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USS Uvalde (AKA-88)
Encyclopedia
USS Uvalde (AKA-88) was an named after Uvalde County, Texas
Uvalde County, Texas
Uvalde County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 25,926. Its county seat is Uvalde. The county is named for Juan de Ugalde, the Spanish governor of Coahuila. Uvalde County was founded by Reading Wood Black who also founded the city of Uvalde,...
, the home of former Vice President John Nance "Cactus Jack" Garner
John Nance Garner
John Nance Garner, IV , was the 32nd Vice President of the United States and the 44th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives .- Early life and family :...
.
Uvalde (AKA-88) (formerly projected as the merchant freighter Wild Pigeon) was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1188) on 27 March 1944 at 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...
, by the Moore Dry Dock Co.; launched on 20 May 1944; sponsored by Mrs. George J. Kean; 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 18 August 1944, Lt. Comdr. William M. McCloy, USNR, in command.
World War II, 1944–1945
After fitting out at Oakland, Uvalde ran her trials before departing San Francisco BaySan 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...
on 29 August, bound for San Pedro
San Pedro, Los Angeles, California
San Pedro is a port district of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was annexed in 1909 and is a major seaport of the area...
, California She conducted extensive shakedown training out of that port before she shifted to 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...
, there to train in amphibious warfare from 15 through 30 September in company with the attack transport .
In yard hands 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...
, California, for post-shakedown availability until 10 October, Uvalde got underway and churned out of Los Angeles harbor, bound for San Francisco. Uvalde subsequently loaded cargo at that port from 11 through 19 October.
The destruction of Mount Hood
Departing "Frisco" on 20 October, Uvalde reached ManusManus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...
, in the Admiralty Islands
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...
, on 6 November. Over the next few days, the ship lay at anchor in Seeadler Harbor
Seeadler Harbor
Seeadler Harbor, also known as Port Seeadler, is located on Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea and played an important role in World War II...
, Manus, awaiting orders for onward routing. While there, she witnessed the volcanic explosion of the ammunition ship
Ammunition ship
An ammunition ship is a warship specially configured to carry ammunition, usually for Navy ships and aircraft. Their cargo handling systems, designed with extreme safety in mind, include ammunition hoists with airlocks between decks, and mechanisms for flooding entire compartments with sea water in...
at 0820 on 11 November. Fortunately at a distance far enough away to be unaffected by the blast, Uvalde responded to the emergency by sending medical assistance and supplies to some of the other ships closer to where the ill-fated ammunition ship had been anchored — ships that had taken heavy casualties when shrapnel from the atomized Mount Hood had ripped into them.
Subsequently, three days after the Mount Hood tragedy, Uvalde got underway to unload cargo at East Murzim Dock. Completing that evolution a little over a week later, on the 21st, Uvalde got underway for New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
on the 29th, reaching Milne Bay
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
, her destination, on 3 December. The attack cargo ship then took on board 100 tons of miscellaneous cargo earmarked for the 489th Port Battalion, Transportation Corps, 6th Army. She shifted to Oro Bay
Oro Bay
Oro Bay is a bay in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea, located southeast of Buna. The bay is located within the larger Dyke Ackland Bay. A port is operated by PNG Ports Corporation Limited with limited wharf facilities.-History:...
, New Guinea, within a few days, there loading additional cargo — 1,025 tons of vehicles, gasoline, and organizational equipment for the 6th Army. On 21 December, Uvalde and her escort, got underway for the Admiralties, reaching their destination the following day.
Philippines campaign
Uvalde spent Christmas at Manus before she got underway on her first "mission of war" as part of Task Group (TG) 77.9 on 2 January 1945, shaping course for the island of LuzonLuzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
. The attack cargo ship subsequently entered Lingayen Gulf
Lingayen Gulf
The Lingayen Gulf is an extension of the South China Sea on Luzon in the Philippines stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central...
on the morning of 11 January and, at 0925, sent her first wave of landing craft onto the beaches. During her ensuing stay at Lingayen Gulf, Uvalde's sailors witnessed their first attacks by the Japanese kamikazes on ships in the vicinity.
On the 13th, Uvalde weighed anchor, shifting to Leyte
Leyte Island
Leyte is an island in the Visayas group of the Philippines.The island measures about 180 km north-south and about 65 km at its widest point. In the north it nearly joins Samar, separated by the San Juanico Strait, which becomes as narrow as 2 km in some places...
and reaching there on the 16th. Two days later, the attack cargo ship got underway again, this time headed for the Schouten Islands
Schouten Islands
The Indonesian Schouten Islands are an island group of Papua province, eastern Indonesia in the Cenderawasih Bay 50 km off the north-western coast of the island of New Guinea...
