Decommissioning of the USS Tarawa LHA

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	Picture from local source, tugs bringing The Tarawa for the last time to 32nd Street . Next time it will be the tugs towing her to Hawaii for mothballing for the Readiness Reserves. I guess if you have to retire, might as well be Hawaii.

She first came into my life back in November of 1975, it wouldn't be till May of 1976 would we be able to board and get her ready for the trip from her birth place, Pascagoula Mississippi. Finally May 29th 1976 would we commission her. Though it would be a few months before getting the Tarawa back to San Diego. Folks who are on a commissioning crew are called "Plankowners". We brought USS Tarawa back to San Diego through the Panama Canal. The ship is one of the largest to transit the canal. In fact I seem to recall the ship losing a few scuppers as passed through the locks.

A few months back (Oct 2008) we received an e-mail from Dan White. He was in the OI Division with me and let me know about the decommissioning. I had not heard from him for about 30 years. It was great reconnecting and in our discussion we began to search for a few others from our division. He had maintained contact with a number of them through the years. We located a few more and we all decided to make the trip to San Diego for the decommissioning. Following are pictures from the ceremony and dinner.

Plankowners:Bud Clayton, Rodney Harris, Dan White,Roy Colon, Paul Mullendore, and Keith Berry

Bud catches up with fellow OS (Operations Specialist) White and Colon.

Just a few sea stories!

Bud Clayton had so much fun in the service he stayed in for 30 years, working his way from the enlisted ranks to end up as a LTCDR. His wife Sue in the background.

.	A fine dinner was put on with guest speakers, the commanding officer and others spoke about Tarawa's carreer.		Keith Berry (OS2) and his wife Helen Marie.

	Helen Marie Berry's aunt joins the crew as well as Bob Kuning, another plankowner, as we have breakfast in Chula Vista at the famous Family House Of Pancakes		The view as we approached the pier they had Tarawa tied up at. It was breathtaking as we had not been back on board since leaving in 1977

Ship's van, there were two of them with very cool paintings (murals) on the side.

This brought back so many memories, never thought we would do it again, crossing the quarterdeck.

The ceremony was very emotional as Tarawa kept all the traditions associated with the decommissioning. The commanding Officer gave the Executive Officer the order to read the orders for decommissioning. He read them and then the CO said, "XO, make preparation to decommission the USS Tarawa". The XO replied with a hearty "Aye Aye" and then the XO called out to Department heads to report. Though I don't remember them all but they were about the boilers being secured, weapons removed, and a number of other reports given as to the readiness of decommissioning. It was very moving as each Department Head responded. The order was given to secure the watch. Once these were completed the XO called out to the CO that the ship was ready for decommissioning. Then the most moving order I had ever heard,, the CO called out, "XO! De-man the ship!". I failed to mentioned that the ship's crew and a detachment of Marines were on board manning the rails. Once the order was given to de-man, they left the rails and marched off the ship, such a powerful scene. Below are some pictures from that ceremony.

		Following officers spoke: Commanding Officer: Capt. Brian E. Luther Executive Officer: Capt. David F. Bean
		Also: RADM Garry E. Hall Commandant, Industrial College of the Armed Forces Major General Terry G. Robling Commanding General Third Marine Aircraft Wing.

Officer of the Deck receives the ship's flag, spy glass, and ship's log and then passes them to the Commanding Officer.

Dramatic pictures of the crew following the order to De-man the ship. Marching out across the quarterdeck. They fell out in formation on the pier, all in their dress blues. Very impressive!

Part of tradition and is shown here, Capt. Luther received the ship's pennant from Command Master Chief Linda Handley. (left)

Quarterdeck of the USS Tarawa (Right)

One last photo from the hanger bay before heading off.

Funny thing about ships, if serving in the service four years or thirty, one becomes attached to the ship. Not sure why that it is, pride maybe, hard work and many hours in serving aboard her, it's a sailor's home and we all know how we feel about our homes. And once gone from her we would always note her name in the news when it was reported. Her name will be missed in the news. There are a number of sites on the Net about Tarawa and her service. Googling USS Tarawa LHA-1 will also bring up a list of sites reporting her service and news.

Except where noted pictures taken by Keith and can be contacted at: keith@nwcricket.com

	Ship's crew giving tour on the flight deck with Dan White, his wife Barb, Roy Colon, and Bob Kuning. (Left)
	Photos on the bridge, right and above-right		Safety was always job one on board and on the flight deck you had to always be on your toes. Between Harriers and Helos, one had to have their head on a swivel while working up there.


The above pictures were from our old work space, known as CIC or Combat Information Center. The first (though the consoles have been updated) is the seat that I manned during the USS Tarawa shock trials, broadcasting the countdown over a radio net. The second is another work station as I was a "Chart Petty Officer" maintaining ship's sailing charts and lastly, the infamous DRT (Dead Reckoning Tracer). CIC was home for lots of folks, from Operations Specialist to Electronic Warfare specialists.

Decommissioning of the USS Tarawa LHA-1