- USS Point Defiance (LSD-31)
USS "Point Defiance" (LSD-31) was a "Thomaston"-class
dock landing ship of theUnited States Navy . She was named for a location inPierce County, Washington , the site of a military reservation established by the U.S. Government in 1866.She was the second ship assigned that name, but the construction of "Point Defiance" (LSD-23) was canceled on17 August 1945 ."Point Defiance" (LSD–31) was laid down on
23 November 1953 byIngalls Shipbuilding Corp.,Pascagoula, Miss. ; launched on28 September 1954 , sponsored by Mrs. Arthur D. Struble; and commissioned on31 March 1955 , Commander Oscar B. Parker in command.Following shakedown in the
Gulf of Mexico , the new dock landing ship arrivedLong Beach, California , in July 1955 and joinedAmphibious Squadron 7 , Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet.After two deployments to the western Pacific, "Point Defiance" became one of the first rocket-launching surface ships to support the 1958
International Geophysical Year Solar Eclipse Expedition to the South Pacific. Launchers on deck fired eight NIKE-ASP rockets to collect scientific data during the eclipse.In May 1959 "Point Defiance" participated in the large scale and highly successful amphibious
Operation Twin Peaks off Oceanside, Calif. In February 1960 "Point Defiance" made her third cruise to the western Pacific, participating inoperation Blue Star , a combined amphibious operation with Chinese Nationalist Forces. In June 1960 she participated inOperation Sea Hawk , a combined amphibious landing withRepublic of Korea forces and returned to Long Beach in July.She operated off the West Coast during most of 1961, and made a brief cruise to
Pearl Harbor andOkinawa . "Point Defiance" departed Long Beach for the western Pacific in January 1962. In May she landed Marines atBangkok ,Thailand . In October she transited thePanama Canal and steamed to the Caribbean ready to act if needed during the Cuban Quarantine.In early 1963 "Point Defiance" carried
bathyscaphe Trieste fromSan Diego through the Panama Canal toBoston for deep search operations into the cause of the loss of the nuclearsubmarine "Thresher" (SSN-593).In September "Point Defiance" was on her way to the western Pacific again. In October she steamed to
Vietnam to safeguard U.S. interests, and in November participated in another combined amphibious operation with theRepublic of China .From April to September 1964, "Point Defiance" operated in the eastern Pacific, then underwent overhaul. She departed for the western Pacific
27 April 1965 and off-loaded men and equipment atDa Nang ,South Vietnam ,26 May . On18 June she helped rescue survivors from the midair collision of twoGuam -based B-52s. In July she landed Marines atQui Nhon , South Vietnam, and in early August helped salvage "Frank Knox" (DDR-742), aground onPratas Reef . In late August she took part in the very successfulOperation Starlight , an amphibious raid atVan Tuong , South Vietnam, which inflicted heavy enemy casualties. After another successful amphibious landing, she returned home24 November ."Point Defiance" again departed for the western Pacific
27 March 1966 , and began transporting troops and equipment from U.S. bases in the Far East to South Vietnam. She returned to Long Beach24 June , but deployed to South Vietnam again1 November . On11 January 1967 "Point Defiance" participated in Deckhouse V, a major U.S. operation in theKien Hoa area. On18 May she sent U.S. Marines on to the beach in the southern half of the Demilitarized Zone, exchanging fire withNorth Vietnam ese shore batteries. She returned to Long Beach24 June .On
7 May 1968 "Point Defiance" was off on another deployment to the western Pacific, once again with an amphibious ready group off Vietnam. She returned to Long Beach18 December .:: ["1968-1983"]
"Point Defiance" was decommissioned
30 September 1983 and her name struck from theNaval Vessel Register 24 February 1992 . She was sold to Pegasus Inc.,29 September 1995 , but repossessed by the Navy,1 July 1997 . Custody was transferred toMaritime Administration (MARAD),18 December 1998 , and she was laid up in theNational Defense Reserve Fleet ,Suisun Bay , Benicia, CA.References
The USS Point Defiance was homeported in San Diego during the mid-1970s undergoing a WestPac Cruise in 1976 visiting Midway, Okinawa, Hong Kong, Subic Bay and Brisbane Australia. During this cruise the Point Defiance participated in Operation Kangaroo II, a joint Australian/US war game off the coast of northern Australia.
External links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/p8/point_defiance.htm history.navy.mil: USS "Point Defiance"]
* [http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/LSD31.htm nvr.navy.mil: USS "Point Defiance"]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/1231.htm navsource.org: USS "Point Defiance"]
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/amphib/lsd31.htm hazegray.org: USS "Point Defiance"]
* [http://www.hullnumber.com/LSD-31 LSD-31 Personnel Roster at HullNumber.com]
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