| John P. Kelly
December 19, 2007 Dear Buddy, Enclosed are some of my USS SNOHOMISH COUNTY memorabilia, including the ship's 25th Anniversary and Decommissioning pamphlets and a reconstruction of the ship's operational schedule for her last year. I regret I don't have a "scanning" capability so I would like to get the two pamphlets back. In retrospect I view the ship's last year as consisting of six distinct chapters as summarized below. Chapter One was all about storm damage recovery (Typhoon VIOLA). As the ship was scheduled to return to her home port of Apra Harbor, Guam, only temporary repairs were made in Subic to her damaged ballast and fuel tanks. Doubler plates were welded over the cracks which did little to restore structural integrity to the hull and, in the long run, contributed to her unplanned decommissioning. Chapter Two would be our diversion back to Vietnam for two months of high intensity operations in support of the Marines in I Corps. We were at sea detail, leaving Subic Bay bound for Guam, when the message came in. We picked up a major load of ammunition at Cam Ranh Bay and delivered it to Cua Viet in support of heavy fighting in the Quang Tri area. After that ammo lift, we ran an overnight shuttle between Danang and Cua Viet for a bit. For our efforts we were rewarded with a port call in Hong Kong before finally heading home to Guam, passing through the eye of Typhoon FLOSSIE en route. Chapter Three would be a much needed restricted availability followed by "Southern Pacific operations" including support of a SEABEE Civic Action Team mission to the remote island of Kusaie. Before entering the harbor we had to send swimmers in by LCVP to mark the coral heads with plastic water bottles, in effect marking our own channel. We returned to Guam on Christmas Eve, 1969. Chapter Four was a bitterly cold period of refresher training and more badly needed upkeep in Yokosuka. Chapter Five marked SNOHOMISH COUNTY’s final operational mission, again in support of the Vietnam War effort. By this time the war had entered a new phase and we were occupied in “redeployment lifts” of Marine Corps equipment, primarily airstrip matting, from Danang up to Okinawa and Iwakuni, Japan. Chapter Six started with a surprise INSURV inspection that found the grand old ship “not fit for further service”. As commanding officer I assumed my career would end with that of the ship. To my pleasant surprise, the Board was highly complimentary of the crew for keeping the ship going. Somewhere along the line I was told that, of all the 542 class LST’s operating in the Vietnam Theater, SNOHOMISH COUNTY was the only one in continuous commission, never “mothballed” between wars. She was a good ship and I am honored to have served as her last CO. With great respect to all who sailed her, John P. Kelly P.S. A footnote to Chapter Two. On Friday morning, August 22nd the XO, Tom Higgs, told me that we would be crossing the Marianas Trench, the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean, that afternoon. I asked how far ahead of track we were. He said about four hours. A few hours later we stopped the ship, opened the bow doors, lowered the bow ramp, and held “swim call” in water over a mile deep! One of many fond memories... |
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