as primary control ship and boat haven during "Deckhouse IV" and staged boat convoys carrying supplies 9 miles (14 km) up the Cua Viet River to Đông Hà.
Returning to Subic Bay, Thomaston later participated in Exercise Mudpuppy II which was designed to provide training in river operations for marines. Held on Mindoro in the Philippines, "Mudpuppy II" ended three days before Christmas; and Thomaston sailed for Vietnam.
1967
She thus began the year 1967 as she had begun the previous year, in active combat operations against
1968
Following an extensive overhaul at
During her operations at the latter port, Thomaston demonstrated to the Army the versatility of the Landing Ship Dock by serving as an effective repair ship with a built-in drydock. Many small craft and pontoon piers serving the supply base received hull and machinery work by the crew in the ship's capacious well deck. During this deployment, Thomaston proved that the amphibious ship was a natural vehicle for inter-service cooperation.
While operating off the coast of South Vietnam with the Amphibious Ready Group, Thomaston conducted two
Thomaston next participated in
1969–1974
For the next five years, Thomaston actively supported the war effort in Vietnam, conducted troop and cargo lifts, and participated in amphibious operations. The tide of war, however, was running against the South Vietnamese; and, by the spring of 1975, concentrated efforts on the part of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops put pressure on the crumbling South Vietnamese government.
1975
The end for South Vietnam came during Thomaston's 15th WestPac deployment. The beginning of the year 1975 found the landing ship at Subic Bay, undergoing a needed availability. She departed Subic Bay on 2 February, bound for
She remained in readiness until the evening of 5 April, when Thomaston was ordered to Phú Quốc island to assist Vietnamese nationals evacuated from Da Nang. She transferred food and medical supplies via her LCUs and LCM-8 assault craft to Vietnamese refugees quartered on Military Sealift Command (MSC) vessels.
TG 76.4 executed "Eagle Pull" on 12 April, and Thomaston took part as a plane guard on station to the south. Upon the successful completion of the operation, designated units of the group proceeded to
On 29 April, Operation Frequent Wind commenced at 15:00. During the next nine hours Thomaston received 811 Vietnamese, American, and other refugees. During this operation — for which the ship received the Meritorious Unit Commendation — Thomaston received evacuees via helicopter, landing helicopters as large as CH-46's on her flight deck aft. All Vietnamese citizens were to be processed and placed aboard MSC ships.
American citizens would be retained on board for transportation to the Philippines. Although limited by space, all individuals were provided with food, clothing, and medical attention. Makeshift shelters, "tents" made from marines' blankets, were set up on board.
Returning to Subic Bay on 3 May, Thomaston immediately commenced preparations for her homeward voyage. Civilians embarked during Frequent Wind were debarked at Subic Bay. The ship then headed on for the west coast of the United States, via
1975–1998
Thomaston subsequently operated with the Pacific Fleet in 1976, conducting training and local operations in waters off Okinawa, Japan, Korea, and Hawaii, before returning to San Diego at the close of the year.
Following a material inspection by the Navy
In February 1980 Thomaston and her crew received the Humanitarian Service Medal for her part in the radioactive cleanup operations on Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific.
During USS Thomaston's 1981 Westpac as part of Amphibious Squadron Five, the ship and crew would receive a second Humanitarian Service Medal for the rescue of 77 Vietnamese refugees in the South China Sea in April 1981. During this cruise she would make her only visit to Perth/Fremantle, Australia, from 28 May to 2 June 1981.
USS Thomaston began her final deployment on 17 January 1984, making port calls at Manila, PI, Hong Kong, Pusan (Busan), South Korea and Pearl Harbor HI, all the while conducting exercises with three major exercises along with exercises with South Korean and Philippines naval units. USS Thomaston returned home to San Diego CA on 27 July 1984, completing 30 years of service.
USS Thomaston was decommissioned 28 September 1984 and her name struck from the
Thomaston received 11
AFEM Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
ASM Antarctica Service Medal
CAR Combat Action Ribbon
HSM Humanitarian Service Medal
JMUA Joint Meritorious Unit Award
MUC Meritorious Unit Commendation (two for Vietnam war service)
NAVE Navy "E" Ribbon
NEM Navy Expeditionary Medal
NUC Navy Unit Commendation (one)
PUC Presidential Unit Citation
PRPUCB Republic of Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
RVNCA Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation (Civil Actions Medal, First Class Color w/Palm)
RVNGC RVNGC - Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation (Gallantry Cross medal Color with Palm)
VNSM Vietnam Service Medal
SLOC Secretary of the Navy Letter of Commendation
References
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-02-24. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
- USS Thomaston website
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- nvr.navy.mil: USS Thomaston
- Photo gallery of USS Thomaston at NavSource Naval History
- hazegray.org: USS Thomaston
- navysite.de: USS Thomaston
- Thomaston website