Reunions
Info needed
On Mon, 2 Nov 1998
Chuck Randall Email address
wrote:
Looking for history of The USS Uvalde AKA 88. Served in Korea, 1950
Through 1953.
Info wanted on ship
On Wed, 11 Nov 1998
Updated: 3/12/99
Phillip Belliveau
1. Email address
2. Email address wrote:
I'm not sure you can help me. I was looking for information on USS
UVALDE LKA 88, when I came upon this page.
I guess I was to late for the reunion, this pass October, But I would
like to know how to get more information about my old ship.
I served on the Uvalde from Sept 1966 until she was decommissioned. I
was an SM2 and lowered the Commissioned pennant at the ceremony at
Little Creek VA..
Phil Belliveau
54B Chipaway Rd.
East Freetown, MA 02717
Crew member
On Mon, 14 Jun 1999
Micheal Hughes Email address wrote:
I am doing research for my Father Quincy Adams Gillmore, Jr. who served
on the USS Uvalde during the Korean conflict. Any ideas on reaching
shipmates, or finding reuinions? How about stats on the Uvalde?
Thanks Leslie
Ship History
From: Bud Shortridge bud@fortwayne.infi.net
Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 1999 7:48 PM
Subject: HISTORY OF UVALDE (AKA-88)
Well Phil this was a long one----sorry it took so long, but I'm not as
fast at entering info as I once was. Hope it is what you expected.
UVALDE
A county in southwestern Texas, the home of former Vice President John
Nance "Cactus Jack" Garner.
(AKA-88: DP. 13,910 (tl.); L. 459'3"; B. 63'0"; DR. 26'4"
(lim.); S. 16.5 k.; CPL. 366;
A. 1-5", 8-40 mm., 18-20 mm.; CL. Andromeda; T. C2-S-BI)
Uvalde (AKA-88) (formerly projected as the merchant freighter Wild
Pigeon) was laid down under a Maritime commission contract (MC hull
1188) on 27 March 1944 at Oakland, Calif., by Moore Drydock Co.;
launched on 20 May 1944; sponsored by Mrs. George J. Kean; and
commissioned on 18 August 1944, Lt. Comdr. William M. McCloy, USNR, in
command.
After fitting out at Oakland, Uvalde ran her trials before departing
San Francisco Bay on 29 August, bound for San Pedro, Calif. She
conducted extensive shakedown training out of that port before she
shifted to San Diego, Calif., there to train in amphibious warfare from
15 through 30 September in company with the attack transport Appling
(APA-58)
In yard hands at Terminal Island, Calif., for post shakedown
availability until 10 October, Uvalde got underway and churned out of
Los Angles harbor, bound for San Francisco. Uvalde consequently loaded
cargo at that port form 11 through 19 October.
Departing "Frisco" on 20 October, Uvalde reached Manus, in the
Admiralty Islands, on 6 November. Over the next few days, the ship lay
at anchor in Seeadler harbor, Manu, awaiting orders for onward routing.
While there, she witnessed the volcanic explosion of the ammunition ship
Mount Hood (AE-11) at 0820 on 11 November. Fortunately at a distance
far enough away to be unaffected by the blast, Uvalde responded to the
emergency by sending medical assistance and supplies to some of the
other ships closer to where the ill-fated ammunition ship had been
anchored-ships that had taken heavy casualties when shrapnel form the
atomized Mount Hood had ripped into them.
Subsequently, three days after the Mount Hood tragedy, Uvalde got
underway to unload cargo at East Murzim Dock. Completing that evolution
a little over a week later, on the 21st, Uvalde got underway for New
Guinea on the 29th, reaching Milne Bay, her destination, on 3 December.
The attack cargo ship then took on board 100 tons of miscellaneous
cargo earmarked for the 489th Port Battalion, Transportation corps, 6th
Army. She shifted to Oro Bay, New Guinea, within a few days, there
loading additional cargo-1,025 tons of vehicles, gasoline, and
organizational equipment for the 6th Army. On 21 December, Uvalde and
her escort, J. Douglas Blackwood (DE-219) got underway for the
Admiralties, reaching their destination the following day.
Uvalde spent Christmas at Manus before she got underway on her first
"mission of way" as part of Task Group (TG) 77.9 on 2 January 1945,
shaping course for the island of Luzon. The attack cargo ship
subsequently entered Lingayen Gulf on the morning of 11 January and, at
0925, sent her first wave of landing craft onto the beaches. During her
ensuing stay at Lingayen Gulf, Uvalde's sailors witnessed their first
attacks by the Japanese kamikazes on ships in the vicinity.
On the 13th, Uvalde weighed anchor, shifting to Leyte and reaching
there on the 16th. Two days later, the attack cargo ship got underway
again, this time headed for the Schouten Islands. Bound for Biak,
Uvalde reached her destination on the 23rd and commenced loading cargo
at dock number 12 soon thereafter.
Completing loading on 2 February, Uvalde returned to Leyte, joining
formation with TG 78.5 on the following day. Subsequently anchoring in
Leyte Gulf on the 6th, the attack cargo ship pusher on for Mindoro the
following day, arriving on the 9th. Twenty-seven hours later, the ship
completed the unloading evolution, receiving a "well done" from Capt. R.
