Service History
For almost the entire length of her active service, De Soto County was assigned to the Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet. She interspersed operations off the east coast of the United States with frequent deployments to the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. The tank landing ship saw brief service in the Vietnam theater of operations in 1969.
Decommissioned on 17 July 1972, De Soto County was transferred to the Italian Navy where she served as NMM Nave Grado (L9890). Struck from the Naval Vessel Register 8 May 1992, the ship was sold for scrapping by the Italian government in 1989.
De Soto County earned one Meritorious Unit Commendation for service with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean and one battle star for Vietnam War service.
Read more about this topic: USS De Soto County (LST-1171)
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—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)