. Bound for Biak
Biak
Biak features a tropical rainforest climate with nearly identical temperatures throughout the course of the year. The average annual temperature in the city is 27 degrees celsius, which is also generally the average temperature of each day in Biak...
, Uvalde reached her destination on the 23rd and commenced loading cargo at dock number 2 soon thereafter.
Completing loading on 2 February, Uvalde returned to Leyte, joining formation with TG 78.5 on the following day. Subsequently anchoring in Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...
on the 6th, the attack cargo ship pushed on for 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:...
the following day, arriving on the 9th. Twenty-seven hours later, the ship completed the unloading evolution, receiving a "well done" from Capt. R. W. Abbott, the officer in tactical command of the task group.
Uvalde returned to Leyte and, over the days that ensued, prepared for her next operation. For six weeks, the attack cargo ship participated in the practice evolutions that ultimately led up to the final big assault landing of the war in the Pacific — the invasion of 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...
in the Ryūkyūs
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
.
Okinawa campaign
Underway on 27 March, Uvalde reached the assault areas on 1 April, the day of the initial landings. By noon of that day – Easter Sunday – the loading operations were proceeding apace. At 0559 on 2 April, Uvalde's gunners drew their first blood, downing a suicide aircraftKamikaze
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....
making a run on the nearby attack transport . Uvalde received official credit for the kill — she soon sported a miniature Japanese flag on her bridge.
Off Okinawa from 1 April to 9 April, Uvalde spent much of her time at general quarters due to the heavy Japanese aerial resistance. The attack cargo ship subsequently weighed anchor on the 9th and headed to Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
in the Marianas
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
, en route to her ultimate destination.
The end of the war
After provisioning ship at Pearl HarborPearl 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...
, Uvalde returned to the western Pacific, departing 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...
on 10 May. Reaching Eniwetok in the Marshalls
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
10 days later, the attack cargo ship got underway for 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...
in the Marianas after exchanging cargo and embarking passengers. Uvalde then discharged and unloaded at Guam before she proceeded for the west coast of the United States on 27 June, her course shaped for San Francisco. Uvalde arrived at the Golden Gate
Golden Gate
The Golden Gate is the North American strait connecting San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. Since 1937 it has been spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge...
on 12 July, en route to Everett, Washington
Everett, Washington
Everett is the county seat of and the largest city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. Named for Everett Colby, son of founder Charles L. Colby, it lies north of Seattle. The city had a total population of 103,019 at the 2010 census, making it the 6th largest in the state and...
, for a drydocking and repairs. Reaching Everett on the 16th, the ship underwent nearly two weeks of repair work there, completing her assigned availability on 28 July.
Departing the Pacific Northwest on 1 August, Uvalde proceeded to San Francisco to load cargo in preparation for her return to the western Pacific theater of operations. Completing the loading process on 11 August, the attack cargo ship got underway for the Hawaiian Islands on the 12th. She was at sea when at 1400 on 14 August 1945, President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
announced in a radio broadcast address that a state of war no longer existed
Victory over Japan Day
Victory over Japan Day is a name chosen for the day on which the Surrender of Japan occurred, effectively ending World War II, and subsequent anniversaries of that event...
between the United States and Japan. World War II was over at last.
Post-war operations, 1944–1950
For Uvalde, the war had been a short one, but there still remained the duty of returning the many soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen homeOperation Magic Carpet (World War II)
Operation Magic Carpet was the post-World War II effort by the War Shipping Administration to repatriate over eight million American military personnel from the European, Pacific, and CBI theaters. Hundreds of Liberty ships, Victory ships, and troop transports began repatriating soldiers from...
from the fighting fronts. The attack cargo ship took part in those operations well into 1946, also earning the Navy's Occupation Service Medal
Navy Occupation Service Medal
The Navy Occupation Service Medal is a decoration of the United States Navy which was issued to Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard personnel who participated in the European and Asian occupation forces following the close of the World War II. The decoration was also bestowed to personnel who...
for operations in Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
waters in ensuing months.
Korean War, 1950–1953
Up until mid-1950, Uvalde transported troops and cargo to American outposts in Asia, supporting the United States presence in that area of the world Uvalde participated in the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
efforts to stem North Korean aggression after that nation invaded neighboring South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
in June 1950, deploying to Korean waters with troops and cargo on numerous occasions.
New Year's Day 1951 found Uvalde at Sasebo
United States Fleet Activities Sasebo
U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo is a United States Navy naval base, in Sasebo, Japan, on the island of Kyūshū. It provides facilities for the logistic support of forward-deployed units and visiting operating forces of the United States Pacific Fleet and designated tenant activities.- History :Sasebo...
, Japan – nine days later she got underway, bound for the west coast of the United States, and she reached her destination two weeks later on the 24th. Shifting to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
for repairs and alterations on the 30th, the attack cargo ship remained in yard hands until early April, when she shifted to San Diego to conduct underway training evolutions.
