USS Willamette (AO-180)
Encyclopedia
The USS Willamette (AO-180) was the fourth ship in the Cimarron-class of fleet replenishment oilers for the United States Navy
in service from 1981 to 1999.
s Inc in New Orleans. On 18 July 1981, the ship was launched in a unique sideways fashion into the Mississippi River
at Avondale Shipyards, Louisiana. Admiral William J. Crowe, Jr., USN, Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces, Europe, was the principal speaker at the ceremony and his wife, Shirley Grennell Crowe, was the ship's sponsor. After completion, USS Willamette (AO-180) was commissioned in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the first U.S. Navy ship to be commissioned in Pearl Harbor since 1917. The Willamette replaced the USS Ashtabula (AO-51)
in the Pacific Fleet. The ship’s mission was to transport and deliver bulk petroleum product
s, and limited fleet freight, mail, and personnel to combatant and support ships underway.
Willamette was the first ship of the class to be protected by two MK 15 Phalanx Weapon Systems. Extensive damage control equipment and systems ensure rapid response to control any type of emergency.http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/ao-177.htm
in Oregon
. The name Willamette is of Indian origin, though there is no definitive source. The name is thought to mean long and beautiful river or rain waters along the river. . Originally, there was another ship named Willamette but the contract for the construction of that Willamette, a projected screw sloop-of-war
of the Contoocook class, was canceled in 1866 before its keel was laid.http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/w8/willamette.htm
The ship's Shield explained the capability of the ship to supply both types of fuel, for surface ship
s and for aircraft
and was symbolized by the dolphin
and eagle
’s wing
. The arched, wavy bend was a reference to the historic Willamette River in Oregon for which the ship is named.
The ship's Crest represented the flaming torch behind our national bird symbol, the Bald Eagle
, was a representation of the words of the ship’s motto: “Fuel for Freedom”.
and transited to the ship's namesake, the Willamette River. While mooring at Portland, the ship hit an underwater cement
pier
containing a main telephone trunk. The phone cable was cut, the cement pier destroyed, and the western half of the city of Portland lost phone services for several days. In addition, the bottom of the ship sustained minor damage, which was visible from the inside of both pump rooms. While leaving the Columbia River
a few days later, the handrail
s on the forward deck were destroyed by rough seas at the Columbia River Bar. The handrails were later replaced with steel plating.
In 1983 Willamette was involved in another incident while departing Pearl Harbor
. While being turned in the channel by a tug, the tug's line broke and the Willamette began to drift towards a Los Angeles class submarine
. The captain then ordered emergency back full and the ship came to a stop about a meter from the submarine. As the captain did not give the STOP order the ship began to pick up speed in reverse. The captain therefore ordered emergency ahead full, but the ship still backed into the tied up at a pier. Both ships were only slightly damaged. However, Willamette`s crew then re-christened the ship as "Will-Ram-It".
In April 1984 the Willamette softball team played 95 consecutive hours of softball to break the previous world record of 94 hours and got into the Guinness Book of World Records. Starting on 15 January 1985 the ship deployed on her first WESTPAC (western pacific) cruise and visited Guam
, Subic Bay
, Hong Kong
, Pusan, Korea
, Sasebo
, Kagoshima, Yokosuka, and Shimoda
, Japan
.
