Graham County (LST 1176) - Naval Cruise Book

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THE AMPHIRIOUS READY GROUP MARCH ULY1968 PHIBRON4 AMPHIBIOUS SQUADRON FOUR U55 FORT SNELLINC U55 GRAIIAAI czcwwyw' CLSD--302 KLST-11761 USS BOXER CLPH-42 USS RANKIN CAKA-IOSQ USS KIRXVIN CAPD-902 Kwik

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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

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COMMA DING OFFICER LCDR THOMAS B. CLARK Lieutenant Commander Thomas B.Clark enlisted in the Navy, January 1941, and after recruit training served in various inshore patrol craft in the First Naval District. Joining the Amphibious Force in late 1942, he was assigned to USS LST 313 which was lost due to enemy fire at Gela, Sicily, in July 1943, He then commissioned and served in USS LST 286 until the end of World War II, His next duty was in the Destroyer USS C. P. CECIL QDD-8355 followed by a tour as an instructor at the Fire Fighter'sSchool, Treasure Island, California, From 1952 to 1955, he served in USS ZNIERRICK CAKA-9'?J, While serving with Amphibious Con- struction Battalion ONE, Western Pacific Detachment, in 1955, he was appointed to Warrant Officer W-1 and assigned to USS MULIPHEN CAKA-615 as Ship's Boatswain. After being selected for Ensign in 1957, he served as First Lieutenant aboard MULI- PHEN until his assignment as Fiscal Offi- cer and First Lieutenant at the FleetTraining Center, Norfolk, Virginia. During the period 1960 through 1962, Lieutenant Commander Clark was the Opera- tions Officer in USS SURIBACHI CAE-215, After serving a tour of duty on the Staff of the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic, he was assigned as Executive Officer, Assault Craft Unit TWO, He has been Commanding Officer of GRAHAM COUNTY since Oct. 1966. Lieutenant Commander Clark has at- tended the College of William and Mary and Old Dominion Evening College, He isanative of Garnerville, New York, and is married to the former Miss Sue Balla of Staten Island, New York. They reside in Norfolk, Va. Ill x 'D I 5 ,rg R :F +C 1114-l ,,.,.....,,.N,-L , 4 4-.1 L N' L. l '- 11 -- Q'Yv gg, ,Q wt. at 5