USS Thomaston (LSD-28) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

USS Thomaston (LSD-28) was the lead ship

Lead ship

The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...

of her class

Thomaston class dock landing ship

The Thomaston class dock landing ship is a class of eight United States Navy dock landing ships.The class of the ship is named after a town of Thomaston, Maine, which was the home of General Henry Knox, the first Secretary of War to serve under the United States Constitution.The class was designed...

of dock landing ship

Dock landing ship

A Dock landing ship or Landing ship is a form of amphibious warship designed to support amphibious operations. These amphibious assault ships transport and launch amphibious craft and vehicles with their crews and embarked personnel...

of the United States Navy

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...

. She was named for Thomaston, Maine

Thomaston, Maine

Thomaston, Maine is a town on the coast of Maine the United States. The name may also refer to:*Thomaston , Maine, a census-designated place comprising the center of the town*South Thomaston, Maine, an adjacent town...

, the home of General Henry Knox

Henry Knox

Henry Knox was a military officer of the Continental Army and later the United States Army, and also served as the first United States Secretary of War....

, the first Secretary of War

United States Secretary of War

The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...

to serve under the United States Constitution

United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...

.

Thomaston (LSD-28) was laid down on 3 March 1953 at Pascagoula, Miss., by the Ingalls Shipbuilding

Ingalls Shipbuilding

Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA, originally established in 1938, and is now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries...

Corp.; launched

Ship naming and launching

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

on 9 February 1954, sponsored by Mrs. Mathias B. Gardner; and 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 17 September 1954, Captain Marion F. Ramirez de Arellano in command.

1955–1964

Following shakedown in the Caribbean

Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....

, Thomaston transited 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...

and joined the Pacific Fleet Amphibious Force. From July through October 1955, Thomaston participated in the Arctic Resupply Project, provisioning stations on the Distant Early Warning Line

Distant Early Warning Line

The Distant Early Warning Line, also known as the DEW Line or Early Warning Line, was a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic region of Canada, with additional stations along the North Coast and Aleutian Islands of Alaska, in addition to the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland...

before taking part in cold weather landing exercises in the Aleutians in November 1955 and again in January and February 1956.

The landing ship's duties soon took her southward to the warmer climes of the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...

, where she conducted local operations and exercises in March and April. On hand in Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...

, from 2 July to 9 July, for the Semana Nautica Celebration, Thomaston returned to the Hawaiian Islands and participated in three landing exercises in the autumn before returning to the west coast to conduct exercises off the Marine Corps

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...

base at Camp Pendleton, California, during the spring of 1957.

She subsequently deployed to the Western Pacific (WestPac) in 1959 and participated in exercises off Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

and 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...

in June and August of that year. Alternating between the west coast and WestPac, Thomaston participated in a busy schedule of operations and cruises into the 1960s. During the international tensions brought on by the United States' discovery of Russian missile sites

Cuban 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...

in Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, Thomaston sailed via the Panama Canal to the Caribbean

Caribbean Sea

and operated with the Atlantic Fleet until tensions abated with the withdrawal of the missiles. She then returned to San Diego on 15 December 1962.

She commenced the year 1963 at her home port, NS San Diego

Naval Station San Diego

Naval Base San Diego is the largest base of the United States Navy on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, consisting of 54 ships and over 120 tenant commands. The base is composed of 13 piers stretched...

, and conducted training exercises into February before serving as primary control ship off "Green" Beach, Del March, California, during Operation Steel Gate from 28 February to 8 March 1963. Thomaston departed the west coast on 26 March, bound for the Far East, and arrived via 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...

at 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 20 April. Serving with the Amphibious Force of the 7th Fleet

United States 7th Fleet

The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...

; she participated in special operations in the South China Sea

South China Sea

The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...

from 22 April to 5 May. A second special operation in the South China Sea — again with the Amphibious Ready Group, 7th Fleet — took place in late August and early September.

After operating in Okinawan waters, Thomaston departed Yokosuka, Japan, on 4 November, bound for the west coast of the United States. While en route three days later, the LSD received word of a merchantman in distress. Changing course, Thomaston found SS Barbara Fritchie in heavy seas, dead in the water, having lost a propeller

Propeller

A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...

and suffering rudder

Rudder

A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...

damage. Thomaston took her in tow and headed for Pearl Harbor, transferring the tow to on 12 November. The LSD

Dock landing ship

's stop at Pearl Harbor was a brief one, though, as she arrived and departed for home on the same day, 15 November.