After three weeks of post-repair training, Uvalde shifted to the naval supply center at Oakland, California, when she loaded cargo earmarked for the Far East. The attack cargo ship subsequently made three round-trip voyages, touching at Sasebo and Yokosuka
United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka
U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, or Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka is a United States Navy base, in Yokosuka, Japan. Its mission is to maintain and operate base facilities for the logistic, recreational, administrative support and service of the U.S. Naval Forces Japan, U.S. 7th Fleet and...
in the west and Oakland in the east over the remainder of 1951.
Uvalde spent much of 1952 engaged in the same shuttle operations that had kept her occupied since the onset of 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...
. She visited Korean waters in the latter half of the month of March 1952, touching at Sokcho Ri
Sokcho
Sokcho is a city in Gangwon-do province, South Korea. It is located in the far northeast of Gangwon-do. Lying north of the 38th parallel, the city belonged to North Korea from 1945 until the end of the Korean War, when the dividing line between the two Korean states was officially altered....
and Paengyong Do before resuming her west coast-to-Japan shuttle voyages with her termini at Oakland, Sasebo, and Yokosuka. During August,1952, the ship made a short recreational stop at Pearl Harbor.
During the late autumn of 1952, Uvalde remained in Japanese waters, undergoing a drydocking at Yokosuka in late November before she sailed for Oakland on the 23rd of that month. Reaching Treasure Island, San Francisco, on 8 December, the attack cargo ship went into the naval shipyard at Mare Island three days later.
Uvalde overhauled at Mare Island into mid-February, 1953, after which time she conducted the usual under way training evolutions before resuming west coast-to-Japan shuttle voyages. She called at Korean ports once, visiting Pohang
Pohang
Pohang is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, and a main seaport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. The built-up area of Pohang is located on the alluvium of the mouth of the Hyeongsan River...
in May 1953, spending most of her time in Japanese waters. Ports included during that cruise included Sasebo, Yokosuka, and Nagasaki.
Pacific Fleet, 1954–1957
February through July of the following year, 1954, was spent in shuttle service between the Naval Supply Center, OaklandNaval Supply Depot, Oakland
Naval Supply Depot, Oakland was a supply facility operated by the U.S. Navy in Oakland, California. During World War II, it was a major source of supplies and war materials for ships operating in the Pacific....
, and the Far East, with a recreational visit to Nagasaki in April. During July, the ship arrived at Yokosuka and, after a trip to Sasebo and return, loaded a cargo of rice and medical supplies, setting sail for 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....
to assist in "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...
."
Uvalde reached Tourane Bay
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...
, 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....
, on 28 August and remained there, supporting "Passage to Freedom" operations until 10 September, when she got underway to return to Oakland. Over the next few years, Uvalde's routine would remain much the same, sailing back and forth across the Pacific on the supply line from the west coast of the United States to American military bases in the Far East.
Reserve and reinstatement, 1957–1961
Mothballed in 1957, and becoming a part of the Reserve FleetNational 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...
, Uvalde was struck from the Navy List on 1 July 1960, but was reinstated on 1 September 1961, because of the Berlin Crisis
Berlin Crisis of 1961
The Berlin Crisis of 1961 was the last major politico-military European incident of the Cold War about the occupational status of the German capital city, Berlin, and of post–World War II Germany. The U.S.S.R...
. Uvalde was recommissioned on 18 November 1961, Capt. C. A. Baldwin in command.
Atlantic Fleet, 1957–1962
Ordered to duty with the Atlantic Fleet, the attack cargo ship — with a new lease on life — got underway for Guantanamo Bay, CubaGuantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
, and five weeks of training in December. After a voyage that had taken her via Mazatlán
Mazatlán
Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio for which the city serves as the municipal seat is Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning...
, Mexico; 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 Guantanamo (where she engaged in refresher training operations as scheduled), Uvalde reached her new assigned home port, Norfolk, Virginia
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...
, in February 1962. She thus became a part of the Amphibious Force of the Atlantic Fleet.
After a post-shakedown overhaul, Uvalde took part in amphibious exercises at Vieques, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
(Lant-PhibLex 1-62) in April — her first major exercise since recommissioning. By the end of the year 1962, the veteran attack cargo vessel had deployed on various 2nd Fleet exercises and maneuvers in the western Atlantic and Caribbean areas. Attached to Amphibious Squadron (PhibRon) 10 from 22 October to 5 December, Uvalde supported the Fleet during the Cuban Missile Crisis
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...
, when President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
"quarantined" Cuba over the presence of offensive Soviet missiles on that strategic isle.
