From Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol. I-Part A (1991), pp. 278-281
Anchorage
The largest city in Alaska. Anchorage was founded in 1914 at the head of Cook Inlet, which is a bay of the Pacific Ocean.
(LSD-36: dp. 13,700, l. 553', b. 84', dr. 19',
s. 20 k., cpl. 397; a. 6 3"; cl. Anchorage)
Anchorage (LSD-36) was laid down on 13 March 1967 at Pascagoula, Miss.,
by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp.; launched on 5 May 1968; sponsored by
Mrs. Alexander S. Heyward, Jr., the wife of Vice Admiral Heyward; and commissioned
at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Va., on 15 March 1969, Capt.
Percy Stuart Beaman in command.
After a brief, round-trip cruise to Andros Island, Bahamas, the dock landing
ship left Norfolk on 24 June, bound for the west coast. She paused at Mayport
and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., transited the Panama Canal on 16 July; and arrived
at her home port, San Diego, Calif., on 26 July. At the end of shakedown
training off the California coast, she entered the Mare Island Naval Shipyard,
Vallejo, Calif., on 1 November, for post-shakedown availability.
Anchorage returned to San Diego on 9 January 1970. She set sail on
the 31st for the western Pacific (WestPac) to transport Marine Corps personnel
back to the United States as part of Operation "Keystone Bluejay,"
a planned withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam. On 19 February, the
ship arrived at Danang, Republic of Vietnam, took on board the personnel
and equipment of the 7th Motor Battalion, and sailed for the lJnited States.
She reached Delmar, Calif, on 12 March and debarked her passengers.
Following a month and one-half in port at San Diego for training and upkeep,
Anchorage got underway on 1 May with other units of Amphibious Squadron
(PhibRon) 5 for the Far East. She stopped at Pearl Harbor and then sailed
to Johnston Atoll to deliver several landing craft. The ship next proceeded
to Yokosuka, Japan, and arrived there on 19 May for voyage repairs. Her
next port call was at Buckner Bay, Okinawa, where marines came on board
for transportation to Subic Bay, Philippines. Upon the completion of that
embarkation, PhibRon 5 units assumed duty as Amphibious Ready Group (ARG)
Alfa.
>From 6 to 18 June, Anchorage carried small craft between ports along
the coast of Vietnam. Her ports of call included Vung Tau, Camranh Bay,
Qui Nhon, Danang, and An Thoi. She anchored near An Thoi from 11 to 14 June
to provide drydock services for the ships at the naval activity there. On
22 June, the ship participated in the first of several amphibious exercises
conducted by ARG Alfa at Green Beach, near Hubic Bay. During these operations,
she acted as a primary control ship for the direction and control of landing
craft while they moved to the beach.
The ship pulled into Sasebo, Japan, early in July for a period of rest and
relaxation for the crew. She got underway again on 16 July for amphibious
exercises off Green Beach. On the 31st, she arrived at Okinawa to take Battalion
Landing Team 2/9 on board for transportation to Subic Bay. Anchorage
arrived at Subic Bay on 18 August for upkeep. Her next port of call
was Hong Kong which she visited from 10 until 18 September and then returned
to the Subic Bay operating area.
>From 24 September through 8 October, Anchorage traveled among Subic
Bay and Vung Tau, Camranh Bay, and Danang, Vietnam, carrying various small
craft. Late in October, she carried out relief operations in the Lagonoy
Gulf on the eastern coast of the Philippines for victims of Typhoons Joan
and Kate. After touching at Keelung, Taiwan, on 29 October, the ship proceeded
to Okinawa to pick up a landing craft for transportation to Subic Bay. She
took part in amphibious exercises at Green Beach on 7 November, then put
into port at Subic Bay. From the 20th to the 23d, Anchorage was at
Okinawa to disembark marines and to unload their equipment. During this
time, PhibRon 5 was relieved of duties as ARG Alfa. The ship then paid a
short visit to Yokosuka Japan, for liberty and the loading of equipment
for transportation to the United States. Sailing from Japan on 30 November,
the vessel arrived in San Diego on 10 December.
Anchorage remained in availability until 20 February 1971 when she
got underway for Port Hueneme, Calif. There, she loaded construction materials
for a communications center on the island in the Indian Ocean, Diego Garcia,
to be built as a part of Operation "Reindeer Station. " She left
the California coast on 22 February bound for Australia. The vessel made
port calls at Sydney and Perth, Australia, late in March and then pushed
on into the Indian Ocean. Upon arriving at Diego Garcia on 4 April she unloaded
the construction materials and sailed the next day for Subic Bay to obtain
minor repairs and replenishment. Following a visit to Hong Kong from 17
to 22 April, the ship sailed to Danang where she embarked Marine Corps personnel
and equipment for return to the Umted States as part of Operation "Keystone
Robin." On 23 April, she shaped a course for San Diego.