Vietnam War

Making port at San Diego on 21 November, Thomaston operated locally and trained through the early fall of 1964, when she sailed for 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...

on 26 October to commence another WestPac deployment. Arriving at Subic Bay

Subic Bay

on 16 November, the LSD conducted special operations in the South China Sea, including a dredge lift from Saigon to 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...

, 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...

, between 21 November and 16 December. Christmas of that year found Thomaston again at sea, on "special operations" in the South China Sea. She was present at the initial Marine landings at Da Nang and 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:...

, South Vietnam. She remained deployed to WestPac until June 1965, when she returned to San Diego to conduct routine local operations off the west coast.

1966

Departing San Diego on 10 January 1966 for WestPac, Thomaston arrived in Vietnamese coastal waters on 5 February and immediately commenced operations at Chu Lai and Da Nang, serving as boat haven at the latter port. She returned to the United States in the spring and remained at San Diego from 9 April to 9 July 1966. The ship then headed back to the western Pacific and operated out of Subic Bay from 28 July through the end of the deployment. She participated in Operations Deckhouse III (phases one and two) and Deckhouse IV in August and September. In the former, Thomaston landed marines north of Vung Tau

Vung Tàu

Vũng Tàu is a city in southern Vietnam. Its population in 2005 was 240,000. The city area is including 13 urban wards and one village. It is the capital of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, and is the crude oil extraction center of Vietnam. It is also known as one of the most beautiful cities of tourism...

and served as primary control ship and boat haven during the subsequent operations. She then landed marines at a point just south of the demilitarized zone

Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone

The Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone was established as a dividing line between North and South Vietnam as a result of the First Indochina War.During the Second Indochina War , it became important as the battleground demarcation separating North Vietnamese territory from South Vietnamese territory.-...

(DMZ) between North

North Vietnam

The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...

and South Vietnam. She thus continued in her familiar role as primary control ship and boat haven during "Deckhouse IV" and staged boat convoy

Convoy

A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...

s carrying supplies nine miles up the Cua Vet River to Dong Ha

Dong Ha

Đông Hà is the capital town of Quang Tri province, Vietnam. It is located at around . Dong Ha is situated at the crossroads of National Highway 1A and Route 9, part of the East-West Economic Corridor . It lies on the Reunification Express Railway and is served by Dong Ha Railway Station...

.

Returning to Subic Bay, Thomaston later participated in Exercise Mudpuppy II which was designed to provide training in river operations for marines. Held on Mindoro

Mindoro

Mindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...

in the Philippines, "Mudpuppy II" ended three days before Christmas; and Thomaston sailed for Vietnam.

1967

She thus began the year 1967 as she had begun the previous year, in active combat operations against Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army units along the coastline. Participating in Deckhouse V and Deckhouse VI into March, Thomastons participation in the former operation began on 5 January 1967 when she dropped anchor off the mouth of the Song Co Chien River. She helped to launch the thrust of "Deckhouse V", aimed at the delta lowlands of Kien Hoa Province, South Vietnam. The combined American and Vietnamese Marine Corps

Republic of Vietnam Marine Corps

The Republic of Vietnam Marine Corps ) was part of the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam . It was established by Ngo Dinh Diem in 1954 when he was Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam, which became the Republic of Vietnam in 1955. The longest-serving commander was Lieutenant General Le...

landings successfully challenged Viet Cong forces in this area. Relieved at Vung Tau

Vung Tàu

by on 6 March, Thomaston sailed for repairs at Subic Bay

Subic Bay

, en route home via Hong Kong

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...

, Okinawa, Yokosuka, and Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

1968

Following an extensive overhaul at San Diego

Naval Station San Diego

from 28 June to 18 December 1967, Thomaston departed her home port on 21 February 1968 for her regular deployment to WestPac. After joining the Amphibious Ready Group off Vietnam in the I Corps zone, Thomaston commenced operations in support of marines of the Special Landing Forces (SLF) engaged ashore in the defense of Quảng Trị Province

Quang Tri Province

Quảng Trị is a province on the North Central Coast of Vietnam, north of the former imperial capital of Huế.-Geography:Located in North Central Vietnam, Quang Tri Province is surrounded by Quang Binh Province on the north, Thua Thien-Hue Province on the south, Savannakhet Province of Laos on the...