During a formation steaming exercise on 10 February 1986 about 100 km southwest Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Willamette collided with the repair ship. As a result of the collison one of the crew on the Jason was killed, (CPO Susano R. Valdez) and eight injured. The Willamette was at the center of the steaming formation and was the "guide ship" that the rest of the ships in the formation were using to maintain their relative position in the formation. The Jason was instructed to take station in the center rear of the formation. The Jason was approaching the formation from the south east, and for some reason mistakenly decided to cut through the steaming formation as opposed to going around it and approaching her station from the rear. Reportedly several ships in the formation maneuvered to avoid a collision. The reaction on the Willamette was too slow and she pierced the Jason approximately 1/3 of the ship length from the bow and the resulting momentum nearly broke the Jason in half. The time was shortly before 10PM local. Ironically, on the Willamette the bridge was equipped with an early version of a then new anti-collision radar system. The collision alarm was sounded about 30 seconds prior to the actual collision but most of the off crew was near the rear of the ship barely felt the shutter of the impact. On the bridge of the Willamette as the ship withdrew after the engines were applied full astern, --the view of a triangle shaped void from the weather deck to below the water line where the bow had pierced the Jason's hull was unforgettable. This void was filled with the bright stark white fluorescent lights from multiple decks on the Jason amid the darkness of the night and the smoke and flames on the bow of the Willamette. The next day clothing and shoes belonging to the sailors on the Jason were found on the Willamette's bow. The collision smashed Willamettes bow from the rail to below the waterline. The Willamette returned to port under her own power. A large vertical rupture from the deck to waterline on the port side of the Jason forced that ship to be towed back to port by the USS Brunswick (ATS-3)
. The resultant fires in Willamette’s boatswain’s locker took several hours to extinguish. The smoke was so thick that the crew could not enter the flaming compartment via the hatch. Therefore holes were cut in the deck above so that nozzles could be inserted to extinguish the blaze. Both ships had to be emptied of fuel and needed to be repaired for several months. The Willamette received a new bow section and while in drydock and hull damage sustained during the grounding in the Willamette river was also repaired. As a result of the collision both captains were relieved of command.
In 1987 Willamette undertook a global circumnavigation and operated under all four numbered fleet commanders. She left her Hawaiian home waters on 14 January 1987 and crossed the International dateline headed west on January 15th. At midnight on January 16th the clocks were advanced 24 hours to midnight on the 17th, thereby skipping January 16th 1987 completely. Reportedly one of the crew officially skipped his birthday that day. After a brief 3 day stop in Subic Bay, the ship left port again and steamed at a flank bell all the way to the Singapore Straights before slowing down. During this portion of the world cruise the ship was attached to Battle Group Bravo and the USS Kitty Hawk CV-63. After loitering at times off the coast of Oman the ship proceeded independently south to Mombasa, Kenya. Along the way and after having spent 82+ straight days at sea since leaving Subic Bay, extremely rare "beer can liberty" was authorised while at sea. (The US Navy is a completely "dry") During a BBQ held on the flight deck two cans of beer were issued to each sailor by the XO. The choices were Budwiser, Olympia, or Hamms with the XO watching the crew like a hawk. No one was allowed to sell or transfer their beer to anyone else under any circumstance the penalty for violation was Captain's Mast. At this time the ship crossed the equator for the first time on 6 April 1987. After visiting Mombasa, the ship sailed directly Seychelles Island group while the rest of Battle Group Bravo made a port-of-call in India. After departing the Seychelles the ship sailed to Diego Garcia to take on fuel and supplies and then rejoined Battle Group Bravo and proceeded up the Red Sea to the southern entrance of the Suez Canal. While the Battle Group was in the middle of transiting the Suez Canal, the USS Stark was hit and heavily damaged by an Exocet missile mistakenly fired by an Iraqi fighter. After clearing the Suez Canal, for a period of about 24 hours, Battle Group Bravo steamed in a holding pattern in the Mediterranean Sea awaiting instructions. The Battle Group proceeded to the French Rivera while the Willamette diverted independently for a brief stop in Italy. Whiled moored in Italy, none of the crew was allowed ashore and the ship left after only about 10 hours in port. Most of Battle Group Bravo went on to various ports of call inside and outside of the Mediterranean while the Willamette proceed to Rota Spain for a port call. After leaving Rota the ship rejoined Battle Group Bravo for a brief period while crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The Willamette detached from Battle Group Bravo mid-Atlantic Ocean and proceeded on to San Juan, Puerto Rico and then on to stop in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Upon leaving the Virgin Islands she steamed for the Panama Canal and transit. After clearing the Pacific side of the Panama Canal she escorted the ships returning to San Diego up the Pacific side Central America before detaching and returning to Hawaiian waters. She arrived back at Pearl Harbor about the 29th of June 1987.
