Monongahela (AO 178) - Naval Cruise Book

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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.

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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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GE WAS owmmm if, i9$6tmmic the cc ■DURING THE PAST FIVE DAYS THt SERVED AS THE SPEAR AND SHIELD OF AKHyWtAHi iUtK: AND VOLATILE REGION. THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPAL OF FREEDOM OF THE SEAS SO IMPORTANT TO THE ECONOMY AND SECURITY OF THE FREE WORLD HAS BEEN UPHELD IN THE FACE OF A RECKLESS AND ILLEGAL LIBYAN ATTACK. YOUR QUICK RESPONSE, THE BRAVERY AND PROFES- SIONALISM DISPLAYED THROUGHOUT THIS OPERATION WERE AN INSPI- RATION FOR ALL OF US. I AM PARTICULARLY PLEASED THAT YOU DID NOT SUFFER ANY LOSSES. YOU HAVE SENT A MESSAGE TO THE WHOLE WORLD THAT THE UNITED STATES HAS THE WILL AND THROUGH YOU THE ABILI- TY TO DEFEND THE FREE WORLD ' S INTERESTS. YOUR DETERMINATION AND TIRELESS RESPONSE TO LIBYAN THREATS MAKE THIS WORLD A SAFER PLACE. I AM EXTREMELY PROUD TO BE THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF SUCH PROFESSIONALS. YOUR COURAGE, SACRIFICE AND DEDICATION ON THE FRONT LINES OF FREEDOM ARE RECOGNIZED AND APPRECIATED BY ALL YOUR COUNTRYMEN. ON BEHALF OF ALL AMERICANS I SAY: WELL DONE, THANK YOU, WE ' RE PROUD OF YOU, GOOD LUCK AND GOD SPEED. '