Monongahela (AO 178) - Naval Cruise Book

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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.

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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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WORLD ' S FINEST OILER A0178 is the third ship to bear the name USS MONONGAHELA. She earned her name from the river that winds its way through Pennsylvania and West Virginia, one of the famous ' Three Rivers that merge near Pittsburgh. In May 1986 MONONGAHELA returned from a seven and a half month deployment to the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, and Western Pacific, completing over 220 underway replenishments and traveling over 40,000 miles. During this deployment, MONONGAHELA operated with units of the United States SEC- OND, SIXTH, and SEVENTH Fleets, as well as servicing units of the MIDEAST Force in the Gulf of Oman and provided services to four different Battle Groups.