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USS Gunston Hall (LSD-5)
Encyclopedia
USS Gunston Hall (LSD-5) was an in the United States Navy
, named in honor of Gunston Hall
, the estate of George Mason
(1725–1792), one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
.
Originally designated APM-5, Gunston Hall was launched 1 May 1943 by the Moore Dry Dock Company
, Oakland, California
, sponsored by Mrs. Harvey S. Haislip; and commissioned 10 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 the Korean War
. Sold to Argentina in 1970 and renamed ARA Cándido de Lasala (Q-43). Served in Argentine Navy
. In 1981 she was decommissioned and struck.
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 the 4th Marine Tank Battalion and 2 amphibious units, as well as 15 LVT
s, 15 tank
s, 17 LCM
s, and 15,000 gallons of gasoline, Gunston Hall departed San Diego
on 13 January 1944. On D-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 until 6 February, when she reembarked her former passengers and equipment and sailed to Guadalcanal
via Funa 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 and Army
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 on 22 April, Guam on 21 July, Peleliu Island
on 15 September, and Leyte Island
on 20 October. The last assault culminated in the momentous Battle 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
on 19 February, and Okinawa
on 1 April. After the first invasion waves went ashore at Okinawa, the Pacific's largest amphibious operation, involving over 1,200 ships and haIf a million men, Gunston Hall remained anchored at nearby Kerama Retto
until 1 July to repair small craft. She was untouched by the enemy's fierce kamikaze
attacks although she saw several other American ships hit and crippled.
Gunston Hall terminated her Pacific war
duty 1 July 1945 as she sailed for a much-needed overhaul reaching Portland, Oregon
on 26 July via Guam
, Eniwetok, and Pearl 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 Diego 17 April, she reached Bikini Atoll
on 6 May via Pearl Harbor for duties in connection with Operation Crossroads
, the famous series of atomic bomb tests. Departing Bikini on 19 August, Gunston Hall returned to San Diego 3 October via Kwajalein
and Pearl. Gunston Hall decommissioned 7 July 1947 at Terminal Island
in San Francisco Bay
.
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 the Arctic
. She recommissioned at Puget Sound 5 March 1949 and, after shakedown, sailed north to participate in Operation Miki in the Arctic Circle and later returned for Operation Micowex. Next training and development operations along the West Coast occupied her until the outbreak of war in Korea
.
, Japan
. On 10 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 War settled into its long and bloody pattern of near stalemate, Gunston Hall continued to shuttle troops and supplies between Japan and Korea. During an overhaul in the summer of 1952, she was fitted with a helicopter
landing and launching platform large enough to accommodate nine "whirly-birds", the newest element in amphibious warfare
.
The Gunston Hall was a busy ship during the war due to her many capabilities to carry landing craft, tanks, trucks, etc., along with their Army and Marine troops. She served several tours of duty as the mother ship for small mine sweepers in Wanson Harbor in North Korea. The Koreans always expected the United Nations to make a landing there, although they never did, and so kept the harbor fortified.The Koreans sewed the mines at night and the small mine sweepers cut the mines and blew them up during the day. Also participating in the Wanson Harbor operations were such ships as the battleships Iowa and Wisconsin which along with numerous destroyers bombarded the coast line.
In April 1952 the Gunston Hall carried 15,000 prisoners in five trips from the major prison island of Koje do to Ulsan and Cheju do so as to split up the prison population in anticpation of demonstrations on May Day. The prisoners consisted of both North Koreans and Chinese and were guarded by ROK soldiers stationed around the well deck.
When armistice ended the actual fighting in Korea, Gunston Hall sailed to Cheju Do, Korea, 4 September 1953. Remaining there until 22 September, she served in Operation Big Switch
, the exchange of prisoners 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.
Lorenzo S. Sabin) at Saigon, South Vietnam
, for Operation Passage to Freedom
. When the Geneva Accord
of July 1954 divided the former French Indochina
, over 800,000 North 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 from Haiphong
to Saigon in a 9-month period. Gunston Hall made five coastal runs carrying heavy barge
s between 2 January and 26 February 1955. In all, the Navy evacuated 310,848 North Vietnamese as well as 68,757 tons 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.
