USS Mount McKinley (AGC-7)
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USS ''Mount McKinley'' (AGC-7/LCC-7) was the lead ship of the of amphibious force command ships. She was named after the highest mountain in North America. She was designed as an amphibious force
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
, a floating command post with advanced communications equipment and extensive combat information spaces to be used by the amphibious forces commander and landing force commander during large-scale operations.


Launch and commissioning

''Mount McKinley'' (AGC-7), was laid down as ''Cyclone'', a transport, on 31 July 1943 by
North Carolina Shipbuilding Company North Carolina Shipbuilding Company was a shipyard in Wilmington, North Carolina, created as part of the U.S. Government's Emergency Shipbuilding Program in the early days of World War II. From 1941 through 1946, the company built 243 ships in all ...
,
Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...
; launched on 27 September, sponsored by Mrs. T. L. Lainer; renamed ''Mount McKinley'' on 27 December 1943; and commissioned at the
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the cit ...
on 1 May 1944.


World War II

After a brief
shakedown Shakedown may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational * Extortion, ...
cruise, she departed
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
8 June 1944 for
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, arriving at
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
on 27 June. ''Mount McKinley'' got underway on 20 July, for
Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...
with Amphibious Group 5 embarked. The assault force arrived off Peleliu 15 September, with ComPhibGru 5 directing the landing of the
1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF). It is the ...
. On 28 September, ''Mount McKinley'' proceeded to nearby Ngesebus Island to provide shore bombardment coordination. ''Mount McKinley'' left the area 14 October after Peleliu and the chain's other main islands were secure. After a stop at
Hollandia Hollandia may refer to: * HVV Hollandia, Dutch football team * Hollandia Victoria Combinatie, defunct Dutch football team * ''Hollandia'' (1742 ship), a ship of the Dutch East India Company, wrecked in 1743 on her maiden voyage * Jayapura, a city ...
,
Dutch New Guinea Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea ( nl, Nederlands-Nieuw-Guinea, id, Nugini Belanda) was the western half of the island of New Guinea that was a part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, later an overseas territory of the Kingdo ...
, the ship sailed to San Pedro Bay,
Leyte Gulf Leyte Gulf is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the south of the bay is Mindanao Isl ...
, for the assault on
Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...
and Ormoc. While in San Pedro Bay, the force was under constant air attack, but ''Mount McKinley'' was not hit. On 15 December the ship participated in the invasion of
Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...
and proceeded to
Lingayen Gulf The Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central. The Agno River and the Balili ...
to direct shore bombardment on 9 January. After directing an unopposed landing at San Narciso, near Subic Bay, the command ship returned to Leyte Gulf. On 21 March 1945, ''Mount McKinley'' proceeded to
Kerama Retto The are a subtropical island group southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Geography Four islands are inhabited: Tokashiki Island, Zamami Island, Aka Island, and Geruma Island. The islands are administered as Tokashiki Village and Zamami Vill ...
off the southern coast of
Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...
. Six days prior to the last major assault of the war, ''Mount McKinley'' directed the landing of the 77th Infantry Division. For the next two months, she remained at anchorage at Kerama Retto, threatened by constant air attacks. On 22 May, she sailed for
Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...
, thence to Pearl Harbor and San Francisco, arriving in
CONUS ''Conus'' is a genus of predatory sea snails, or cone snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Conidae.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2015). Conus Linnaeus, 1758. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at ...
23 June.


Postwar

In overhaul for two months, she deployed 20 August. Arriving
Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...
23 September, she participated in landing
occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...
troops there and at Kure. Returning to the United States 12 February 1946, she sailed in the early summer for Bikini Atoll where she was flagship for Operation Crossroads, flying the flag of Admiral
William H. P. Blandy William Henry Purnell Blandy (28 June 1890 – 12 January 1954), known to close associates as "Spike", was an admiral in the United States Navy during World War II. Biography Born in New York City 28 June 1890, Blandy graduated first in his cla ...
, Joint Task Force One's commander during the atomic tests. Following the atomic bomb tests in July, the ship operated out of
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
for the next 18 months. In early 1948, she was the command ship for the atomic bomb test at
Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...
. Upon completion of these tests, she returned to San Diego to resume coastal operations.


