Dubuque (LPD 8) - Naval Cruise Book

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.iff Ll? I v 4- -if X71 pi. , . ' 'af J Poli v has be L. 3f.f-- tg 'J nc d an a decision has been made I :mica I cut down the effort to return the gre -t-rr bu-ae1 of the war to those whom it most directly concerns Fo many of our troops this decision bri. - '. rcief --f rliet from the worries and hazards of a waria long w2:1y,f1'Oh1 l1OIT16 For ZlJllOW1Hg the sun across the Pacific for nineteen days signifies the start of a deployment - it is a long nineteen days We spent it flexing our muscles and sharpening our reflexes Drill after drill Nobody liked it very much but we could feel ourselves getting better DUBUQUE returned to DaNang Harbor after a year s absence on the morning of October 19th For many of us it was our first look at an infamous name It was CJ xp- 'N.x'U we 111. T 1 ,.:' 6 3 dh FI ' . 1 1 1K U I T1 I O I Ms., 1 . xlllkt' tvs' 1' K -. Q., + x .' l.-. - . 'in ' . number of her troops in the ltepuhhc -L v'lCt1'13.Il'1 in an - 9 c r 1 1 - - - ' A' ' S. I' i 7 - , pcm GT. 31 . .7 0 7 , Us ' kf 1 5 a - , . our Navy, this decision means :planning and work the Navy will play as large a role in redeploying the Leathernecks as it did in introducing them to the war. And, for our ship, this decision becomes our call to serve both the Navy and the Marines. DUBUQUE will be the stepping stone for thousands of Marines as they eagerly depart a land where danger lurks in every hamlet, hill, and valley to return to faces too long just a memory. DUBUQUE will also assume a more quiet role, using her sophisticated facilities to serve as host to the planners of the backloads and the landings, the Amphibious Commander of America's mighty Seventh Fleet. She will carry a two star flag - and make it look easy. if -QM wp VIETNAM. We hadnt known what to expect, but it really did not look too bad. There were jets and patrol boats and occasional sounds of distant artillery, but DaNang was pretty that morning. It looked peaceful and the sight of land was a welcome sight to all of us. The war became more real for us as we quickly arrived at Cua Viet to begin the first of three backloads in OPERATION KEYSTONE CARDINAL. Time started moving faster as DUBUQUE went to work. Our job was to move units of the Third Marine Division from Cua Viet to Okinawa. The Marines were easy. lt was the vehicles, cargo, and lumber that they brought with them that meant a lot of hard work for us. A backload is an intricate, difficult, and potentially dangerous operation. The loads DUBUQUE participated in were not in the least facilitated by the heavy seas and strong winds which prevail off the DMZ in the late Vietnamese fall. As we dropped the hook off Cua Viet, sentries were already at their posts to protect the ship against the ever-present danger of swimmer attack. The Deck gang was just getting warmed up. Soon we were ballasted down with an LCU in our well. We were lucky if it was vehicles. We could either drive or tow them to their stowage spaces. It was the cargo and lumber that took so long. DUBUQUE has several means of moving VVWVUY i

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