- USS Guadalcanal (LPH-7)
The second USS "Guadalcanal" (LPH-7), an Iwo Jima class
amphibious assault ship , was launched by thePhiladelphia Naval Shipyard 16 March 1963 , sponsored by Mrs. David Shoup, wife of General Shoup, the formerCommandant of the Marine Corps ; and commissioned20 July 1963 , Captain Dale K. Peterson in command.An
amphibious assault ship named USS "Guadalcanal" has appeared as the location of the TV show "JAG".Upon completion of sea trials and outfitting, "Guadalcanal" departed
Philadelphia to join the Amphibious Forces,U.S. Atlantic Fleet . One of a new class of ships designed from the keel up to embark, transport, and land assault marines by means of helicopters, she lent new strength and flexibility to amphibious operations. After departing Norfolk23 October 1963 for 6 weeks shakedown training at Guantanamo Bay,Cuba , "Guadalcanal" steamed toOnslow Beach ,North Carolina ,6 December for practice amphibious landings. She then carried on training and readiness operations with the Atlantic Fleet, based in Norfolk until departing forPanama 11 February 1964 . Following 2 months on station as flagship for Commander PhibRon 12 with the 12 Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked and ready to land anywhere needed. "Guadalcanal" entered Philadelphia Naval Shipyard26 May , but was deployed again7 October as a unit of Operation "Steel Pike 1", aNATO landing exercise on the beaches of southernSpain ."Guadalcanal" continued to serve in the Atlantic Fleet into 1967. Highlights of her career included
21 July 1966 when she recoveredGemini X astronauts after their spacecraft landed in the Atlantic east ofCape Kennedy , and13 March 1969 when she recoveredApollo 9 off theBahamas .In 1987 the "Guadalcanal" was leading
minesweeping operations in thePersian Gulf when it encountered theIran Ajar laying mines in the shipping lanes. Helicopters from the Guadalcanal attacked the ship; troops from the Guadalcanal boarded and captured the ship. (Iran Ajar was the second enemy warship captured on the high seas by the U.S. Navy since 1815; the first was the U-505 captured in 1944 by the first USS Guadalcanal, an escort carrier.) This Guadalcanal also provided the Marines for the first wave ofOperation Provide Comfort , theKurd ish relief operations in Northern Iraq immediately following the Persian Gulf War in 1991.She was decommissioned in 1994, and stored as part of the
James River Reserve Fleet until she was used as a target and sunk in March, 2005.External links
* [http://www.hullnumber.com/LPH-7 LPH-7 Personnel Roster at HullNumber.com]
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