Korean War

On 20 May 1950, ''Mount McKinley'' was underway for WesPac to conduct training operations with the 8th Army. On 26 June, the ship proceeded from Japan to direct the landing of American reinforcements at
Pohang Pohang () is a city in the province of North Gyeongsang, South Korea, and a main seaport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. The built-up area of Pohang is located on the alluvium of the mouth of the Hyeongsan River. The city is divided into two wa ...
at the beginning of the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. In early September 1950, General
Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...
was aboard, directing the amphibious assault at Inchon which forced the North Koreans to retreat north. The next assault was on the heavily mined port of
Wonsan Wŏnsan (), previously known as Wŏnsanjin (), Port Lazarev, and Genzan (), is a port city and naval base located in Kangwŏn Province, North Korea, along the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula, on the Sea of Japan and the provincial capital. ...
. When the Chinese
People's Volunteer Army The People's Volunteer Army (PVA) was the armed expeditionary forces deployed by the People's Republic of China during the Korean War. Although all units in the PVA were actually transferred from the People's Liberation Army under the order ...
entered the war and UN troops were pushed back to the Hungnam beachhead, ''Mount McKinley'' assisted in the evacuation. In late January 1951, she assisted in the transfer of thousands of Korean refugees to Cheju Island. On 7 June 1951, ''Mount McKinley'' sailed from Yokosuka and entered
Mare Island Naval Shipyard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates th ...
3 August for an extensive overhaul. ''Mount McKinley'' departed for WesPac, 6 March 1952, returning to the States 30 January 1953. While in Mare Island Naval Shipyard, a helicopter deck was installed on the fantail. ''Mount McKinley'' sailed again, 27 October 1953, for her third tour of duty in the Korean War area, arriving at Yokosuka 16 November. From then until her departure for the United States 30 July 1954, the ship was involved in fleet and amphibious exercises off Japan,
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
, and
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. After arrival in
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
18 August, the remainder of the year was spent in local operations and a month-long training exercise off
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
in October. In the spring of 1955, ''Mount McKinley'' served as flagship for
Operation Wigwam Operation Wigwam involved a single test of the Mark 90 "Betty" nuclear bomb. It was conducted between ''Operation Teapot'' and '' Project 56'' on May 14, 1955, about 500 miles (800 km) southwest of San Diego, California. 6,800 personnel ...
, an underwater atomic bomb test in the central Pacific. After a yard overhaul in the summer of 1955, the amphibious flagship returned to WestPac in January 1956 for a three-month period. In April, she was press observer ship for further nuclear tests.