. She spent the month of March steaming in coastwise logistics runs between Da Nang

Da Nang

, Camranh Bay, and the burgeoning Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

supply base at Thon My Thuy, known colloquially as "Murder Beach".

During her operations at the latter port, Thomaston demonstrated to the Army the versatility of the Landing Ship Dock by serving as an effective repair ship with a built-in drydock. Many small craft and pontoon piers serving the supply base received hull and machinery work by the crew in the ship's capacious well deck

Well deck

A well deck or well dock is a hangar-like deck located at the waterline in the stern of some amphibious warfare ships. By taking on water the ship can lower its stern, flooding the well deck and allowing boats and amphibious landing craft to dock within the ship. This facilitates moving cargo...

. During this deployment, Thomaston proved that the amphibious ship was a natural vehicle for interservice cooperation.

While operating off the coast of South Vietnam with the Amphibious Ready Group, Thomaston conducted two search and rescue

Search and rescue

Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...

operations. On the evening of 25 May, a CH-46 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...

, loaded with mail, passengers, and baggage, lost power in the vicinity of and crashed. The helicopter remained afloat while those on board jettisoned all excess weight. It gradually sank, but fortunately not before all men had safely left the craft. Within a mile of the accident Thomaston dispatched two boats to the scene and recovered not only four of the passengers and crew of the CH-46 (the remainder were picked up by helicopter) but the crew from one of Valley Forges boats which had capsized upon launching. Later, on 2 June and again while in the vicinity of Valley Forge, Thomaston picked up men from the carrier who had jumped overboard to escape flames from a flight deck fire.

Thomaston next participated in Badger Catch III, the withdrawal of the Special Landing Force from the Cua Vet River area bordering on the extreme southern edge of the DMZ. Subsequently, Thomaston and her embarked SLF participated in a swift succession of operations against Communist ground forces. Operation Swift Sabre plunged into Viet Cong-contested areas of the western shore of Da Nang harbor on 8 June 1968. Following Exercise Hilltop XX in Subic Bay, Thomaston participated in Eager Yankee which landed elements of the SLF in Quảng Trị Province

Quang Tri Province

near Cua Tu Hien on 9 July before engaging, 13 days later, in Swift Play in the coastal area south of Da Nang. These operations resulted in the capture of significant numbers of weapons and stores and the destruction of operating bases and installations from which the enemy had launched attacks against other "friendly forces". During "Swift Play", Thomaston came under shore battery fire for a brief time.

1969–1974

For the next five years, Thomaston actively supported the war effort in Vietnam, conducted troop and cargo lifts, and participated in amphibious operations. The tide of war, however, was running against the South Vietnamese; and, by the spring of 1975, concentrated efforts on the part of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops put pressure on the crumbling South Vietnamese government.

1975

The end for South Vietnam came during Thomastons 15th WestPac deployment. The beginning of the year 1975 found the landing ship at Subic Bay

Subic Bay

, undergoing a needed availability. She departed Subic Bay on 2 February, bound for Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

where she stayed until 13 February. As a member of Task Group (TG) 76.4 Thomaston later returned to port at Subic Bay on 25 February. Her anticipated upkeep period, however, was cut short when the ship was directed to return to sea with TG 76.4. On 2 March, Thomaston departed Subic Bay to execute Operation Eagle Pull

Operation Eagle Pull

Operation Eagle Pull was the American evacuation by air of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 12 April, 1975. At the beginning of April 1975, Phnom Penh, the last remaining stronghold of the Khmer Republic, was surrounded by the Khmer Rouge and totally dependent on aerial resupply through Pochentong Airport...

which evacuated Americans and designated Cambodian citizens from the Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

n capital city of Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...

. The civilians were to be picked up by helicopters and ferried to the ships offshore.

She remained in readiness until the evening of 5 April, when Thomaston was ordered to Phu Quoc Island to assist Vietnamese nationals evacuated from Da Nang. She transferred food and medical supplies via her LCU

Landing Craft Utility

The Landing Craft Utility is a type of boat used by amphibious forces to transport equipment and troops to the shore. They are capable of transporting tracked or wheeled vehicles and troops from amphibious assault ships to beachheads or piers....

s and LCM-8

LCM-8

The LCM-8 is a river boat and mechanized landing craft used by the United States Navy and Army during the Vietnam War and subsequent operations. They are currently used by governments and private organizations throughout the world. The acronym stands for "Landing Craft Mechanized, Mark 8...

assault craft to Vietnamese refugees quartered on Military Sealift Command

Military Sealift Command

The Military Sealift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's...

