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USS Durham (LKA-114)
Encyclopedia
USS Durham (AKA-114/LKA-114) was a Charleston class amphibious cargo ship
Amphibious cargo ship
Amphibious cargo ships were U.S. Navy ships designed specifically to carry troops, heavy equipment and supplies in support of amphibious assaults, and to provide naval gunfire support during those assaults. A total of 108 of these ships were built between 1943 and 1945—which worked out to an...
named after Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
. She served as a commissioned ship for 24 years and 9 months, and earned a total of 15 awards and campaign ribbons for her service.
She was laid down as AKA-114 at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, VA, and redesignated LKA-114 on 1 January 1969. She was commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on 24 May 1969.
Durham was extensively involved in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
In April 1975, Durham participated in Operation Frequent Wind
Operation Frequent Wind
Operation Frequent Wind was the evacuation by helicopter of American civilians and 'at-risk' Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam, on 29–30 April 1975 during the last days of the Vietnam War...
, the evacuation of Saigon, Vietnam.
In the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, she was part of an 18-ship amphibious task force that was the largest such force since the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. The task force arrived on station in the North Arabian Sea on 12 January 1991.
The ship was decommissioned on 25 February 1994. As of 30 July 2001, she was berthed at the Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility
Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility
A Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility is a facility owned by the U.S. Navy as a holding facility for decommissioned naval vessels, pending determination of their final fate...
(NISMF) in a category "B" reserve status.
There is no DANFS entry for the ship.