W. Affott, the officer in tatctical command of the task group.
Uvalde returned to Leyte and, over the days that ensued, prepared for
her next operation. For six weeks, the attack cargo ship participated
in the practice evolutions that ultimately led up to the final bug
assault landing of the war in the Pacific-the invasion of Okinawa in the
Rykyus.
Underway on 27 March, Uvalde reached the assault areas on 1 April, the
day of the initial landings. By noon of that day-Easter Sunday-the
loading operations were proceeding apace. At 0559 on 3 April, Uvalde's
gunners drew their first blood, downing a suicide making a run on the
nearby attack transport Latimer (APA-152). Uvalde received official
credit for the kill-she soon sported a miniature Japanese flag on the
bridge.
Off Okinawa from 1 to 9 April, Uvalde spent much of her time at general
quarters due to the heavy Japanese aerial resistance. The attack cargo
ship subsequently weighed anchor on the 9th and headed for Saipan in the
Marianas, en route to her ultimate destination, Pearl Harbor.
After provisioning ship at Pearl, Uvalde returned to the western
pacific, departing the Hawaiian Islands on 10 May. Reaching Eniwetok in
the Marshalls 10 day later, the attack cargo ship got underway for Gram
in the Marianas after exchanging cargo and embarking passengers. Uvalde
then discharged and unloaded at Guam before she proceeded for the west
coast of the United States, her course shaped for San Francisco.
Departing Guam on 27 June, Uvalde arrived at the Golden Gate on 12
July, en route to Everett, Wash., for a drydocking and repairs.
Reaching Everett on the 16th, the ship underwent nearly two weeks of
repair work there, completing her assigned availability on 28 July.
Departing the Pacific Northwest on 1 August, Uvalde proceeded to San
Francisco to load cargo in preparation for her return to the western
Pacific theater of operations. Completing the loading process on 11
August, the attack cargo ship got underway for the Hawaiian Islands on
the 12th. She was at sea when, at 1400 on 14 August 1945, President
Harry S. Truman announced in a radio broadcast address that at state of
war no longer existed between the united States and Japan. World War II
was over at last.
For Uvalde, the war had been a short one, but there still remained the
duty of returning the many soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen home
from the fighting fronts. The attack cargo ship took part in those
operations well into 1946, also earning the Navy's Occupation Service
Medal for operations in china waters in ensuing months.
Up until mid-1950, Uvalde transported troops and cargo to American
outposts in Asia, supporting the united States presence in that area of
the world. Uvalde participated in the United Nations' efforts to stem
North Korean aggression after that nation invaded neighboring South
Korea in June 1950, deploying to Korean waters with troops and cargo on
numerous occasions.
New Year's Day 1951 found Uvalde at Sasebo, Japan; nine days later she
got underway, bound for the west coast of the United States, and she
reached her destination two weeks later on the 24th. Shifting to the
Mare Island Naval Shipyard for repairs and alterations on the 30th, the
attack cargo ship remained in yard hands until early April, when she
shifted to San Diego to conduct underway training evolutions.
After three weeks of post-repair training, Uvalde shifted to the naval
supply center at Oakland, Calif., when she loaded cargo earmarked for
the Far East. The attack cargo ship subsequently made three round-trip
voyages, touching at Sasebo and Yokosuka in the west and Oakland in the
east over the remainder of 1951.
Uvalde spent much of 1952 engaged in the same shuttle operations that
had kept her occupied since the onset of the Korean War. She visited
Korean waters in the latter half of the month of March 1952, touching at
Sokcho Ri and Paengyong Do before resuming her west coast- to-Japan
shuttle voyages with her termini at Oakland, Sasebo, and Yokosuka.
During August, 1952, the ship made a short recreational stop at Pearl
Harbor.
During the late autumn of 1952, Uvalde remained in Japanese waters,
undergoing a drydocking at Yokosuka in late November before she sailed
for Oakland on the 23rd fo that month. Reaching Treasure Island, San
Francisco, on 8 December, the attack cargo ship went into the naval
shipyard at Mare Island three days later.
Uvalde overhauled at Mare Island into mid-February, 1953, after which
time she conducted the usual underway training evolutions before
resuming west coast-to-Japan shuttle voyages. She called at Korean
ports once, visiting Pohang in May 1953, spending most of he time in
Japanese waters. Ports included during that cruise included Sasebo,
Yokosuka, and Nagasaki.
February through July of the following year, 1954, was spent in shuttle
service between the naval Supply Center, Oakland, and the Far East, with
a recreational visit to Nagasaki in April. During July, the ship
arrived at Yokosuka and, after a trip to Sasebo and return, loaded a
cargo of rice and medical supplies, setting sail for French Indochina to
assist in Operation "Passage to Freedom."
Uvalde reached Tourane Bay, French Indochina, on 28 August and remained
there, supporting "Passage to Freedom" operations until 10 September,
when she got underway to return to Oakland. Over the next few years,
Uvalde's routine would remain much the same, sailing back and forth
across the pacific on the supply line form the west coast of the United
States to American military bases in the Far East.
