- USS Gunston Hall (LSD-5)
USS "Gunston Hall" (LSD-5) was an sclass|Ashland|dock landing ship in the
United States Navy , named in honor ofGunston Hall , the estate ofGeorge Mason (1725–1792), one of theFounding Fathers of the United States .Originally designated APM-5, "Gunston Hall" was launched1 May 1943 by theMoore Dry Dock Company ,Oakland, California , sponsored by Mrs. Harvey S. Haislip; and commissioned10 November 1943 , Comdr. D. E. Collins in command."Gunston Hall" earned nine battle stars for
World War II service and another nine battle stars during theKorean War . Sold to Argentina in 1970 and renamed ARA "Cándido de Lasala" (Q-43). Served inArgentine Navy . In 1981 she was decommissioned and struck.History
World War II
After intensive shakedown along the
California coast "Gunston Hall" prepared to sail for the Western Pacific, where she was to participate in every major operation from February 1944 to the end of the war, 18 months later. Loading 225 men from the4th Marine Tank Battalion and 2 amphibious units, as well as 15 LVTs, 15tank s, 17 LCMs, and 15,000 gallons of gasoline, "Gunston Hall" departed San Diego on13 January 1944 . OnD-Day for the assault on Kwajalein,1 February 1944 , she stood offshore to unload her cargo as the Marines stormed the beaches on Roi and Namur Islands. "Gunston Hall" remained in the area to repair small craft until6 February , when she reembarked her former passengers and equipment and sailed toGuadalcanal viaFuna Futi . The pattern she set here held for her participation in eight further key invasion efforts in the Pacific as the Navy "Island-hopped"marines andArmy troops ever closer to the Japanese home islands.Through the rest of 1944, the versatile landing ship took part in the initial assault invasions of
Emirau Island 20 March , of Hollandia on22 April , Guam on21 July , Peleliu Island on15 September , and Leyte Island on20 October . The last assault culminated in the momentousBattle for Leyte Gulf , one of history's greatest naval engagements. While not actually involved in an invasion effort, "Gunston Hall" trained troops and shuttled supplies and men from the rear islands to the staging areas.In 1945 "Gunston Hall" participated in the initial assault landings at Luzon on
9 January , Iwo Jima on19 February , and Okinawa on1 April . After the first invasion waves went ashore atOkinawa , the Pacific's largest amphibious operation, involving over 1,200 ships and haIf a million men, "Gunston Hall" remained anchored at nearbyKerama Retto until1 July to repair small craft. She was untouched by the enemy's fiercekamikaze attacks although she saw several other American ships hit and crippled."Gunston Hall" terminated her
Pacific war duty1 July 1945 as she sailed for a much-needed overhaul reachingPortland, Oregon on26 July viaGuam ,Eniwetok , andPearl Harbor . After a period of shuttling small craft along the West Coast, she anchored at San Diego in mid-December to repair small craft. "Gunston Hall" returned to the Pacific in 1946 to participate in one of the most significant series of scientific tests of the era. Departing San Diego17 April , she reachedBikini Atoll on6 May via Pearl Harbor for duties in connection withOperation Crossroads , the famous series ofatomic bomb tests. Departing Bikini on19 August , "Gunston Hall" returned toSan Diego 3 October viaKwajalein and Pearl. "Gunston Hall" decommissioned7 July 1947 atTerminal Island inSan Francisco Bay .Arctic operations
Conversion as an "Arctic LSD" at
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard , Bremerton, gave "Gunston Hall" a reinforced hull and a greatly extended heating and ventilation system which would permit her to operate effectively in theArctic . She recommissioned at Puget Sound5 March 1949 and, after shakedown, sailed north to participate inOperation Miki in the Arctic Circle and later returned forOperation Micowex . Next training and development operations along the West Coast occupied her until the outbreak of war inKorea .Korean War
With elements of the
1st Marine Provisional Brigade embarked, "Gunston Hall" departed San Diego1 July 1950 and reachedPusan , Korea, via Yokosuka3 August . Disembarking the Marines, she took aboard 30 stretcher cases and returned toOsaka ,Japan . On10 September "Gunston Hall" sailed from Japan to participate in the amphibious operation at Inchon, Korea,15 September . After the Marines had landed midway up the peninsula, threatening to cut the communist supply lines to their troops at the tip of the peninsula, "Gunston Hall" made several shuttle trips to bring reinforcements. As the Korean conflict settled into its long and bloody pattern of near stalemate, "Gunston Hall" continued to shuttle troops and supplies between Japan and Korea, occasionally also acting on fire support missions for coastal minesweepers. During an overhaul in the summer of 1952, she was fitted with ahelicopter landing and launching platform large enough to accommodate nine "whirly-birds", the newest element inamphibious warfare .When armistice ended the actual fighting in Korea, "Gunston Hall" sailed to