On 17 April 1989, the first female sailors embarked on the ship.
, and members from a Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force ship moored nearby.
On 4 June 1998 Willamette made the final port visit to Portland and transit of her namesake river. Half a year later , the replacement ship for the Willamette arrived in Pearl Harbor. Willamette conducted the final underway replenishment with and on 12 February 1999.
Her distinguished, 17-year career took her around the world where she performed underway replenishment (UNREP) and operations under all four (Second, Third, Sixth and Seventh) fleet commanders. During her time in service, she performed more than 1,300 underway replenishments, transferred more than 300 million gallons of fuel and has operated with the navies of Australia
, Canada
, France
, England
, Japan
, Pakistan
, South Korea
, Thailand
and Venezuela
. Awarded the Navy "E" Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal
, and Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
.
. Willamette was the last U.S. Navy manned auxiliary oiler assigned to U.S. Pacific Fleet
and was the last steam-propelled warship home ported in Pearl Harbor. On 10 June 1999 the ship was towed out of Pearl Harbor en route to the mothball fleet at Suisun Bay
, Benicia, California (USA). Two years later, on 28 July 2001 Willamette was disposed of by Navy title transfer to the Maritime Administration to be part of the Naval Defense Reserve Fleet.
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...
in service from 1981 to 1999.
Commissioning
The contract for the Willamette was awarded on 11 April 1978 to Avondale ShipyardAvondale Shipyard
Avondale Shipyard was an independent shipbuilding company, acquired by Litton Industries, in turn acquired by Northrop Grumman Corporation. Now, along with the former Ingalls Shipbuilding, the yard is part of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. The yard is located on the West Bank of the Mississippi...
s Inc in New Orleans. On 18 July 1981, the ship was launched in a unique sideways fashion into the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
at Avondale Shipyards, Louisiana. Admiral William J. Crowe, Jr., USN, Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces, Europe, was the principal speaker at the ceremony and his wife, Shirley Grennell Crowe, was the ship's sponsor. After completion, USS Willamette (AO-180) was commissioned in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the first U.S. Navy ship to be commissioned in Pearl Harbor since 1917. The Willamette replaced the USS Ashtabula (AO-51)
USS Ashtabula (AO-51)
USS Ashtabula was a Cimarron-class fleet oiler of the United States Navy in service from 1943 to 1991. She survived three wars and was awarded eight battle stars for World War II service, four battle stars for Korean War service, and eight campaign stars for Vietnam War service...
in the Pacific Fleet. The ship’s mission was to transport and deliver bulk petroleum product
Petroleum product
Petroleum products are useful materials derived from crude oil as it is processed in oil refineries.According to crude oil composition and demand, refineries can produce different shares of petroleum products. The largest share of oil products is used as energy carriers: various grades of fuel...
s, and limited fleet freight, mail, and personnel to combatant and support ships underway.
Willamette was the first ship of the class to be protected by two MK 15 Phalanx Weapon Systems. Extensive damage control equipment and systems ensure rapid response to control any type of emergency.http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/ao-177.htm
Namesake
The ship was the first in the U.S. Navy to bear the name and she was named after the Willamette RiverWillamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. The name Willamette is of Indian origin, though there is no definitive source. The name is thought to mean long and beautiful river or rain waters along the river. . Originally, there was another ship named Willamette but the contract for the construction of that Willamette, a projected screw sloop-of-war
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
of the Contoocook class, was canceled in 1866 before its keel was laid.http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/w8/willamette.htm
The ship's Shield explained the capability of the ship to supply both types of fuel, for surface ship
Surface ship
A surface ship is any type of naval ship that is confined to the surface of the sea. The term is primarily used to mean any modern vessel type that is not a submarine; although a "surface ship" may range in size from a cutter to an aircraft carrier, the weapons and tactics have some commonality,...
s and for aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
and was symbolized by the dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
and eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
’s wing
Wing
A wing is an appendage with a surface that produces lift for flight or propulsion through the atmosphere, or through another gaseous or liquid fluid...