Anchorage arrived in her home port on 11 May and, on 28 June, resumed
operations as a training ship for landing exercises off Seal Beach, Calif.
This study was followed by refresher training and a period inport at San
Diego. From 2 to 6 August, the vessel was again involved in exercises off
Seal Beach. She left San Diego on 16 August to sail to her namesake city,
Anchorage, Alaska, where she remained from 22 to 26 August. After pausing
at Alameda, Calif., to unload aircraft, she arrived back at San Diego on
1 September and entered upkeep.
The ship sailed for Hawaii on 1 October and, en route, participated in Convoy
Exercise 3-71. She spent two days at Pearl Harbor before continuing on to
Buckner Bay, Okinawa. There she rejoined ARG Alfa and embarked marines for
transportation to Subic Bay. Early in November, the ship visited Kaohsiung,
Taiwan. From 13 to 20 November, she shuttled landing craft between Vung
Tau and Subic Bay. During the last few weeks of 1971, the ship visited Sasebo,
Japan, and Hong Kong for liberty calls and also carried marines and equipment
from Okinawa to Sublc Bay.
After a period of repair work, Anchorage sailed for Buckner Bay on
17 January 1972 to embark marines for transportation back to Subic Bay.
Late in January, she carried out wet-well operations at Danang, Qui Nhon,
and Vung Tau and, in mid-February, traveled to Singapore for a visit before
returning to Subic Bay. After a brief trip to Kure, Japan, in early March,
the ship was involved in amphibious exercises. On 31 March, she got underway
to rendezvous with Task Group 76.5 which she met on 2 April for operations
off the coast of Vietnam through 6 May.
The ship was at Subic Bay from 9 to 18 May and then sailed back to Vietnamese
waters for wet-well lifts to Vung Tau, Hoi An, and Danang. On 24 May, she
took part in Exercise "Song Thanh 6-72." She reached Okinawa on
14 June to embark troops bound for the Philippines and arrived at Subic
Bay on the 20th. After a series of amphibious landing exercises, Anchorage
resumed wet-well operations between Vung Tau and Subic Bay.
The vessel visited Kaohsiung in early July, then arrived back at Subic Bay
on the 8th. She left the Philippines, bound for home on 9 July and made
San Diego on 24 July. She remained in port through 4 December, when the
vessel got underway for independent type exercises off the southern California
coast. She returned to San Diego on the 7th and entered a holiday leave
and upkeep status.
After local operations, Anchorage traveled to Seal Beach late in
January 1973 to unload her ammunition. She returned to San Diego on 1 February
and began overhaul there on the 19th. During this yard work, a fire broke
out on board and prolonged her stay in overhaul. The ship finally
got underway on 23 September for sea trials and started refresher amphibious
training late in October. On 8 December, the vessel commenced another WestPac
deployment.
During the cruise, the ship visited Subic Bay, Buckner Bay, Sasebo and Iwakuni,
Japan, Diego Garcia, and Singapore. While off Korea, Anchorage joined
ARG Bravo for Operation "Fly Away." Leaving Subic Bay on 28 March
1974, she made stops at Guam and Pearl Harbor before arriving back in San
Diego on 18 April and entering a standdown period which lasted through 29
July. On that day, the ship sailed northward to carry out a survey mission
of potential amphibious training areas in Alaska. During her cruise, embarked
scientists surveyed 10 possible landing sites and the vessel visited in
Seattle, Wash., Nanaimo, British Columbia; and Sitka and Anchorage, Alaska,
before reaching San Diego again on 5 September. Anchorage began a
restricted availability at Long Beach, Calif, on 17 October and after the
work was completed on 16 December, she returned to home port for the holidays.
On 6 January 1975, the ship began two weeks of amphibious refresher training
off the southern California coast. She then participated in Operation "Bedstream"
with other ships of PhibRon 5. After a period of upkeep in San Diego, Anchorage
again sailed for the Orient on 28 March. She carried marines and their
equipment for participation in Operation "Frequent Wind" off the
South Vietnamese coast. The ship reached Vietnamese waters on 30 April and
provided material support to ships evacuating Vietnamese refugees. On 2
May, she left the Vung Tau holding area with the other ships involved in
Operation "Frequent Wind."
On 13 May, her scheduled operations were interrupted by the Mayaguez
incident. Anchorage was ordered to proceed south to provide support
as needed for the rescue of Mayaguez. Following the ship's rescue,
Anchorage resumed her original schedule which included upkeep in
Sasebo, Japan, a visit to Keelung, Taiwan, and a port call to Inchon, Republic
of Korea. Early September brought her a liberty call at Hong Kong. She then
proceeded to Yokosuka for upkeep. Following stops at Keelung and Buckner
Bay, Anchorage sailed from Okinawa on 28 October to return to her
home port. En route, she participated in Operation "Polymode"
before arriving at San Diego on 16 November for upkeep and local operations
through the end of the year.