, she embarked elements of the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade at San Diego and headed for the Caribbean
, transiting the Panama Canal
on 5 November. As the Soviets withdrew their missiles and the crisis passed, Gunston Hall transited the Canal again returning San Diego 15 December.
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 Coast 13 November. Following operations along the California coast, she departed San Diego on 6 November 1964 for duty with the 7th Fleet. Arriving in Subic Bay
on 30 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 at Da Nang
through 18 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 on 6 June.
Reaching San Diego on 22 June, she prepared to return to the Orient. Sailing 6 August, she visited Hawaii
, Okinawa, and Japan before returning to the West Coast 7 October.
After operations out of San Diego, Gunston Hall again turned her prow toward the setting sun 16 May 1966. She reached Chu Lai
, Vietnam, 27 May and debarked the 9th Marine Engineers before sailing for Subic Bay to resume shuttling between Vietnam and nearby friendly ports, bringing materiel
to the Allies
. She participated in exercises "Hilltop VII" and "Mudpuppy I" in the Philippines
before loading three experimental Navy Patrol Air Cushion vehicles
on 15 December for transportation to San Diego. Back home early in January 1967, Gunston Hall prepared for future action.
in 1970, under Military Assistance Program, and renamed ARA Cándido de Lasala (Q-43) to support the Argentine Marines. She was decommissioned in 1981.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, named in honor of Gunston Hall
Gunston Hall
Gunston Hall is an 18th-century Georgian mansion near the Potomac River in Mason Neck, Virginia, United States of America. The house was the home of the United States Founding Father George Mason. It was located at the center of a 5500 acre plantation...
, the estate of George Mason
George Mason
George Mason IV was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention...
(1725–1792), one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
Founding Fathers of the United States
The Founding Fathers of the United States of America were political leaders and statesmen who participated in the American Revolution by signing the United States Declaration of Independence, taking part in the American Revolutionary War, establishing the United States Constitution, or by some...
.
Originally designated APM-5, Gunston Hall was launched 1 May 1943 by the Moore Dry Dock Company
Moore Dry Dock Company
Moore Dry Dock Company was a ship repair and shipbuilding company in Oakland, California. It was started in San Francisco in 1905 as the Moore & Scott Iron Works, but was destroyed by fire in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It reopened soon and in 1909 purchased the Boole Shipyard in Oakland....
, Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, sponsored by Mrs. Harvey S. Haislip; and commissioned 10 November 1943, Comdr. D. E. Collins in command.
Gunston Hall earned nine battle stars for World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
service and another nine battle stars during 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...
. Sold to Argentina in 1970 and renamed ARA Cándido de Lasala (Q-43). Served in Argentine Navy
Argentine Navy
The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....
. In 1981 she was decommissioned and struck.
World War II
After intensive shakedown along the CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
coast Gunston Hall prepared to sail for the Western Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, 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 the 4th Marine Tank Battalion and 2 amphibious units, as well as 15 LVT
Landing Vehicle Tracked
The Landing Vehicle Tracked was a class of amphibious vehicles introduced by the United States Navy, Marine Corps and Army during World War II. Originally intended solely as cargo carriers for ship to shore operations, they rapidly evolved into assault troop and fire support vehicles as well...
s, 15 tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s, 17 LCM
Landing Craft Mechanized
The Landing Craft Mechanized or Landing Craft Mechanical was a landing craft designed for carrying vehicles. They came to prominence during the Second World War when they were used to land troops or tanks during Allied amphibious assaults....
s, and 15,000 gallons of gasoline, Gunston Hall departed San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
on 13 January 1944. On D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
for the assault on Kwajalein
Battle of Kwajalein
The Battle of Kwajalein was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought from 31 January-3 February 1944, on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Employing the hard-learned lessons of the battle of Tarawa, the United States launched a successful twin assault on the main islands of...
, 1 February 1944, she stood offshore to unload her cargo as the Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
stormed the beaches on Roi and Namur
Roi-Namur
Roi-Namur is an island in the northern part of the Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands.Occupied by Japanese forces prior to World War II, it was the target of the U.S. 4th Marine Division in the Battle of Kwajalein, in February 1944....