Cheju Do , Korea,4 September 1953 . Remaining there until22 September , she served inOperation Big Switeh , the exchange ofprisoners of war . She then settled into a schedule of annual cruises in the Western Pacific, which took her from San Diego to various Asian ports, interspersed with Arctic resupply cruises.Vietnam operations
"Gunston Hall" was part of one of the Navy's greatest postwar humanitarian efforts in 1955 as she joined TG 90 (
Rear Admiral Lorenzo S. Sabin) atSaigon ,South Vietnam , forOperation Passage to Freedom . When the Geneva Accord of July 1954 divided the formerFrench Indochina , over 800,000North Vietnamese decided to cast their lot with the South rather than live under a Communist government. Since badly-depleted French forces could not hope to effect the transfer of so many people, the U.S. Navy detailed nearly 100 ships to carry refugees and equipment fromHaiphong to Saigon in a 9-month period. "Gunston Hall" made five coastal runs carrying heavybarge s between2 January and26 February 1955 . In all, the Navy evacuated 310,848 North Vietnamese as well as 68,757 tonsvague|which tons? long tons? metric tons? short tons? could be any of them here of cargo and over 8,000 vehicles. Hard-pressed sailors feeding and clothing the ragged refugees were rewarded when many of the 184 children born during the Haiphong–Saigon passage were named after Navy vessels.Cuba Missile Crisis
"Gunston Hall"'s pattern of WesPac cruises and Arctic resupply missions was broken a second time in 1962. During the
Cuban missile crisis , she embarked elements of the5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade at San Diego and headed for theCaribbean , transiting thePanama Canal on5 November . As theSoviets withdrew theirmissiles and the crisis passed, "Gunston Hall" transited the Canal again returning San Diego15 December .Vietnam War
The veteran LSD sailed for the western Pacific
26 March 1963 . After operations which carried her to Japan, Okinawa, Korea,Hong Kong , and several Pacific islands she returned to the West Coast13 November . Following operations along the California coast, she departed San Diego on6 November 1964 for duty with the 7th Fleet. Arriving inSubic Bay on30 November , she was under way again a week later for Vietnam to support the fight to thwart Communist aggression.Relieved
8 January 1965 she headed for Hong Kong, en route to Japan, arriving Yokosuka on the 24th. She visited Korea and Okinawa before returning to the battle zone. She unloaded cargo atDa Nang through18 February , then headed to Okinawa for more supplies. She continued this pattern of duty shuttling between Pacific ports and Vietnam until departing Yokosuka for home on6 June .Reaching San Diego on
22 June , she prepared to return to the Orient. Sailing6 August , she visitedHawaii , Okinawa, and Japan before returning to the West Coast7 October .After operations out of San Diego, "Gunston Hall" again turned her prow toward the setting sun
16 May 1966 . She reachedChu Lai , Vietnam,27 May and debarked the9th Marine Engineers before sailing for Subic Bay to resume shuttling between Vietnam and nearby friendly ports, bringing war materiel to theAllies . She participated in exercises "Hilltop VII" and "Mudpuppy I" in thePhilippines before loading three experimental Navy Patrol Air Cushion vehicles on15 December for transportation to San Diego. Back home early in January 1967, "Gunston Hall" prepared for future action.ARA "Cándido de Lasala" (Q-43)
"Gunston Hall" was sold to
Argentina in 1970, under Military Assistance Program, and renamed ARA "Cándido de Lasala" (Q-43). She was decommissioned in 1981.References
*DANFS
External links
*cite web
url= http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/g10/gunston_hall.htm
title= "Gunston Hall"
first= | last=
date=11 April 2005 | work= DANFS | publisher= U.S.Naval Historical Center
accessdate= 2008-03-25
*cite web
url= http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/12/1205.htm
title= APM-5 / LSD-5 / LSD-5(A) "Gunston Hall"
first= Gary P. | last= Priolo
date=10 August 2007 | work= Amphibious Photo Archive | publisher= NavSource Online
accessdate= 2008-03-25
*cite web
url= http://www.ussgunstonhall.org/MAIN/index.html
title= USS "Gunston Hall" LSD 5 Reunion Association
accessdate= 2008-03-25
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