Pacific Service
Wexford County arrived at Long Beach, California, on 2 September 1956 and spent the rest of 1956 conducting routine operations off the California coast.
In January 1957, Wexford County reported to Long Beach for overhaul and remained there until April 1957. She departed for San Francisco, California, on 4 April 1957 and entered an upkeep period which lasted until 20 June 1957. She arrived at San Diego, California, on 22 July 1957, where she continued operations along the California coast.
Wexford County departed for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and her first deployment to the Western Pacific on 23 January 1958 en route to Yokosuka, Japan. From Yokosuka, the ship made stops in Hong Kong; Sasebo, Japan; and Inchon, South Korea. On 24 June 1958, she left for San Diego and arrived there on 18 August 1958. After several months of activity, she went into upkeep on 5 December 1958 at Long Beach.
On 29 January 1959, Wexford County departed for Yokosuka again via Hong Kong and Okinawa. She arrived at Yokosuka on 24 March 1959. The ship made several shuttles between Yokosuka and Sasebo, Japan, and Naha, Okinawa. She left Yokosuka for San Diego, arriving there on 7 June 1959. The remainder of 1959 was spent in exercises off the coast and routine upkeep.
During the next several years, Wexford County was involved in numerous routine operations along the California coast. A highlight of these years was a deployment to Guam, for which she departed San Diego on 2 January 1962. After steaming 5,480 nautical miles (10,149 kilometers), she arrived on 23 January 1962. She conducted operations for reconnaissance and installation of weather stations in the eastern Caroline Islands. The ship returned to San Diego on 1 September 1962. On 10 July 1963, she commenced overhaul at Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Long Beach, California, which lasted through late November 1963.
January and February 1964 found Wexford County engaged in training. She was in a restricted availability status during March and April 1964. In May, she participated in Exercise Pine Tree, in which she served as a secondary control ship. During July 1964, she was in landing ship tank training. This was followed by Exercise Sea Bar, held near Fort Lewis, Washington, in conjunction with the United States Army. In this exercise, Wexford County acted as primary control ship. Returning to San Diego in mid-September, Wexford County entered upkeep for several weeks. She then took part in amphibious exercises with United States Marine Corps forces. Upon completion of various training exercises, the ship entered a Christmas holiday upkeep period.
In early 1965, Wexford County took part in Operation Bubble Ops and Operation Silver Lance, which were at that time the largest peacetime amphibious operations ever conducted in the Pacific Ocean. Shortly after, she departed for Okinawa and Yokosuka, Japan. Following a brief stay, she sailed in early May 1965 for San Diego. During June and July 1965, she carried out local operations.
Read more about this topic: USS Wexford County (LST-1168)
Famous quotes containing the words pacific and/or service:
“I need not tell you of the inadequacy of the American shipping marine on the Pacific Coast.... For this reason it seems to me that there is no subject to which Congress can better devote its attention in the coming session than the passage of a bill which shall encourage our merchant marine in such a way as to establish American lines directly between New York and the eastern ports and South American ports, and both our Pacific Coast ports and the Orient and the Philippines.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“The gods’ service is tolerable, man’s intolerable.”
—Plato (c. 427–347 B.C.)