Islands. Gunston Hall remained in the area to repair small craft until 6 February, when she reembarked her former passengers and equipment and sailed to Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
via Funa 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 and Army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
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
Emirau Island
Emirau Island, also called Emira, is an island in the Bismarck Archipelago located at . It is currently part of the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea. The local language is a dialect of the Mussau-Emira language...
20 March, of Hollandia on 22 April, Guam on 21 July, Peleliu Island
Battle of Peleliu
The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II, was fought between the United States and the Empire of Japan in the Pacific Theater of World War II, from September–November 1944 on the island of Peleliu, present-day Palau. U.S...
on 15 September, and Leyte Island
Battle of Leyte
The Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the invasion and conquest of the island of Leyte in the Philippines by American and Filipino guerrilla forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fought against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines led by...
on 20 October. The last assault culminated in the momentous Battle 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
Battle of Luzon
The Battle of Luzon was a land battle fought as part of the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II by the Allied forces of the U.S., its colony The Philippines, and Mexico against forces of the Empire of Japan. The battle resulted in a U.S. and Filipino victory...
on 9 January, Iwo Jima
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima , or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. The U.S...
on 19 February, and Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
on 1 April. After the first invasion waves went ashore at Okinawa, the Pacific's largest amphibious operation, involving over 1,200 ships and haIf a million men, Gunston Hall remained anchored at nearby Kerama Retto
Kerama Retto
The are a group of 22 islands located southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Four of the islands are inhabited:,., and. The islands are within Shimajiri District. The Kerama-shotō coral reef is a Ramsar Site....
until 1 July to repair small craft. She was untouched by the enemy's fierce kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
attacks although she saw several other American ships hit and crippled.
Gunston Hall terminated her Pacific war
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
duty 1 July 1945 as she sailed for a much-needed overhaul reaching Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
on 26 July via Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, Eniwetok, and Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
. 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 Diego 17 April, she reached Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
on 6 May via Pearl Harbor for duties in connection with Operation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945...
, the famous series of atomic bomb tests. Departing Bikini on 19 August, Gunston Hall returned to San Diego 3 October via Kwajalein
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
and Pearl. Gunston Hall decommissioned 7 July 1947 at Terminal Island
Terminal Island
Terminal Island is an island located in Los Angeles County, California between Los Angeles Harbor and Long Beach Harbor. Originally a mudflat known to the Spanish as Isla Raza de Buena Gente, and later called Rattlesnake Island, it has officially been Terminal Island since 1918...
in San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
.
Arctic operations
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington...
, Bremerton
Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...
, gave Gunston Hall a reinforced hull and a greatly extended heating and ventilation system which would permit her to operate effectively in the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
. She recommissioned at Puget Sound 5 March 1949 and, after shakedown, sailed north to participate in Operation Miki in the Arctic Circle and later returned for Operation Micowex. Next training and development operations along the West Coast occupied her until the outbreak of war in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
.
Korean War
With elements of the 1st Marine Provisional Brigade embarked, Gunston Hall departed San Diego 1 July 1950 and reached Pusan, Korea, via Yokosuka 3 August. Disembarking the Marines, she took aboard 30 stretcher cases and returned to OsakaOsaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. On 10 September Gunston Hall sailed from Japan to participate in the amphibious operation at Inchon
Battle of Inchon
The Battle of Inchon was an amphibious invasion and battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations . The operation involved some 75,000 troops and 261 naval vessels, and led to the recapture of the South Korean capital Seoul two...
, 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 War settled into its long and bloody pattern of near stalemate, Gunston Hall continued to shuttle troops and supplies between Japan and Korea. During an overhaul in the summer of 1952, she was fitted with a helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
landing and launching platform large enough to accommodate nine "whirly-birds", the newest element in amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
.
The Gunston Hall was a busy ship during the war due to her many capabilities to carry landing craft, tanks, trucks, etc., along with their Army and Marine troops. She served several tours of duty as the mother ship for small mine sweepers in Wanson Harbor in North Korea. The Koreans always expected the United Nations to make a landing there, although they never did, and so kept the harbor fortified.The Koreans sewed the mines at night and the small mine sweepers cut the mines and blew them up during the day. Also participating in the Wanson Harbor operations were such ships as the battleships Iowa and Wisconsin which along with numerous destroyers bombarded the coast line.
