Graham County (LST 1176) - Naval Cruise Book

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The USS GRAHAM COUNTY is named for counties in Arizona, Kansas, and North Carolina, The ship was built at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp., where her keel was laid on Feb. 4, 1957, Launching took place on Sept, 19, 1957 and the ship's sponsor was Mrs, Ralph Otis Davis, wife of Vice Adm, Davis CRet,j, The ship was commissioned on April 17, 1958 with experimental Nordberg engines, ln the fall of 1960, the ship began making preparations for her first extended deployment, EJOLANT AMITY ONIL, Following visits to Port oi Spain,Trinidad,and Recife, Brazil, the GRAHAM COUNTY steamed across the south Atlantic to the port of Liberia. Other ports visited include Bathhurst, Gambia, Lome, Togo, Point Noire, Congo Republic and culminating with a cruise up the Congo River to Matadi, where 500 Guinean troops were em- barked for a trip home, Following departure from Conkry, Guinea, the ship stopped atCanaryIslands,Rota and Cadiz Spain. The ship arrived in Little Creek on May 17, 1961 but her stay was to be of short duration, Because of the assassination of Rafael Trujillo and the resulting politicalcrisis in Dominican Republic, GRAHAM COUNTY and other units of the Atlantic Fleet sped to the Caribbean, Shortly after returning from the South, the ship entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard for routine overhaul. The ship deployed to the Caribbean in April, 1962 with Amphibious Squadron Twelve and visited San Juan, Grenada, Barbados, and Dominican Republic. The following autumn GRAHAM COUNTY again began an overhaul period, at Berkley Shipyard, Va., the purpose being to replace the experimental engines with Fairbanks Morse diesels. Following the yard period, the ship steamed to Davisville and Newport, R. l., in order to embark Seabee units for a lift to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, The ship made her first Mediterranean Cruise in Jan. of 1964 and arrived in time for the Cyprus Crisis, GRAHAM COUNTY and other units of the amphibious ready group steamed off Cyprus for 78 days before finally entering port in Naples, With only abriefstay in Norfolk after returning from the Mediterranean, the ship again deployed to the Caribbean, this time for four and one-half rnonths, From June to November 1965, the ship steamed in Mediterranean waters, and two months after her return, GRAHAM COUNTY went again to Dominican Republic, where American interests were vulnerable because of political crisis, The ship received a ribbon for her performance that winter. From May through August, 1966, the ship underwent regular overhaul in Newport News and Baltimore, Followin refresher training in the first half of1966, the ship made three trips to the Caribbean, highlighted E by a visit to Miami. GRAHAM COUNTY's fourth deployment to the Caribbean began in April 1967 and the ship visited several ports, including St, Thomas, V.l,g Colon, Panama, and Orangestad, Aruba. H I P? HIS T ORY .fl 14-ff' .ak-' . , ali-i..f. r ..,lk:n:. f --- F?i.L. A 5