Atlantic and Mediterranean service

On 3 June 1956, the ship returned to
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
and was detached from the Pacific Fleet 1 September. She arrived
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
20 September via the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...
. The following 9 January 1957, the ship deployed to the Mediterranean. While in the eastern Mediterranean, the ship rescued the crew of a burning Greek fishing vessel, extinguished the fire and towed the damaged vessel into port. After conducting
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
and fleet exercises in the Mediterranean, she returned to Norfolk 19 June. September and early October were spent in
Operation Strikeback Exercise Strikeback was a major naval exercise of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that took place over a ten-day period in September 1957. As part of a series of exercises to simulate an all-out Soviet attack on NATO, Exercise S ...
and other NATO exercises in the eastern Atlantic. ''Mount McKinley'' was anchored in Portsmouth Navy Yard to provide command and control for parts of the 'Orange' opposition naval forces during Operation Strikeback. In January 1958, ''Mount McKinley'' deployed to 6th Fleet, operating with the Amphibious Ready Group in NATO and U.S. exercises. Due to return to the States in June, the ship's departure was delayed due to increasing tensions in the Middle East. The ship served as an afloat headquarters for the Marine force landed in
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
during the crisis of July 1958. She returned to Norfolk 16 August. ''Mount McKinley''s third Mediterranean cruise from 20 February to 26 August 1959 was marked by seven amphibious exercises involving U.S. and NATO forces. In February 1960, the ship sailed to
Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...
, Chile, via the Panama Canal to provide communications support for President Eisenhower's good will visit to Latin America. On 19 April, ''Mount McKinley'' deployed to 6th Fleet, returning to Norfolk 7 December. Upon completion of her yard period in the summer of 1961, ''Mount McKinley'' made her fifth deployment to the Mediterranean from September to February 1962, acting as flagship for several large scale amphibious exercises. In October, during the
Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...
, ''Mount McKinley'' served at flagship for ComPhibLant and ComPhIbGru 4. Following the Cuban quarantine, she sailed for the Mediterranean 10 January 1963 to act as command flagship for the Amphibious Strike Force. Arriving back in Norfolk 2 August 1963, she entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a
FRAM II The Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) program of the United States Navy extended the lives of World War II-era destroyers by shifting their mission from a surface attack role to that of a submarine hunter. The FRAM program also covere ...
overhaul, extending from September to January 1964. After refresher training and exercise "Quick Kick V", AGC 7 departed Norfolk 10 May, arriving San Diego 26 May via Panama Canal. Immediately after the
Tonkin Gulf Incident The Gulf of Tonkin incident ( vi, Sự kiện Vịnh Bắc Bộ) was an international confrontation that led to the United States engaging more directly in the Vietnam War. It involved both a proven confrontation on August 2, 1964, carried out b ...
, the ship was ordered to Southeast Asia.


Vietnam War

The ship sailed from
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
25 August, arriving
Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
16 September. She relieved its
sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
, , at Subic Bay a week later, becoming flagship of the 7th Fleet, Amphibious Strike Force. Taking station in the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
, with other elements of Amphibious Group 1, ''Mount McKinley'' stood prepared for any contingency. While proceeding to
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
, ''Mount McKinley'' came to the assistance of , whose master was severely ill. ''Herkimer''s captain was taken on board for further treatment in Singapore while the MSTS ship sailed on to
Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...
. In early March and again in mid April, the flagship coordinated the landing of Marine reinforcements at
Da Nang Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one ...
and
Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...
,
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
. Relieved by at Subic Bay in April, she arrived at San Diego on 15 May 1965. The command ship sailed again from San Diego on 15 March, arriving at Subic Bay on 17 April via
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
. Based there, the ship visited ports in Japan,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Okinawa, acting as flagship of ComPhibGru 1. On 23 August, ''Mount McKinley'' sailed for home, arriving 19 September 1966. She sailed on its third WesPac deployment 1 July, arriving Da Nang 28 July to become once more the flagship of Commander, 7th Fleet Amphibious Force. She provided communications support for search and destroy operations against the
Vietcong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...
and
People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...
forces. As in earlier deployments, support for military forces was combined with civic action operations to assist civilians. Relieved in mid-January, the ship sailed east for
CONUS ''Conus'' is a genus of predatory sea snails, or cone snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Conidae.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2015). Conus Linnaeus, 1758. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at ...
and home, arriving San Diego 10 February 1968. The ship's designation was changed from AGC-7 to LCC-7 on 1 January 1969. Following her arrival back in CONUS, she was engaged in type training and amphibious exercises on the west coast as flagship of ComPhibGru 3 into 1969.


Fate

''Mount McKinley'' was decommissioned on 26 March 1970 and stricken on 30 July 1976. She was sold for disposal in 1976.


Awards

''Mount McKinley'' received four
battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...
s for World War II service, eight stars for Korean service, and a
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
Meritorious Unit Citation.


References

*


External links


USS ''Mount McKinley Association Home Page''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mount McKinley (AGC-7) 1943 ships Cold War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Korean War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Mount McKinley-class command ships Ships built in Wilmington, North Carolina Vietnam War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States