In April 1952 the Gunston Hall carried 15,000 prisoners in five trips from the major prison island of Koje do to Ulsan and Cheju do so as to split up the prison population in anticpation of demonstrations on May Day. The prisoners consisted of both North Koreans and Chinese and were guarded by ROK soldiers stationed around the well deck.
When armistice ended the actual fighting in Korea, Gunston Hall sailed to Cheju Do, Korea, 4 September 1953. Remaining there until 22 September, she served in Operation Big Switch
Operation Big Switch
Operation Big Switch was the repatriation of all remaining prisoners of the Korean War. Ceasefire talks had been going on between Communist and UN forces since 1951, with one of the main stumbling blocks being the Communist insistence that all prisoners be returned home, with the UN insisting that...
, the exchange of prisoners 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 AdmiralRear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Lorenzo S. Sabin) at Saigon, South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
, for Operation Passage to Freedom
Operation Passage to Freedom
Operation Passage to Freedom was the term used by the United States Navy to describe its transportation in 1954–55 of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam...
. When the Geneva Accord
Geneva Conference (1954)
The Geneva Conference was a conference which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, whose purpose was to attempt to find a way to unify Korea and discuss the possibility of restoring peace in Indochina...
of July 1954 divided the former French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
, over 800,000 North Vietnamese decided to cast their lot with the South rather than live under a Communist government. Since badly-depleted French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
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 from Haiphong
Haiphong
, also Haiphong, is the third most populous city in Vietnam. The name means, "coastal defence".-History:Hai Phong was originally founded by Lê Chân, the female general of a Vietnamese revolution against the Chinese led by the Trưng Sisters in the year 43 C.E.The area which is now known as Duong...
to Saigon in a 9-month period. Gunston Hall made five coastal runs carrying heavy barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
s between 2 January and 26 February 1955. In all, the Navy evacuated 310,848 North Vietnamese as well as 68,757 tons 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 Halls pattern of WesPac cruises and Arctic resupply missions was broken a second time in 1962. During the Cuban missile crisisCuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
, she embarked elements of the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade at San Diego and headed for the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, transiting the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
on 5 November. As the Soviets withdrew their missiles and the crisis passed, Gunston Hall transited the Canal again returning San Diego 15 December.
Vietnam War
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, and several Pacific islands she returned to the West Coast 13 November. Following operations along the California coast, she departed San Diego on 6 November 1964 for duty with the 7th Fleet. Arriving in Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
on 30 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 at Da Nang
Da Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
through 18 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 on 6 June.
Reaching San Diego on 22 June, she prepared to return to the Orient. Sailing 6 August, she visited Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Okinawa, and Japan before returning to the West Coast 7 October.
After operations out of San Diego, Gunston Hall again turned her prow toward the setting sun 16 May 1966. She reached Chu Lai
Chu Lai
Chu Lai is a sea port, urban and industrial area in Dung Quat Bay, Núi Thành district, Quang Nam province of Vietnam. The city is served by Chu Lai Airport.-Vietnam War:...
, Vietnam, 27 May and debarked the 9th Marine Engineers before sailing for Subic Bay to resume shuttling between Vietnam and nearby friendly ports, bringing materiel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
to the Allies
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
. She participated in exercises "Hilltop VII" and "Mudpuppy I" in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
before loading three experimental Navy Patrol Air Cushion vehicles
PACV
The Patrol Air Cushion Vehicle was a United States Navy river patrol hovercraft used during the Vietnam War.The PACV was based on Bell Aerosystems Bell SK-5 hovercraft; a licensed version of the British Saunders-Roe SR.N5 hovercraft. The SK-5 was adapted for American military use in 1965. Three...
on 15 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 ArgentinaArgentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
in 1970, under Military Assistance Program, and renamed ARA Cándido de Lasala (Q-43) to support the Argentine Marines. She was decommissioned in 1981.