"Mothballed" in 1957 and becoming a part of the Reserve Fleet, Uvalde
was struck from the Navy list on 1 July 1960 but was reinstated on 1
September 1961, because of the Berlin crisis. Uvalde was recommissioned
on 18 November 1961, Capt. C. A Baldwin in command.
Ordered to duty with the Atlantic Fleet, the attack cargo ship-with a
new lease on life-got underway for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and five weeks
of training in December. After a voyage that had taken her via
Mazatlan, Mexico; the Panama Canal; and Guantanamo (where she engaged in
refresher training operations as scheduled), Uvalde reached her new
assigned home port, Norfolk, Va., in February 1962. She thus became a
part of the Amphibious Force of the Atlantic Fleet.
After a post-shakedown overhaul, Uvalde took part in amphibious
exercises at Vieques, Puerto Rico (Lant-PhibLex 1-62) in April-her first
major exercise since re commissioning. By the end of the year 1962, the
veteran attack cargo vessel had deployed on various 2nd Fleet exercises
and maneuvers in the western Atlantic and Caribbean areas. Attached to
Amphibious Squadron 10 from 22 October to 5 December, Uvalde supported
the Fleet during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when President John F.
Kennedy "quarantined" Cuba over the presence of offensive Soviet
missiles on that strategic isle.
Subsequently, Uvalde spent all of January, 1963, engaged in
pre-deployment upkeep. She sailed on 4 February, shaping course for the
Mediterranean, and operated with the 6th Fleet through mid-May, touching
at Naples, Italy; Athens, Greece; Izmir, Turkey; Rhodes, Greece; Golfe
Juan, France; and Barcelona, Spain; during the course of her operations.
After returning to Norfolk for upkeep and independent ship exercises,
Uvalde deployed to the Caribbean as part of the Amphibious Ready
Squadron, calling at San Juan, Ruerto Rico, during that cruise that
carried over into late February 1964 as part of Phib-Ron 8. She
deployed again to the Caribbean from late June to late September, 1965,
before she later participated in Exercise "Steel Pike I;" during the
latter cruise, she visited Gran canaria, Tenerife, in the Canary
Islands.
Returning to her home port, Norfolk, in late November, uvalde shifted
to the new York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, N.Y., on 7 January. She
remained there, undergoing repairs and alterations, until 28 April,
after which time she headed south, ultimately conducting refresher
training in Guantanamo Bay.
In Late June, Uvalde supported the American intervention in the
Dominican Republic, serving as "bulk fuel control ship" between 18 and
28 June. The ship then conducted independent exercises and underwent
some needed upkeep through mid-July.
Uvalde subsequently trained out of Little Creek, Va., for 10 days in
July before resuming scheduled independent ship exercises and upkeep
periods out of, and at, Norfolk. That autumn, she deployed to the
Mediterranean for the second time as a unit of Phib-Ron 10. During
theat cruise-lasting into mid-March 1966-Uvalde operated with Task Force
61, visiting Marseiles and Toulon, France; Malta; Naples, Genoa, and
Livorno, Italy; Barcelona and Mazarron, Spain; and Porto Scudo and Santa
Manza, Corsica.
Reaching the end of the deployment, Uvalde left Palma, Majorca, in her
wake on 17 March, bound for Rota, Spain, the turnover point, where she
would be relieved of her duties with the 6th Fleet. She then began her
homeward-bound voyage on 20 march, setting course for Morehead City, N.
C. Midway across the Atlantic, Uvalde picked up distress signals from a
Danish merchantman, the refrigerator ship SS Chilean Reefer. One of the
freighter's crewmen was desperately ill and needed prompt medical
attention-care that the ship was apparently unable to supply. Uvalde
immediately reversed course and sped to her assistance. The attack
cargo ship took on board the patient, transferring him from Chilean
Reefer in an LCM, where treatment commenced as soon as he came on
board. The sailor remained on board to return to a hospital in the
United States for treatment.
Uvalde ultimately reached Morehead City and there disembarked her
detachment of marines and off-loaded their equipment. Uvalde's crew,
eager to continue on the homeward- bound leg of their voyage after the
six months Mediterranean cruise, worked all night to unload the ship so
that the ship could sail the next morning, as soon as possible. Uvalde
reached her home port, Norfolk, on 3 April 1966. As her commanding
officer wrote in retrospect: "It was a good deployment, but it was even
better to be back home again."
The attack cargo ship subsequently deployed to the Mediterranean one
more time in her career, from April to August of 1967, returning to
Morehead city, N. C., on 14 September and Norfolk the following day.
She remained on active operations with the Atlantic Fleet into 1968, but
she was ultimately declared "unfit for further service." Replaced by a
Charleston-class attack cargo ship, with significant increases in combat
vehicle and cargo stowage and better combat characteristics, Uvalde was
decommissioned and struck from the Navy list on 1 December 1968.
Transferred to the Maritime Administration on 26 June 1969 for
disposal, Uvalde's hulk was simultaneously sold to Levin Metals corp.,
of San Jose, calif., and scrapped.
Uvalde earned one battle star for her World War II service and three
for the Korean War.