. The arched, wavy bend was a reference to the historic Willamette River in Oregon for which the ship is named.
The ship's Crest represented the flaming torch behind our national bird symbol, the Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
, was a representation of the words of the ship’s motto: “Fuel for Freedom”.
Operational service
As the ship was built at New Orleans and commissioned at Pearl Harbor, it was necessary to transit the Panama Canal on 24 October 1982. Leaving New Orleans was delayed as the initial fuel load at Avondale had caused the ship to sink into the bottom of the river. Several tugboats were required to pull the ship out of the mud and into the river channel. A month later Willamette visited Portland, OregonPortland, 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...
and transited to the ship's namesake, the Willamette River. While mooring at Portland, the ship hit an underwater cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
containing a main telephone trunk. The phone cable was cut, the cement pier destroyed, and the western half of the city of Portland lost phone services for several days. In addition, the bottom of the ship sustained minor damage, which was visible from the inside of both pump rooms. While leaving the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
a few days later, the handrail
Handrail
A handrail is a rail that is designed to be grasped by the hand so as to provide stability or support. Handrails are commonly used while ascending or descending stairways and escalators in order to prevent injurious falls. Other applications include bathroom handrails—which help to prevent falls on...
s on the forward deck were destroyed by rough seas at the Columbia River Bar. The handrails were later replaced with steel plating.
In 1983 Willamette was involved in another incident while departing 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...
. While being turned in the channel by a tug, the tug's line broke and the Willamette began to drift towards a Los Angeles class submarine
Los Angeles class submarine
The Los Angeles class, sometimes called the LA class or the 688 class, is a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines that forms the backbone of the United States submarine fleet. With 43 submarines on active duty and 19 retired, the Los Angeles class is the most numerous nuclear powered...
. The captain then ordered emergency back full and the ship came to a stop about a meter from the submarine. As the captain did not give the STOP order the ship began to pick up speed in reverse. The captain therefore ordered emergency ahead full, but the ship still backed into the tied up at a pier. Both ships were only slightly damaged. However, Willamette`s crew then re-christened the ship as "Will-Ram-It".
In April 1984 the Willamette softball team played 95 consecutive hours of softball to break the previous world record of 94 hours and got into the Guinness Book of World Records. Starting on 15 January 1985 the ship deployed on her first WESTPAC (western pacific) cruise and visited 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, Pusan, 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...
, Sasebo
Sasebo, Nagasaki
is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...
, Kagoshima, Yokosuka, and Shimoda
Shimoda
Shimoda can mean:* Places in Japan:** Shimoda, Shizuoka, a city in Shizuoka Prefecture** Shimoda, Aomori, a town in Aomori Prefecture* Treaty of Shimoda , between Japan and Russia* Shimoda Toyomatsu, an early Japanese Scouting notable...
, 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...
.
