USS Dubuque (LPD-8) was an of the United States Navy.

USS Dubuque was the second ship named after Dubuque, Iowa on the Mississippi River and her founder, Julien Dubuque - a French Canadian explorer. USS Dubuque was commissioned on 1 September 1967 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia.

History

alt=Stern view of Navy ship USS Dubuque off coast of Alaska|thumb|Stern view of USS Dubuque (LPD-8) off the Alaska coast in the 1970s. A [[Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight|CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter (probably of HMM-165) is visible on the deck.]]

thumb|View from the starboard deck of the USS Dubuque, facing the stern. [[USS Racine (LST-1191) is visible in the far distance.]]

Dubuques keel was laid down on 25 January 1965 by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was launched on 6 August 1966 and commissioned on 1 September 1967 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia. In November 1967, the ship arrived at her first homeport of San Diego, California after transiting the Panama Canal.

From 1968 until 1975, She made five Western Pacific deployments that saw extensive duty in Vietnam. In a highly publicized event in October 1968, the ship returned 14 repatriated prisoners of war (POWs) to North Vietnam. From 1969 until 1971 the ship conducted ten Operation Keystone Cardinal troop lifts to Okinawa as part of the withdrawal of US forces. Dubuque relieved as the launch platform for HMA-369's Marine Hunter-Killer (MARHUK) Operations near Hon La (Tiger Island) off the coast of North Vietnam. From February to June 1973 the ship operated helicopters that conducted naval mine clearance operations in Haiphong Harbor as part of Operation End Sweep. In April 1975 the ship participated in Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of Saigon and the rescue of refugees fleeing South Vietnam.

alt=Bow of United States Navy ship USS Dubuque LPD-8, view from pier|thumb|USS Dubuque (LPD-8) at pier in 1970s before transiting through Alaska, Subic Bay, and Okinawa

On 15 August 1985 Dubuque departed San Diego for her new homeport of Sasebo, Japan, where she arrived 4 September 1985. There, she joined the Seventh Fleet Overseas Family Residency Program, her primary mission to support the Marine Corps in the Western Pacific.

On 10 June 1988, they sighted a 35-foot wooden boat packed with Vietnamese refugees fleeing communist rule in their homeland. The boat sailed from Ben Tre, Vietnam (22 May), but the engine failed two days later and she drifted. Dubuque’s sailors fatally underestimated the numbers of people on board who struggled for survival against starvation and exposure on board their flimsy craft (they estimated 50–70 refugees but 110 people had purportedly put to sea). Dubuque’s commanding officer, accessed the situation and decided to distribute food and water to the castaways, as well as charts providing limited navigational information. The Navy later released a statement that “the craft was judged to be in seaworthy condition and was under sail.” Dubuque continued on her original voyage.

The food and water proved inadequate for the actual number of people on board the boat, however; and as many as 58 died, an estimated 20 succumbed before they sighted Dubuque, and the remaining victims following the U.S. ship's departure from the area. Grim tales afterward emerged of desperate people who resorted to cannibalism to survive. Filipino fishermen eventually rescued the 52 survivors. The Navy relieved the Commanding Officer of his command (11 August), and subsequently court martialed him (at his request). The court found him guilty of violating standing orders to render assistance to those in peril of the sea, and he received a letter of reprimand.

In early May 2009 Dubuque had to abort a humanitarian aid mission to the South Pacific after a sailor on board developed Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 during the worldwide 2009 swine flu pandemic. It was later found out that approximately 50 cases were likely also H1N1 (swine flu). As a result, the ship's June 2009 deployment to Oceania in support of the Pacific Partnership program was canceled.

On 9 September 2010, Marines attached to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Maritime Raid Force launched from Dubuque and boarded and seized control of the German-flagged off the coast of Somalia. The pirates had taken control of the ship the previous day. The Marines captured nine pirates and rescued eleven crew members who had taken refuge in a "safe room" on the ship. No shots were fired and no injuries were reported.

Fate

USS Dubuque was officially decommissioned on 30 June 2011. Dubuque was sunk as a target on 11 July 2024 during the RIMPAC 2024 exercise A number of weapons were used during the test, including a Quicksink bomb dropped from a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.

Awards

right|thumb|Official ribbons as of 3 March 2002

According to the Navy Awards website, Dubuque has received one Navy Unit Commendation, four Meritorious Unit Commendations, three Battle Efficiency Awards, three Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals, three Humanitarian Service Medals and participated in countless amphibious exercises and operations throughout the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Notes

  • USS Dubuque official website
  • navysite.de: USS Dubuque