Our ship, the USS Gunston Hall was named after the plantation, Gunston Hall, of George Mason of Virginia. Today, you can visit this 550 acre National Historic Landmark in southern Fairfax County, Virginia.
The picture above was graciously given to us by the Gunston Hall Historic Society.
I wish to thank the staff that maintains the plantation. They have a web site you should visit and be sure to sign their guest book and let them know you appreciate them.
Their URL is gunstonhall.org
They can be reached by email at
Historic@GunstonHall.org
USS Gunston Hall LSD 5
Gunston Hall (LSD-5)
originally designated APM-5, was launched 1 May 1943 by the Moore Drydock Co., Oakland,
Calif., sponsored by Mrs. Harvey S. Haislip; and commissioned 10 November 1943 with Cmdr.
D. EL Collins in command. After intensive shakedown along the California coast, Gunston
Hall prepared to sail for the Western Pacific where she was to participate in every major
operation from February 1944 to the end of the war,
18 months later. Loading 225 men from the 4th Marine Tank
Battalion and 2 amphibious units, as well as 15 LVT's, 15 tanks, 17 CM's, and 15,000
gallons of gasoline, Gunston Hall departed San Diego 13 January 1944. On D-Day I February
1944 at Kwajalein Atoll, she stood offshore to unload her cargo as the Marines stormed the
beaches on Rol and Namur Islands. Gunston Hall remained in the area to repair small craft
until 6 February, when she reembarked her former passengers and equipment and sailed to
Guadalcanal via Funa Futi.
The pattern she set here held for her participation in eight
further key invasion efforts in the Pacific as the Navy "Island-hopped" Marines
and Army troops ever closer to the Japanese home islands. Through the rest of 1944, the
versatile landing ship took part in the initial assualt invasions of Emirau Island 20
March, Hollandia 22 April, Guam 21 July, Pelelleu Island 15 September, and Leyte Island 20
October. The last assault culminated in the momentous Battle for Leyte Gulf, one of
history's greatest naval engagements. While not actually involved in an invasion effort,
Gunston Hall trained troops and shuttled supplies and men from the rear islands to the
staging areas. In 1945 Gunston Hall participated in the initial assault landings at Luzon
9 January, Iwo Jima 19 February, and Okinawa 1 April. After the first invasion waves went
ashore at Okinawa-the Pacific's largest amphibious operation involving over 1,200 ships
and half a million men-Gunston Hall remained anchored at nearby Kerama Retto until 1 July
to repair small craft. She was untouched by the enemy's fierce kamikaze attacks although
she saw several other American ships hit and crippled. Gunston Hall terminated her Pacific
war duty 1 July 1945 as she sailed for a much needed overhaul reaching Portland, Oreg., 26
July via Guam, Eniwetok, and. Pearl Harbor.
After a period of shuttling small craft along the West Coast,
she anchored at San Diego in mid-December to repair small craft. Gunston Hall returned to
the Pacific In 1946 to participate in one of the most significant series of scientific
tests of the era. Departing San Diego 17 April, she reached Bikini Atoll 5 May via Pearl
Harbor for duties in connection with Operation "Crossroads," the famous series
of atomic bomb tests. Departing Bikini 19 August, Gunston Hall returned to San Diego 3
October via Kwajalein and Pearl Harbor. Gunston Hall decommissioned 7 July 1947 at
Terminal Island in San Francisco Bay.
Conversion to an Arctic LSD at Puget Sound Navy Shipyard.
Seattle, gave Gunston Hall a reinforced hull and a greatly extended heating and
ventilation system which would permit her to operate effectively in the Arctic. She
recommissioned at Puget Sound 5 March 1949, and. after shakedown, sailed north to
participate in Operation "MIKI" In the Arctic Circle and later returned for
Operation "MICOWEX." Next training and development operations along the West
Coast occupied her until the outbreak of war in Korea. With elements of the 1st Marine
Provisional Brigade embarked, Gunston Hall departed San Diego 1 July 1950 and reached
Pusan, Korea, via Yokosuka 3 August. Disembarking the Marines, she took aboard 30
stretcher cases and returned to Osaka, Japan. On 10 September Gunston Hall sailed from
Japan to participate in the brilliant amphibious operation at Inchon, Korea, 15 September.