Mediterranean, 1963–1968
Subsequently, Uvalde spent all of January 1963, engaged in pre-deployment upkeep. She sailed on 4 February, shaping course for the Mediterranean, and operated with the 6th Fleet through mid-May, touching at NaplesNaples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Italy; Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece; İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
, Turkey; Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
, Greece; Golfe Juan, France; and Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain; during the course of her operations.
After returning to Norfolk for upkeep and independent ship exercises, Uvalde deployed to the Caribbean as part of the Amphibious Ready Squadron, calling at San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, during that cruise that carried over into late February 1964 as part of PhibRon 8. She deployed again to the Caribbean from late June to late September 1965, before she later participated in Exercise "Steel Pike I"
Operation Steel Pike
Operation Steel Pike was the largest peacetime amphibious landing exercise in history, conducted by the United States Navy and Marine Corps and taking place on the coast of Spain in October to November 1964....
, during the latter cruise, she visited Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria is the second most populous island of the Canary Islands, with a population of 838,397 which constitutes approximately 40% of the population of the archipelago...
, Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
, in the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
.
Returning to her home port, Norfolk, in late November, Uvalde shifted to the New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York, on 7 January. She remained there, undergoing repairs and alterations, until 28 April, after which time she headed south, ultimately conducting refresher training in Guantanamo Bay.
In late June, Uvalde supported the American intervention in the Dominican Republic, serving as "bulk fuel control ship" between 18 June and 28 June. The ship then conducted independent exercises and underwent some needed upkeep through mid-July.
Uvalde subsequently trained out of Little Creek, Virginia
Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek
The Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek is the major operating base for the Amphibious Forces in the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet. The base comprises four locations in three states, including almost 12,000 acres of real estate. Its Little Creek location in Virginia Beach, Virginia totals...
, for 10 days in July before resuming scheduled independent ship exercises and upkeep periods out of, and at, Norfolk. That autumn, she deployed to the Mediterranean for the second time as a unit of PhibRon 10. During that cruise — lasting into mid-March 1966 — Uvalde operated with Task Force 61, visiting Marseilles and Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, France; Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
; Naples, Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, and Livorno
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
, Italy; Barcelona and Mazarron
Mazarrón
Mazarrón is a municipality in the autonomous community and province of Murcia, southeastern Spain. The municipality has an area of , and a population of more than 34,351 inhabitants...
, Spain; and Porto Scudo and Santa Manza, Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
.
Reaching the end of the deployment, Uvalde left Palma, Majorca, in her wake on 17 March, bound for Rota, Spain
Rota, Spain
-External references:*, official website * On-line since 1999! News, premiere information, pictures, weather, etc. Into Spanish, English... ****- External links :...
, the turnover point, where she would be relieved of her duties with the 6th Fleet. She then began her homeward-bound voyage on 20 March, setting course for Morehead City, North Carolina
Morehead City, North Carolina
Morehead City is a port city in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census. Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007...
.
Midway across the Atlantic, Uvalde picked up distress signals from a Danish merchantman, the refrigerator ship SS Chilean Reefer. One of the freighter's crewmen was desperately ill and needed prompt medical attention — care that the ship was apparently unable to supply. Uvalde immediately reversed course and sped to her assistance. The attack cargo ship took on board the patient, transferring him from Chilean Reefer in an 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....
, where treatment commenced as soon as he came on board. The sailor remained on board to return to a hospital in the United States for treatment.
Uvalde ultimately reached Morehead City and there disembarked her detachment of marines and off-loaded their equipment. Uvalde's crew, eager to continue on the homeward-bound leg of their voyage after the six-month Mediterranean cruise, worked all night to unload the ship so that the ship could sail the next morning, as soon as possible. Uvalde reached her home port, Norfolk, on 3 April 1966. As her commanding officer wrote in retrospect: "It was a good deployment, but it was even better to be back home again."
The attack cargo ship subsequently deployed to the Mediterranean two more times in her career, from April to August 1967 and again during the summer of 1968, returning to Morehead City, N.C., on 14 September and Norfolk the following day. She remained on active operations with the Atlantic Fleet into 1968.
Decommissioning and sale
Ultimately declared "unfit for further service", and replaced by a , with significant increases in combat vehicle and cargo stowage and better combat characteristics, Uvalde was decommissioned and struck from the Navy ListNaval 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...
on 1 December 1968. Transferred to the Maritime Administration on 26 June 1969 for disposal, Uvalde's hulk was simultaneously sold to Levin Metals Corp., of San Jose, California, and scrapped.
Awards
Uvalde earned one battle star for her World War II service and three for the Korean War. The anchor and bell of the USS Uvalde are displayed in Uvalde, TexasUvalde, Texas
Uvalde is a city in and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,929 at the 2000 census.Uvalde was founded by Reading Wood Black in 1853 as the town of Encina. In 1856, when the county was organized, the town was renamed Uvalde for Spanish governor Juan de...
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