During the first three and one-half months of 1976, the dock landing ship
continued local operations off the southern California coast. From 26 April
through 17 June, she was in restricted availability in preparation for a
bicentennial visit to Alaska. However, that trip was cancelled, and the
ship was inport at San Diego from mid-August through December undergoing
repairs.
Tests and inspections occupied Anchorage during the first two and
one-half months of 1977 before another WestPac deployment began on 28 March.
She stopped briefly at Pearl Harbor, then pushed on to Eniwetok to unload
cargo and vehicles. During her cruise, the ship served as a member of ARG
Alfa. She also visited Guam; Subic Bay and Iloilo, Philippines; Singapore;
Hong Kong; Keelung, and Yokosuka. Among the amphibious exercises in which
she participated was Operation "Fortress Lightning," held in the
Philippines, in waters near Santa Cruz, Mindanao Island, from 10 to 23 October.
Upon the conclusion of this exercise, the vessel made her way back to the
west coast of the United States via Okinawa, Guam, and Hawaii. On 17 November,
she pulled into San Diego and spent the rest of the year in upkeep.
The ship was involved in training operations along the California coast
in January 1978. On 20 February, she got underway for Bremerton, Wash.,
to carry Army troops to their home base. The ship arrived at San Diego on
3 March and began preparations for overhaul. She got underway, in tow of
Abnali (ATF-96), for the Long Beach Naval Shipyard on 14 April, and
commenced a regular overhaul there the next day. Upon completion of this
work, the ship resumed operations on 13 December when she began sea trials.
Anchorage returned to San Diego on 15 January 1979. During the next
eight months she was involved in post-overhaul maintenance and training.
she operated along the southern California coast and held refresher training
and amphibious refresher training. On 24 September, the ship got underway
to take part in Exercise "Kernel Potlatch II," a joint American-
Canadian fleet exercise. Having concluded a successful amphibious landing
on the northern coast of Vancouver Island, she made a port call at Esquimalt,
British Columbia. After debarking marines at Camp Pendleton, Anchorage
returned to San Diego on 13 October. She participated in local operations
and training exercises through the end of the year in preparation for an
upcoming deployment in 1980.
Four days into the new year, Anchorage slipped her moorings and left
San Diego bound for the exotic Orient. Along the way the dock landing ship
visited Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands, and Guam in
the Mariana Islands before arriving at Subic Bay in the Philippines on 6
February 1980. Upon arrival, she loaded a refurbished utility landing craft
(LCU) for transportation to the Republic of Djibouti (former French Somaliland)
located on the northeast coast of Africa near the Horn of Africa. The LCU
-- dubbed Le Bac de la Paix (tr. the boat of peace) -- was a gift
from the United States to Djibouti to enhance the country's inadequate commercial
transportation system. Anchorage stood out of Subic Bay on 15 February
to begin her goodwill mission. Steaming by way of Singapore, she crossed
the Indian Ocean and arrived in Djibouti on 3 March. The dock landing ship
spent two days in Djibouti, delivering America's gift and helping to cement
relations between the two governments and peoples. From Djibouti, she headed
for Diego Garcia Island to deliver barges to that isolated American outpost
in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The ship stopped at Diego Garcia from
12 to 15 March and then resumed her voyage back to the Philippines. She
made a stop at Penang, Malaysia, along the way and reentered Subic Bay on
24 March.
During the three months that remained of her 1980 deployment Anchorage
carried out operations in surroundings more familiar to 7th Fleet ships
than the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean. Early in April, she visited
Hong Kong before voyaging to Okinawa to embark Marine Corps units on the
17th and 18th. From Okinawa, the dock landing ship sailed via Subic Bay
and Singapore to Thailand where she joined elements of the Royal Thai Navy
and the Royal Thai Marine Corps in amphibious training exercises. She concluded
the interlude in Thai waters with a visit to Pattaya between 5 and 10 May.
Anchorage returned to Subic Bay on 19 May and remained in port until
near the end of the first week in June. On 6 June, she got underway to return
the embarked marines to their base on Okinawa. She stopped at Naha, Okinawa,
from 10 to 12 June and then returned to sea for the voyage back to the United
States. The trip home included a two-day stop at Pearl Harbor and ended
back at San Diego on 3 July.
After the usual month of relative inactivity following an overseas deployment,
Anchorage began west coast operations early in August with a courtesy
visit to Seattle, Wash., for the city's annual sea fair. Normal duties continued
until late September when she returned to San Diego for a two-month availability.
The dock landing ship completed repairs on 20 November and resumed operations
out of her home port.
