Tripoli (LPH 10) - Naval Cruise Book

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USS Trfpoli KLPH-101 underway in support of amphibious operations off the coast of the Republic of Vietnam

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USS Tripoli-a proud heritage. . . The amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli KLPH-101 is named after the famous Battle of Tripoli fD1C' tured on the inside cover of this bookl, the famous fleet-shore operation that inspired the words of the .Marlne Hymn- to the shores of Tripoli. In the year 1805, a small group of United States Marines under Lieu- tenant Presley N. O'Bannon, along with a patchwork army of Arabs and Greeks, marched 600 miles over sun- parched deserts to assault and cap- ture the city of Derne in North Africa. This land assault was the de- cisive action in the Tripolitan War C1801-18055, a war that humbled p1- ratical Tripoli, one of the Barbary States. The Barbary pirates, who for years had exacted tribute from the United States and from European powers for- safe passage on the seas, had become intolerable. The major offender was the Bey of Tripoli, Yusuf Caramanli, who touched off the war when he chopped down the flagpolein front of the American consulate in 1801 and began attacks 'on U.S. commerce. Four United States men-of-war were organized as a Mediterranean Squadron to bring Yusuf to heel. After four years of 'minor landings and desperate sea fights, Lieutenant O'Bannon led his march on Derne and, with the help of a cannonade off- shore by three Navy ships, became the first' American officer to raise the Stars and Stripes over a captured fortress in the Old World. A hastily signed treaty in 1805 abolished all annual payments to Tripoli and the Navy withdrew its squadron in 1807. However, the re- sumption of activity by the pirates immediately prior to the War of 1812 forced the Navy to put a permanent end to the practice with a strong show of force. . . The first United States Navy ship to bear the name Tripoli was CVE- 64, a notable World War II escort aircraft carrier. Participating in oper- ations off the coast of South America, the first Tripoli .served as thellflag- ship for an anti-submarine warfare task force. She was i decommissioned in 1958. . The present-day Tripoli was built by the. Ingalls Shipbuilding Di- vision of .Litton Industries, Pascag- oula, Mississippi.. Her keel was laid on June 15, 1964, and she was chris- tened on July 31, 1965.

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After commissioning on August 6, 1966, the United States Ship Tripoli KLPH-102 was outfitted at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Moving to the West Coast via the Panama Canal, the ship began operating out of her home port of San Diego, California. After extensive training off the California coast, Tripoli departed the United States on May 1, 1967, for the Western Pacific. Arriving. on station near the Demilitar- ized Zone of Vietnam, Tripoli joined Amphib- ious Ready Group Bravo , where she served as flagship for the Ready Group Commander. As a member of the Seventh Fleet Ready Group, g Tripoli launched eight, fullgscale am- phibious assaults against insurgent com- munist guerilla and North Vietnamese Regu- lar Army troops. The ship also served as a support vessel, providing troops ashore with food, ammunition, water, and a base for the immediate evacuation and treatment of wounded personnel. ' Tripoli returned to her .home port on December 23, 1967. Her actions during the first deployment were rewarded when the Secretary of the Navy presented the assault ship the Navy Unit Commendation ,and the Meritorious Unit Commendation in May 1968. Early that same year, Tripoli again underwent training in preparation for her second Vietnam deployment. On June 12, after six months in the United States, she left port for Vietnamese waters.