Monongahela (AO 178) - Naval Cruise Book

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The first Navy vessel to bear the name of the river that winds its way through Pennsylvania and West Virginia took to the high seas in 1863. The barkentine-rigged screw sloop of war earned a reputation in violent action during the Civil War. She served for a time as the flagship of Admiral David G. Farragut and made travels as far-reaching as the Orient. In May 1904, MONONGAHELA set sail for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where she was to serve as stores ship. It was to be her final resting place. On March 17, 1908, she was gutted by a terrific fire. The heat was so intense, her cannon barrels began to droop. One of these drooping cannon barrels stands today on the naval base as a monument to this 19th Century workhorse.

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i TABLE C h CO NTENT. Mi E, THE FIRST MONONGAHELA . . . ■1 2 THE SECOND MONONGAHELA OUR MONONGAHELA 3 4 SPECIAL WORDS FROM PRESIDENT REAGAN THE CAPTAIN 5 6 THE EXECUTIVE OFFICER 7 THE WARDROOM 8 CPO MESS 10 ENGINEERING 12 OPERATIONS 24 NAVIGATION 32 SUPPLY 36 DECK 42 THE SELECTED FEW 50 UNDERWAY REPLENISHMENT DC OLYMPICS 52 56 SPORTS 60 PASSEX WITH CHINESE .... 63 LIBERTY PORTS 66 SUEZ TRANSIT 73 MORE LIBERTY PORTS 74 CROSSING THE LINE 78 ANOTHER LIBERTY PORT 81 ET PHONE HOME 82 SPECIAL SHOW 83 VERTICAL REPLENISHMENT , . . 84 500th UNDERWAY REPLENISHMENT . . . OLD AGE SETS IN 86 88 SPECIAL SHOW 90 WORLD ' S FINEST CREW 92 HOMECOMING 96 THANKS TO ALL 100

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In the opening months of World War II the commercial tanker ELKAY was acquired from the Maritime Commission by the Navy. She was commissioned in Norfolk July 31, 1942 as US5 MONONGAHELA (AO 42) and quickly assigned to the war-torn Pacific. MONONGAHELA participated in assaults on Guadalcanal, the Marshall Islands, the Philip- pines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa as well as many other places that the war in the Pacific spread. MONONGAHELA sailors returned home with stories of how their proud ship narrowly avoided destruction during the kamikaze air attacks at Kerama Retto. The veteran ship won 10 Battle Stars in the Asiatic-Pacific Theatre as part of the life-giving supply line of oil, dry cargo and ammunition. In 1951, MONONGAHELA was assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service, supplying United Nations Forces in the Far East during the Korean Conflict until the day she was finally transferred to the Atlantic Fleet in 1953. She served with distinction on extended operations in the Mediterranean and on the East Coast until she was decommissioned. The second of the MONONGAHELA ' S was retired for good on February 1, 1969.