THE FINAL TWO YEARS; 1971--72

The final two years of Vernon County's life as a commissioned vessel of the United States Navy saw her meet some of the toughest challenges she was to face in her entire history. During these two years, the fundamental nature of the Viet Nam War changed several times, and her role in it was constantly evolving to produce a wide variety of assignments. While Viet Nam provided the bread and butter of her existence, though, there were other worlds to conquer as well, and the ship was frequently called upon to go places and do things which no amphibious ship of any type had ever tried before. The result was two very full years, and an abiding sense of pride and satisfaction in having been a part of it all. One of the most important facets of Vernon County life during these two years was the spectre of decommissioning, which, for better or for worse, attracted attention long before the event itself as to take place. The tempo of operations never slackened---if anything, were busier then ever---but the prospect alone provided man months of speculation.There was one false start: plans announced at the end of 1970 to decommission us in March of 1972 were shelved halfway through 1971, after some crew plans underway for leaving Japan. Understandably, therefore, some skepticism greeted the announcement at the end of 1971 that Vernon Couty, along with the other four remaining LST's of Landing Ship Squadron Nine, would be removed from naval service March 1st 1973. Indeed, for months afterward, the question never too far from anyone's mind was, Will This Time Be For Real? And in the intervening year a few of our sister ships actually did have their decommissioning dates moved back by a few months, which did nothing to assuage our doubts. In the end though, the March 1st date stuck, and as transfer orders streamed in we finally put our uncertainties aside. By the beginning of 1973, then, with decom imminent and our plans for at least the immediate future secure, we could begin to look back on those final two years and appreciate their richness---a quality which, at this point, a basic historical narrative might begin to convey.

ALL DRESSED UP IN WHITE

February 11th, 1971: The United States Navy's only White LST getting underway from Yokosuka, Japan, for 25,000 mile odyssey in the Indian and Pacific Oceans

Vernon County Beached at Vung Tau to offload Market Time Support Equipment the afternoon before she left for Bangkok, October 19, 1971

OH YES, WE HAD THE "AIR TAXI" ABOARD ALSO

December 5th, 1972: Pulling into Yokosuka for the last time, as friends and families on the pier await the readying of the brow. Mission Accomplished!!!

Credit for the Information on this page goes to YN3 Noble and his good friend EM3 Wenzlaff for being a part of putting together this Last Cruise Book for our ship and sharing it with us now. There is credit to ACB-2 and their efforts in the book, and others I might add. Thus ended the final two years of Vernon County's service in the United States Navy. The challenges, the excitement, the hardships, the fun--perhaps never in her history were all these more evident than in these final two years. She had been many things to many people: an airfield, a defender, an ambassador of good will, a place of refuge, a place to work, a home. But of all the things she provided, that special sense of pride in having been a part of her life was,without a doubt, the greatest for all of whom she served!! She Pulled into Yokuska on December 5th, 1972 for the last time.

AMAZONAS T-21 Former USS Vernon County LST1161

I found this photo on NAVSOURCE Vernon County History Page. She was sold to the Venezuelan Navy, and I believe She is still in service there.