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| USS Gunston Hall at sea. |
First, this
card reminded me that the legacy of George Mason and Gunston Hall is
represented in a variety of places, ranging from a naval vessel to a County in Ohio. Most importantly,
however, this card, sent on behalf of servicemen and servicewomen, patriots
all, at a time when they should be receiving cards of thanks and best wishes
from us, reminded me that George Mason’s and Gunston Hall’s legacy is and will
always be about more than what happened in the past—it is about ideals of
democracy, service, patriotism, integrity, and honor—all of which are embodied
and represented by those serving onboard the USS Gunston Hall today.
So, without
any delay following receipt of this card, I also sought to learn more about the
USS Gunston Hall. Accordingly, I am
pleased to share the following brief history of the two ships bearing this
name.
The first USS Gunston Hall was an Ashland-class dock landing ship built and
launched by the Moore Dry Dock Company, located in Oakland, California,
in 1943. The ship boasted an overall
length of 457 feet, a beam of 72 feet, and carried a complement of 290 officers
and crew.
During World
War II, during which she earned 9 battle stars, the USS Gunston Hall participated with distinction in every major
operation in the Pacific Theater from 1944 to the end of the war. Able to carry tanks, a diverse array of
vehicles, equipment of various types, and soldiers, the USS Gunston Hall possessed a versatility which supported its
involvement in beach landings and assaults at places such as Guadalcanal,
Luzon, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.
Shortly after
the war, then based in San Diego,
California, the USS Gunston Hall returned to the
Pacific. Once in the Pacific, in 1946, she participated in Operation
Crossroads, a series of scientific tests related to the atomic bomb located at
Bikini Atoll.
The USS Gunston Hall was decommissioned in
1947, but only briefly. After a retrofit which strengthened her hull and
improved her ventilation systems, the ship was recommissioned in 1949 and
stationed in the Arctic, ultimately returning to San Diego in 1950. After the outbreak of war with Korea, the ship set sail for Pusan, Korea.
Serving for the duration of the war, the USS
Gunston Hall earned another 9 battle stars between 1950 and 1953.
In 1955, the USS Gunston Hall participated in one the
Navy’s largest humanitarian efforts, Operation Passage to Freedom, during which
over 310,000 North Vietnamese residents, 68,000 tons of cargo, and 8,000
vehicles were evacuated and from the North and sent safely to South Vietnam.
Subsequently,
the USS Gunston Hall deployed from
the West Coast with troops bound for Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962,
but with the withdraw of Soviet missiles, she returned to California before
reaching the Caribbean. She also shuttled between Pacific ports and Vietnam
during the Vietnam War.
Shortly
thereafter, in 1970, the USS Gunston Hall
was sold to Argentina.
She was decommissioned for the last time in 1981 and scrapped.
But soon a
new USS Gunston Hall would be
born. Launched in 1987 at Avondale
Shipyards in New Orleans, Louisiana, the new USS Gunston Hall is a Whidbey
Island-class dock landing ship 610 feet in overall length and 84 feet at
her beam. Part of the Atlantic Fleet,
the ship’s mission, as explained at here,
is to transport US Marines and their combat equipment to areas around the world
and to launch and support assault landing craft and helicopters during
amphibious operations.
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| USS Gunston Hall crest. |
The new USS Gunston Hall’s shield includes
colors from the Mason family crest and symbols honoring the battle stars and
distinguished service of the first USS
Gunston Hall. The ship’s crest also features the motto DEFENDING THE
CONSTITUTION, which intentionally recalls the Bill of Rights and the Virginia
Declaration of Rights, authored by George Mason in 1776. Additionally, the
grassy knoll on the crest denotes the land of Virginia
and the landscape of Gunston Hall.
After reading
about the history of the first USS
Gunston Hall and learning about the current USS Gunston Hall, I felt an even greater sense of pride about being able
to work at George Mason’s Gunston Hall. Accordingly, while the USS Gunston Hall is presently deployed
at sea, please join me in thanking all those servicemen and servicewomen who
have served or are presently serving on either of the vessels bearing the name USS Gunston Hall. The record of distinction, valor, and service
embodied by these ships and their crews is impressive and all of us at George
Mason’s Gunston Hall are proud and honored by any association with these two
vessels and the brave individuals comprising their crews.
Thank you
Captain Kuehhas, our thanks to your crew, and please accept our best wishes for
a safe voyage in defense of and service to our great country. Huzzah!!
Scott Muir
Stroh III
Executive
Director, Gunston Hall
Information
for this article found at:
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