USS Hué City (CG-66) is a decommissioned guided missile cruiser that served in the United States Navy. She was ordered 16 April 1987, and laid down 20 February 1989, at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi. Hué City was in active service from 14 September 1991 to 23 September 2022. She is named for the Battle of Huế, fought in the city during the Tet Offensive of 1968 by the 1st Marine Regiment (composed of 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines and attached units) during the Vietnam War. The three battalion commanders were the honored guests at her 1991 commissioning.

Hué City is the only U.S. Navy ship named after a battle in the Vietnam War, although it had been planned to name LHA-5 as USS Khe Sanh after the Battle of Khe Sanh, but that ship was commissioned in 1976 as . As the only U.S. warship named for a battle that took place during the Vietnam War, Hué City had the opportunity to reach out to the veterans of the battle for which she is named. She frequently held memorials commemorating the Battle of Huế.

Hué City also shares her hull number with guided missile destroyer USS Gonzalez (DDG-66). Notable here is that Gonzalez is named after USMC Sergeant Alfredo Gonzalez, who earned the Medal of Honor for his actions in Operation Hué City.

Ship history

1990s

Hué City sailed on 11 March 1993, for her maiden deployment to the Mediterranean Sea as Air Warfare Commander for the Carrier battle group (CVBG). Principally operating in the Adriatic Sea, Hué City developed the air picture and transmitted it to command centers afloat and shore. Hué City also monitored the safety of United Nations relief flights to Bosnia and Herzegovina, ensuring Serb aircraft did not violate no-fly zones.

While conducting training near Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in April 1994, Hué City was directed to serve as Destroyer Squadron 22 flagship in support of sanctions against Haiti. Hué City sailed for her second deployment 22 March 1995, with the Theodore Roosevelt CVBG. Hué City took station in the Red Sea, where she provided air coverage to the Combat Air Patrol enforcing the no-fly zone in Southern Iraq. The ship's executive officer was relieved by the head of Carrier Strike Group 8 in June 2014 for "failing to ensure his crew properly stowed hazardous materials" which subsequently caught fire. According to the investigation report, bales of rags caught fire after they had been improperly stored in an exhaust uptake trunk. The fire caused over $23 million in damage and required over 9 months of repairs. It also caused Hué City to miss the planned deployment to Europe.

2020s

In December 2020 the U.S. Navy's Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels stated that the ship was planned to be placed Out of Commission in Reserve in 2022.

On 23 September 2022, the Navy held a decommissioning ceremony for Hué City at Naval Station Norfolk.

Awards

Hué City has received the following awards:

  • Meritorious Unit Commendation, as part of TG 20.15 from 8 May 2000 to 14 May 2001
  • Meritorious Unit Commendation, as part of TF 60 from 1 April 2002 to 30 September 2002