Carter Hall (LSD 3) - Naval Cruise Book

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nf- 2' EXEC TIVE OF ICER LCDR PETER C. BENNETT USN United States Naval Academy Graduate USS WALKER fDDE-5173 Chief Engineer during Quemey-Matsu Crisis USS FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT Fire Control Officer, Assistant Communications Officer during Lebanon Crisis Lockheed Missels and Space Company, Special Projects and Public Affairs Officer USS WASHBURN KAKA-1087 First Lieutenant during Cuban Confrontation and Viet Nam Naval War College, Naval Command Staff and Student MM ! f-rv--r-K -' 77.2, .

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5 YEARS OF READI SS Th L d'n Ship Dock USS CARTER HALL QLSD-33 is different from most United States e an 1 g Navy ships because she can ballast down like a submarine, open her stern gate, aid flooid a 1 e her 395-foot well deck with up to 10 feet of water. This enables the ship to ernbar W variety of craft, amphibious vehicles, and general war mateI'ia1S. After her commissioning in September 1943 in Oakland, California, CARTER HALL was called immediately into the great World War II Amphibious Operations in the Pacific. In 1944 she fought in the battles of New Borneo, New Guinea, and Morotai Islandg and won battle stars in the Admiralty Islands Campaign, and the invasions of Guam and Leyte. Then she transported vital cargo in the amphibious assaults on the Islands of Balikpapan, Borneo, and Hollandia. CARTER HALL was decommissioned after the war, but was recommissioned in 1951 and sent to Norfolk, Virginia. In 1955 she returned to WESTPAC duties and Arctic operations. During the next few years CARTER HALL took part in Operations Surfboard, Skijump, Jolly Roger, Mount Out, and Greenlight. The largest Amphibious Operation since World War II, Operation Tulugan, conducted by Seato in 1962, was CARTER HALL'S next major commitmentg she then proceeded to Bankok, Thiland, to backload U.S. Marines who had been sent to assist the Thai government in combating communist infiltration. Late in 1962 CARTER HALL transited the Panama Canal to meet the crisis created by the Cuban confrontation, and steamed off Cuba until Soviet missels were removed. Operations Dull Knife and Yellow Bird gave CARTER HALL continued opportunities to demonstrate her flexibility by landing cargo via helicopter, and moving a 222-ton dredge from Subic Bay to Guam. Through the long years of the Viet Nam conflict CARTER HALL has repeatedly demon- strated the spirit of her motto always ready . In 1964 she participated in Operation Backpack with the U.S. Marines: in 1965 she ballasted down over 200 times in perform- ance of amphibious lifts, salvage of USS FRANK KNOX, and Da Nang Boat Haven-duties. In 1966 she steamed over 5,000 miles each month, carrying troops and vital war materi- als throughout the combat zone and was commended by COMSEVENTHFLT for partici- pation in the ten day around the clock Da Nang-Dong Ha shuttle in support of combat forces in the DMZ. CARTER HALL through the periscope of USS SARGO SSN-583 ' -- during WESTPAC transit in May 1968. 4 y Off Molokal' Hawau'