During a formation steaming exercise on 10 February 1986 about 100 km southwest Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Willamette collided with the repair ship. As a result of the collison one of the crew on the Jason was killed, (CPO Susano R. Valdez) and eight injured. The Willamette was at the center of the steaming formation and was the "guide ship" that the rest of the ships in the formation were using to maintain their relative position in the formation. The Jason was instructed to take station in the center rear of the formation. The Jason was approaching the formation from the south east, and for some reason mistakenly decided to cut through the steaming formation as opposed to going around it and approaching her station from the rear. Reportedly several ships in the formation maneuvered to avoid a collision. The reaction on the Willamette was too slow and she pierced the Jason approximately 1/3 of the ship length from the bow and the resulting momentum nearly broke the Jason in half. The time was shortly before 10PM local. Ironically, on the Willamette the bridge was equipped with an early version of a then new anti-collision radar system. The collision alarm was sounded about 30 seconds prior to the actual collision but most of the off crew was near the rear of the ship barely felt the shutter of the impact. On the bridge of the Willamette as the ship withdrew after the engines were applied full astern, --the view of a triangle shaped void from the weather deck to below the water line where the bow had pierced the Jason's hull was unforgettable. This void was filled with the bright stark white fluorescent lights from multiple decks on the Jason amid the darkness of the night and the smoke and flames on the bow of the Willamette. The next day clothing and shoes belonging to the sailors on the Jason were found on the Willamette's bow. The collision smashed Willamettes bow from the rail to below the waterline. The Willamette returned to port under her own power. A large vertical rupture from the deck to waterline on the port side of the Jason forced that ship to be towed back to port by the USS Brunswick (ATS-3)
USS Brunswick (ATS-3)
USS Brunswick was an in the service of the United States Navy from 1972 through her decommissioning in 1996.-Construction and commissioning:...
. The resultant fires in Willamette’s boatswain’s locker took several hours to extinguish. The smoke was so thick that the crew could not enter the flaming compartment via the hatch. Therefore holes were cut in the deck above so that nozzles could be inserted to extinguish the blaze. Both ships had to be emptied of fuel and needed to be repaired for several months. The Willamette received a new bow section and while in drydock and hull damage sustained during the grounding in the Willamette river was also repaired. As a result of the collision both captains were relieved of command.
On 17 April 1989, the first female sailors embarked on the ship.
Jumboization
To increase the fueled load of the Cimarron-class oilers it was decided in the late 1980s to lengthen the ships. Willamette became the second ship complete the so-called "jumboization" on 27 September 1991. A 35.7 m midbody section was added at about one third from the bow. This midbody increased fuel capacity by 30,000 barrels and added an ordnance cargo capability of 625 tons. The midbody also featured an additional emergency diesel generator and two "Standard Tensioned Replenishment Alongside Method" (STREAM) cargo stations. The new length of the ship was 216.0 m (699 ft 6 in).Boiler Explosion
On 29 June 1995, while being at Pearl Harbor, seven crewmen were slightly injured from smoke inhalation during a boiler explosion and the resulting self-extinguished fire-ball in the boiler room while being moored. After condoning the actions causing the explosion, CHENG LT Brian Tansey oversaw the crew as they quickly responded to the explosion with help from base firefighters, the Honolulu Fire DepartmentHonolulu Fire Department
The Honolulu Fire Department, popularly known as the HFD, is the principal firefighting agency of the City & County of Honolulu under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Honolulu...
, and members from a Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force ship moored nearby.
On 4 June 1998 Willamette made the final port visit to Portland and transit of her namesake river. Half a year later , the replacement ship for the Willamette arrived in Pearl Harbor. Willamette conducted the final underway replenishment with and on 12 February 1999.
Her distinguished, 17-year career took her around the world where she performed underway replenishment (UNREP) and operations under all four (Second, Third, Sixth and Seventh) fleet commanders. During her time in service, she performed more than 1,300 underway replenishments, transferred more than 300 million gallons of fuel and has operated with the navies of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, France
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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, 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...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, 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...
, 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...
and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. Awarded the Navy "E" Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal
National Defense Service Medal
The National Defense Service Medal is a military service medal of the United States military originally commissioned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower...
, and Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States military, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John Kennedy...
.
Decommissioning
On 30 April 1999 the ship was decommissioned 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...
. Willamette was the last U.S. Navy manned auxiliary oiler assigned to U.S. Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
and was the last steam-propelled warship home ported in Pearl Harbor. On 10 June 1999 the ship was towed out of Pearl Harbor en route to the mothball fleet at 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 (USA). Two years later, on 28 July 2001 Willamette was disposed of by Navy title transfer to the Maritime Administration to be part of the Naval Defense Reserve Fleet.