Various training evolutions occupied her time through May and into June
of 1981. On 23 June, Anchorage stood out of San Diego on her way
to duty with the 7th Fleet in the Far East. She stopped at Pearl Harbor
at the beginning of July and remained in the Hawaiian Islands for the first
three weeks of the month completing an oft-delayed propulsion plant certification.
On the 22d, she resumed her voyage west. The dock landing ship entered her
first western Pacific port at Buckner Bay, Okinawa, on 3 August and embarked
Marine Corps units for transportation to Yokosuka, Japan. Throughout, her
assignment with the 7th Fleet, Anchorage spent much of her time carrying
marines between their bases and training exercises. In some cases, the dock
landing ship herself participated in the exercises; in others, she simply
provided transportation to the location of the exercise. Consequently, she
called at a number of ports in the Orient -- most frequently at ports in
Okinawa, Japan, and Korea but also at Thai ports occasionally. Anchorage
completed her last 7th Fleet mission at Naha, Okinawa, late in November
and, on the 21st got underway for the voyage back to California. En route,
she made an 11-day visit to Guam and a brief, one-day pause at Pearl Harbor.
She pulled into San Diego two days before Christmas.
Post-deployment leave and upkeep carried her well into January of l982.
After a brief period underway in the southern California operating area,
Anchorage began preparations at the end of January for regular overhaul
at San Diego. The actual repair and modification work began on 1 March.
Over the ensuing seven months, the ship received general repairs and upgrading
throughout as well as work on her propulsion plant, modernization of her
communications spaces, and an enhancement of her defense capability against
antiship missiles. Anchorage conducted sea trials in the local operating
area during the first half of November and then spent the remainder of the
year in port.
The dock landing ship resumed operations out of San Diego early m 1983.
In May, she paid a courtesy visit to her namesake city, Anchorage, Alaska.
Upon her return to San Diego in the middle of June, Anchorage began
a three-month availability in preparation for a deployment to the western
Pacific scheduled to start in the middle of September. Except for a period
underway between 22 and 31 August, the dock landing ship was in San Diego
continuously from 11 June to 12 September. On the latter day, she slipped
her moorings and stood out to sea on her way back to the Far East. The usual
stop at Pearl Harbor lasted from 20 September to 2 October, and then Anchorage
resumed the voyage west. The dock landing ship arrived in Yokosuka,
Japan on 14 October. She spent the rest of October at Yokosuka, then got
underway for Okmawa on 1 November to begin conveying Marme Corps umts between
their bases and the sites of training exercises. As in the past, the dock
landing ship participated in some, but not all, of the exercises to which
she provided transportation for the marines.
The deployment lasted through the end of 1983 and into the early months
of 1984. She disembarked her last Marine Corps passengers at Yokosuka at
the end of January l984 and remained there until the beginning of the second
week in February. On the 8th, Anchorage set out upon the first leg
of the voyage back to the Umted States. On her way, she made stops at Guam
and at Pearl Harbor before ending the deployment at San Diego on 6 March
l984. Except for a brief period underway inside the port on 17 April, Anchorage
remained moored at San Diego for almost five months performing repairs and
modifications. Near the end of July, she began sea trials out of San Diego
that lasted mto the fourth week in August. On 23 August the dock landing
ship made the brief passage from San Diego to her new home port, Long Beach.
Anchorage took about two weeks to get settled into her new base of operations
and then embarked upon a series of training evolutions in the local operating
area.
Those drills and exercises -- punctuated by periods in port for upkeep and
repairs -- occupied her time during the remaining months of l984 and for
most of the first quarter of 1985. On 27 March 1985, she left Long Beach
on a course for the Orient. The dock landing ship interrupted her long voyage
briefly at Sasebo, Japan, on 16 April to pick up mail and then arrived at
Pohang, Korea, on the 17th. At Pohang, Anchorage embarked a Marine
Corps contingent and set sail for Okinawa on 18 April. For the next four
months, she crisscrossed the distant reaches of the Pacific delivering marines
to various points for combat training and returning them to their bases.
On occasion, she joined in the exercises herself to practice her role as
an amphibious warship. Her final group of passengers came on board at Yokohama,
Japan, between 9 and 11 August and disembarked at Buckner Bay, Okinawa,
on the 14th.
On the 15th Anchorage began the passage home. She stopped at Pearl
Harbor from the 26th to the 28th and arrived in Del Mar, Calif., on 3 September
1985. The following day, the dock landing ship moved to Long Beach where
she began a five- week post-deployment standdown. With her return to active
operations on 10 October, Anchorage embarked upon an extended period
of local operations that occupied her not only during the balance of 1985
but for the whole of 1986 as well. As of the beginning of 1987, Anchorage
was moored at Long Beach.
Anchorage received one award of the Meritorious Unit Commendation
and six battle stars for Vietnam service.