Mount Vernon (LSD 39) - Naval Cruise Book

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MOUNT VERNON THROUGHOUT HISTORY USS MOUNT VERNON (LSD-39) is the fifth ship commis- sioned in the United States Navy to bear the proud name of MOUNT VERNON. Four predecessors served with distinction in times of conflict, beginning during the Civil War. The first MOUNT VERNON was a wooden screw merchant steamer purchased by the Navy and converted to a gunboat in 1861. Among her memorable exploits was participation in the attack of Fort Fisher, which severed the last Confederate sup- ply line and helped to bring about the end of the Civil War. Another ship, a side wheel river steamer fitted as a gunboat for the defense of Washington, D.C., was named MOUNT VERNON during the Civil War. The name was later changed to MOUNT WASHINGTON to avoid any confusion with the first MOUNT VERNON, Built by Norddeutcher Lloyd Lines and originally named KRONPRINZESSIN CECILLE, the third MOUNT VERNON started out as a first class luxury liner in 1907. The ship was in- terned in Boston Harbor prior to the United States ' entry into World War One. The German crew destroyed the ship ' s en- gines when the U.S. entered the war. After extensive repairs, the ship was transferred to the Navy for use as a troop trans- port. During the war, MOUNT VERNON transported 33,600 men to France, survived a torpedo hit from a German subma- rine, and returned 42,500 veterans home. A war correspon- dent commemorated the MOUNT VERNON ' s role in verse with a poem published in the June 18th, 1918 edition of the The Atlantic Shuttle, in which he affectionately refers to the ship as the mighty Mickey V. Another spacious liner also bore the name MOUNT VER- NON and saw duty as a troop transport. The fourth MOUNT VERNON was built in 1933 as a luxury liner named SS WASH- INGTON. During World War Two, the liner was refitted as a troop transport by the Navy. Continuing in the role of deliver- ing soldiers to battle, MOUNT VERNON transported thou- sands of troops across both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

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USS MOUNT VERNON LSD 39 MOUNT VERNON and ACU 5 sailors and IITH MEU and MSSG 11 Marines navigated over 40,000 nautical miles of wa- ter and visited 8 foreign ports during WESTPAC 1995. As part of the USS New Orleans Amphibi ous Ready Group, we con- ducted amphibious exercises in Okinawa, Singapore, Jordan, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. Off the coast of Okinawa, we flexed our amphibious muscle, launching AAV ' s and Gunfighter 30. After liberty in Hong Kong and Sin- gapore, MTV transited the Straits of Malacca en route to the Red Sea. The New Orleans ARG became the first such task force to visit the red sea port of Aqabah, Jordan. At the time. Middle East tensions were ignited by the defection to Jordan of prominent members of Saddam Hussein ' s family and Staff. Instantly, the MOUNT VERNON became a centerpiece for our Nation ' s strategy of Forward ... From The Sea . Exercise Infinite Moonlight ' 95, conducted 15-29 August was a ground breaking success for joint U.S.-Jordanian military training. Af- ter departing Aqabah, MTV navigated around the Arabian Peninsula and entered the Arabian Gulf to remain on station for the better part of three months. In Kuwait City, we partici- pated in exercise Eager Mace which demonstrated the United States ' continued commitment to the region. Burnt out build- ings and ever present military fortifications were sober re- minders of the reason MOUNT VERNON was on the tip of the spear and ready to respond at a moment ' s noHce. Follow- ing port calls in Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, MTV departed the Arabian Gulf and began our long journey home. Port calls in Bunbury, Australia and Pearl Har- bor, Hawaii rounded out our successful deployment which ended on 22 December 1995.

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TRAINED: Srr EP M L ' i uHtw D fln H IP K l l ■m ... a word which summarizes the variety of paths which each person onboard MOUNT VERNON took prior to becoming a member of her crew. From Boot Camp to Plebe Summer, from A schools to Midshipman cruises, from simulators to on the job training, every man has accumulated a unique wealth of knowledge which makes him an asset to the crew. In a Navy of in- creasingly limited financial resources, MOUNT VER- NON ' s crew has managed to evolve from a group of highly trained individuals into something much great- er—a powerful team which is capable of conducting its own training to achieve constant self improvement. Ksn-Z iS B R