(MSC) vessels.

TG 76.4 executed "Eagle Pull" on 12 April, and Thomaston took part as a plane guard on station to the south. Upon the successful completion of the operation, designated units of the group proceeded to Sattahip, Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, to debark civilians airlifted from Cambodia. Meanwhile, Thomaston sailed for the Philippines, arriving at Subic Bay on the morning of 17 April, but her much deserved in-port period was again abbreviated by operational necessity. Underway once more at 23:30 on 18 April, Thomaston sailed for Vietnamese waters to take part in the Götterdämmerung

Götterdämmerung

is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four operas titled Der Ring des Nibelungen...

of South Vietnam—the evacuation of the besieged capital, Saigon.

On 29 April, 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...

commenced at 15:00. During the next nine hours Thomaston received 811 Vietnamese, American, and other refugees. During this operation — for which the ship received the Meritorious Unit Commendation

Meritorious Unit Commendation

The Meritorious Unit Commendation is a mid-level unit award of the United States military which is awarded to any military command which displays exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service, heroic deeds, or valorous actions....

— Thomaston received evacuees via helicopter, landing "choppers" as large as CH-46's on her flight deck aft. All Vietnamese citizens were to be processed and placed aboard MSC ships.

American citizens would be retained on board for transportation to the Philippines. Although limited by space, all individuals were provided with food, clothing, and medical attention. Makeshift shelters, "tents" made from marines' blankets, were set up on board.

Returning to Subic Bay on 3 May, Thomaston immediately commenced preparations for her homeward voyage. Civilians embarked during "Frequent Wind" were debarked at Subic Bay. The ship then headed on for the west coast of the United States, via Buckner Bay, Okinawa; and Pearl Harbor; and arrived at San Diego on 6 June 1975.

1975–1998

Thomaston subsequently operated with the Pacific Fleet in 1976, conducting training and local operations in waters off Okinawa, Japan, Korea

Korea

, and Hawaii, before returning to San Diego at the close of the year.

Following a material inspection by the Navy Board of Inspection and Survey

Board of Inspection and Survey

The Board of Inspection and Survey is a U.S. Navy organization whose purpose is to inspect and assess material condition of Naval vessels.The Board is currently headquartered at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virginia.- INSURV teams :...

in January 1977, Thomaston commenced preparations for her forthcoming overhaul. On 1 June, she entered Todd Shipyard

Todd Pacific Shipyards

Vigor Shipyards was founded in 1916 as the William H. Todd Corporation through the merger of Robins Dry Dock & Repair Company of Erie Basin, Brooklyn, New York, the Tietjen & Long Dry Dock Company of Hoboken, New Jersey, and the Seattle Construction and Dry Dock Company...

, Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

, for the most extensive overhaul conducted on an amphibious ship to that time. Lasting 18 months and costing nearly $30 million, the overhaul was completed on 7 December 1978. Thomaston returned to her home port of San Diego on 14 December.

Thomaston was decommissioned 28 September 1984 and her name struck from the Naval Vessel Register

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

2 February 1992, and laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet

National Defense Reserve Fleet

The National Defense Reserve Fleet consists of "mothballed" ships, mostly merchant vessels, that can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping for the United States of America during national emergencies, either military or non-military, such as commercial shipping crises.The NDRF is...

, under temporary custody of the Maritime Administration (MARAD). The vessel was sold 29 September 1995 by MARAD to Pegasus Inc., but repossessed by the Navy, 1 July 1997. Permanent custody was reassigned to MARAD, 18 November 1998 for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay

Suisun Bay

Suisun Bay is a shallow tidal estuary at in northern California, USA. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, forming the entrance to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an inverted river delta...

, Benicia, California

Benicia, California

Benicia is a waterside city in Solano County, California, United States. It was the first city in California to be founded by Anglo-Americans, and served as the state capital for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the 2010 census. The city is located in the San...

, and she was again placed on sale list.

Thomaston received 11 battle stars, one Navy Unit Commendation

Navy Unit Commendation

The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...

, and two Meritorious Unit Commendation

Meritorious Unit Commendation

s for 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...

service.

External links

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