After the Marines had landed midway up the peninsula, threatening to cut the communist
supply lines to their troops at the tip of the peninsula, Gunston Hall made several
shuttle trips to bring reinforcements. As the Korean conflict settled into its long and
bloody pattern of near stalemate, Gunston Hall continued to shuttle troops and supplies
between Japan and Korea, occasionally also acting on fire support missions for coastal
minesweepers. During an overhaul in the summer of 1952, she was fitted with a helicopter
landing and launching platform large enough to accommodate nine "whirly-birds,"
the newest element in amphibious warfare.
When armistice ended the actual fighting In Korea, Gunston
Hall sailed to Cheju Do, Korea, 4 September 1953. Remaining there until 22 September, she
served in Operation "Big Switch," -the exchange of prisoners of war. She then
settled into a schedule of annual cruises in the Western Pacific, which took her from San
Diego to various Asian ports, interspersed with Arctic resupply cruises. Gunston Hall was
part of one of the Navy's greatest postwar humanitarian efforts. In 1955 she joined TG-90
(Rear Admiral Lorenzo S. Sabin) at Saigon, South Vietnam, for Operation "Passage to
Freedom." When the Geneva Accord of July 1954 divided the former French Indochina,
over 800,000 North Vietnamese decided to cast their lot with the South rather than live
under a Communist government. Since badly depleted French forces could not hope to effect
the transfer of so many people, the U.S. Navy detailed nearly 100 ships to carry refugees
and equipment from Haiphong to Saigon In a 9-month period. Gunston Hall made five coastal
runs carrying heavy barges between 2 January and 26 February 1955. In all, the Navy
evacuated 310,848 North Vietnamese as well as 68,757 tons of cargo and over 8,000
vehicles. Hard-pressed sailors feeding and clothing the ragged refugees were rewarded when
many of the 184 children born during the Haiphong-Saigon passage were named after Navy
vessels, Gunston Hall's pattern of WesPac cruises and Arctic resupply missions were broken
a second time in 1962.
During the Cuban missile crisis, she embarked elements of the
5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade at San Diego and headed for the Caribbean, transiting the
Panama Canal 5 November. As the Soviets withdrew their missiles and the crisis passed,
Gunston Hall transited the Canal again returning San Diego 15 December. The veteran LSD
sailed for the western Pacific 26 March 1963. After operations which carried her to Japan,
Okinawa, Korea, Hong Kong, and several Pacific Islands, she returned to the West Coast 13
November. Following operations along the California coast, she departed San Diego 6
November 1964 for duty with the 7th Fleet. Arriving Subic Bay 30 November, she was under
way again a week later for Vietnam to support the fight to thwart Communist aggression.
Relieved 8 January 1965 she headed for Hong Kong, en route to Japan, arriving Yokosuka on
the 24th. She visited Korea and Okinawa before returning to the battle zone. She unloaded
cargo at Da Nang through 18 February, then headed to Okinawa for more supplies. She
continued this pattern of duty shuttling between Pacific ports and Vietnam until departing
Yokosuka for home 6 June. Reaching San Diego 22 June, she prepared to return to the
Orient. Sailing 6 August, she visited Hawaii, Okinawa, and Japan before returning to the
West Coast 7 October.
After operations out of San Diego, Gunston Hall again turned
her brow toward the setting sun 16 May 1966. She reached Chu Lai, Vietnam, 27 May and
debarked the 9th Marine Engineers before sailing for Subic Bay to resume shuttling between
Vietnam and nearby friendly ports, bringing war material to the Allies. She participated
in Exercises "Hilltop VII" and "Mudpuppy I" in the Philippines before
loading three experimental Navy Patrol Air Cushion vehicles 15 December for transportation
to San Diego. Back home early in January 1967, Gunston Hall prepared for future action.
Gunston Hall earned nine battle stars for World War II service and another nine battle
stars during the Korean War.
This ship was in service for 27 years covering WW2, Korea, and Vietnam before it was turned over to the Argentine Navy in 1970 where she was renamed the "Candido de Lasala" and served an additional 5 years of duty. This ship is listed as being one of the most active Navy War Ships in history