Casa Grande (LSD 13) - Naval Cruise Book

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A good sfarf on a good iob LY'-E E- ESHAEFER Kanawha, Iowa EDGAR R. SCHMIEDLIN Yorkfown, Texas

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E- ,,H,'4:,.5 of 4'1?iF' IOHN R. HOGAN CHARLcS JIMENEZ GERALD R. LCJINSWORTHY WlLLlAhiNB. LUNN JAMES MICKLE Sfanfordwglllhlmneclicul New YohlENNaw,York Middletown, Ohio Nashville, Tennessee Andover, New York GERALD MURPHY VICTOR T'5NODlORNE THOMASFIL.. OHLER ROBERT A. FRYOR LOWEL:-ENL. ROY EMFN l-lVi0f1i6'ClfY. MiCl'Il9-in Welmore, Texas Tarr, Pennsylvania Louisville, Kenfucky Flushing, Michigan Fuel clelail, hooking up X DONALD A. SALTER Covmglon, Kenfucky DALE A. SANDERS Daylon, Ohio 345' Liv 5 'A Efizfz-.J.a, ,-5,-r -,T - 1: - - T- - - - - si-M a

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HISTORY OF THE U. S. S. CASA GRANDE QLSD-132 The USS CASA GRANDE was builT by The NewporT News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in No- vember l943, launched on I l April XI944 and commissioned in June of The same year. The ship is named for a naTional shrine aT Coolidge, Arizona. The shrine, The only building of iTs Type which sTilI sTands, is an unreinforced four-sTory adobe waTch Tower and eleven-room aparTmenT building, 'builT by The Salado ln- dians abouT l350. The designed purpose oT This vessel is To carry landing boaTs, amphibious vehicles and Trucks To an ob- iecTive area. The ship TransporTs, quarTers. and subsisTs The Troops and personnel needed To man and operaTe The vehicles and boaTs when They are discharged Trom The flooded well deck. ATTer The iniTial assaulT, The LSD is used as a dry dock To effecT repairs To landing craTT and small vessels or as a boaT haven in The evenT of heavy weafher. The CASA GRANDE was senT To The Pacific Area and parTicipaTed in Three major invasions of The Pacific Campaign. lT firsf parTicipaTed in The invasion of LeyTe, Philippine Islands, on 20 OcTober I944. The ship disembarked all Troops and eguipmenT on schedule wiThouT a single casualTy. This ship also par- TicipaTed in The invasions of Lingayen and Okinawa and was repeafedly aTTacked by aircrafT. In spiTe of This The CASA GRANDE susTained only Tour casualTies. AfTer many posT-war hops abouT'The Pacific, The CASA GRANDE refurned To Norfolk and was de- commissioned in early I947 and Transferred To The reserve TleeT. IT remained There unTil i950 when The ship reTurned To acTive dufy. ln The pasf year The CASA GRANDE has operaTed in all climaTes, Trom The arcfic Greenland To The l95lmY Caribbean. In boTh The spring and Tall The ship was employed in ArcTic operaTions, in supporf Of The U.. S. NorTheasT Air Command. Since The TirsT of The year The CASA GRANDE has operaTed wifh The Marines on .TRAEX 2-55 and TRAEX 3-55 on The beaches oT Vieques. PuerTo Rico. in April The ship Uggliilll In The ioinf Army Navy operahon l-lughTide landings on The beaches of Camp PendleTon. ua : Since AugusT 2 l954 when Commander William O Spears relieved CapTain RoberT P. Winkle as Commanding OTTicer of The USS CASA GRANDE TLSD I3 many miles have been Traveled and many porTs have been vusiTed from The glacial wasTes of The Arcfuc To The warm richness of The Caribbean. I ' , -'i