USS ''Garcia'' (FF-1040) was the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of her class of

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

ships, later reclassified as

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s, in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. She was named for U.S. Marine Private First Class

Fernando Luis Garcia Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

, the first Puerto Rican

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

Recipient. Laid down on 16 October 1962 by

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California, ''Garcia'' was launched on 31 October 1963 and commissioned on 21 December 1964. Originally designated DE-1040, she was redesignated FF-1040 in 1975 as part of the Navy's 1975 ship reclassification. She served in the Atlantic Fleet and was homeported in Newport, Rhode Island, and Charleston, South Carolina.

Pakistan service

Following her decommissioning on 31 January 1989, she was transferred to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

on the same day. Renamed ''Saif'', she was returned to the United States on 13 January 1994 and was then sold for scrap on 29 March 1994.

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

References

* K. Jack Bauer and Stephen S. Roberts, "Register of Ships of the U. S. Navy, 1775-1990," p. 243. * Naval Institute "Proceedings," May 1995, pp. 219, 220. * *

External links

USS Garcia
on NavSource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive
Photo of ''Garcia''
Garcia-class frigates Ships built in San Francisco 1963 ships Cold War frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Pakistan Navy Garcia-class frigates of the Pakistan Navy Bethlehem Steel {{US-mil-ship-stub