La Moure County (LST 1194) - Naval Cruise Book

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CDR R.J. KREFT EXECUTIVE OFFICER APRIL 1981 - GCTOBER 1982 CDR F.D. MCCLESKEY EXECUTIVE CFFICER OCTCBER 1982

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COMMANDING OFFICER Commander Harry G. Henderson, a native of Sistersville, West Virginia, graduated from the Naval Academy and was commissioned Ensign in the U.S. Navy in June 1966. Following graduation, he attended the Navy Damage Control School at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and upon completion served as main propulsion assistant and later as damage control assistant on board USS NEWMAN K. PERRY CDD 8831 He then attended Naval Destroyer School and, upon graduation reported to Commandant Eighth Naval District as prospective engineering officer of USS W.S. SIMS KDE 10591. After W.S. SIMS commissioning, 3 January 1970, he served as engineer officer and subsequently as operations officer and navigator. On 30 November 1971 he took command of USS AGILE IMSO 4211. After decommissioning USS AGILE, Commander Henderson attended the Armed Forces Staff College and then served in the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Washington D.C. In 1976 Commander Henderson assumed command of the USS GRAHAM COUNTY CAGP 11761 and Patrol Division Twenty-One in Naples, Italy. Patrol Division Twenty-One consisted of four surface-to-surface missile equipped patrol gunboats and GRAHAM COUNTY h . . . . . . . . , t e gunboat support ship. Following decommissioning of Patrol Division Twenty-One, he reported to Destroye Squadron Thirty-Six for duties as Chief Staff Officer. Prior to reporting to USS LA MOURE COUNTY CLST 1194l, he served from November 1979 to August 1981 on the staff of Commander Operational Test and Evaluation Force. Commander Henderson children, Zachery, Jessie and Jenny. and his wife, the former Barbara A. Nystrom of Malverne, New York, are the parents of three I'

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COMMANDING OFFICER USS LA MOURE COUNTY ILST ll94l From the Captain 1982 has been a very busy year for the crew of La Moure County February and March were devoted to Refresher Trammg at Guantanamo Bay Cuba and Amphibious Refresher Training in Chesapeake Bay We also participated m exercise Ocean Venture in Puerto Rico the largest amphibious operation in recent history in the Carribean July was devoted to MARG workups for the upcoming North Atlantic and Mediterranean deployment We departed Little Creek on the 23rd of August after saying goodby to our friends and loved ones We arrived in Morehead City North Carolma on the 24th and loaded our Marines and all their equipment Early on the morning of the 25th we weighed anchor bid farewell to the shores of the U S A for six months and headed East We joined thirty three other U S and Canadian ships and participated in a two week exercise called United Effort which concluded m European waters and was intended to exercise our anti air anti submarine anti surface warfare as well as convoy operations and protection Upon completion of this exercise we immediately started the NATO exercise Northern Wedding mvolvmg ten NATO nations 160 ships and 250 aircraft The exercise was intended to test the capacity of the NATO alliance to resist aggression in the Atlantic Baltic and Norwegian Sea areas The five ships of our group conducted additional amphibious exercises in Northern Europe and were to head for our first liberty ports of Dublin Ireland and Bordeaux France when we received a message that all ships in our squadron were to proceed at top speed to the Mediterranean good by hberty ports' We steamed well over 2 000 nautical miles most of the time at top speed m five days and arrived at the Straits of Gibralter on the 30th of September to be available in the Mediterranean during the Lebanon crisis Durmg this time we participated m Display Determination This exercise was held along with other units of NATO in the Aegean Sea After this exercise we had a few well deserved days of liberty in Naples Italy after spendmg more than 53 consecutive days at sea Departing Naples Italy we relieved the Marine Amphibious Ready Group CMARGI that was stationed off the coast of Beirut Lebanon. Our mission in Beirut was to deliver and then support our embarked Marines. Our 1 800 Marines made up one third of the multi-national force falong with the Italians and Frenchl that were requested by the Lebanese government The multi-national force is stationed throughout the city of Beirut to ensure that the various militant factions do not again start military activity They also render harmless the many mines and live ordance that is located throughout the city Our tour off Beirut was broken only by a five day port visit to Athens Greece. The visit was a welcome break and the crew took full advantage of the many liberty opportunities Durmg our cruise of over six months we were only in port for 15 days. This schedule was dictated by the crisis in Lebanon and resulted in a very difficult life for those of us aboard La Moure County. The crew of La Moure County met the challenge however and continually worked not only to support the Marines but to constantly improve the ship I have been very proud to be a part of this highly motivated crew. I have never seen an organization with such devotion to duty high morale and stamina I-I.G. HENDERSON Commander, U.S. Navy