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USS Durham (LKA 114)

Initially laid down as AKA 114 but redesignated LKA 114 on January 1, 1969, the USS DURHAM was the second CHARLESTON - class amphibious cargo ship. She was named for Durham, North Carolina, and was the second United States Navy ship to bear the name. In the early 1980s, the DURHAM was transfered to the Naval Reserve Force, but returned to the active fleet shortly afterwards because of the need for additional sealift capacity. Decommissioned on February 25, 1994, the DURHAM was subsequently laid up at the Naval Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility at Pearl Harbor, Hi. On August 30, 2020, she was sunk as a target off the Hawaiian coast during exercise RIMPAC 2020.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS DURHAM. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

• Click here to view the list.

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• Click here to see which USS DURHAM memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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USS DURHAM Cruise Books:

• Maiden Cruise Book 1970
• WestPac Cruise Book 1971
• WestPac Cruise Book 1974-75

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USS DURHAM History:

USS DURHAM, the second ship of the CHARLESTON-class of amphibious cargo ships, was ordered on June 11, 1965, and laid down as AKA 114 at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia, on July 10, 1967. The ship was launched on March 29, 1968, sponsored by Mrs. Alton A. Lennon. As part of the Navy-wide redesignation of attack cargo ships, her classification was changed from AKA 114 to LKA 114 on January 1, 1969. Newport News Shipbuilding delivered her to the Navy on April 10, 1969, and USS DURHAM was commissioned at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, on May 24, 1969, with Captain John D. Stensrud as her first commanding officer.

Following commissioning, trials, and initial training in 1969, USS DURHAM transferred to the Pacific Fleet. Her arrival in Pacific service coincided with the period in which the United States was progressively reducing its military presence in South Vietnam. Amphibious ships remained necessary for contingency operations, but an increasing proportion of their work involved transporting personnel, vehicles, ammunition, and equipment out of the combat theater.

USS DURHAM was operating in Vietnamese waters by March 1970. She was at Da Nang on March 20 and March 21. As part of the continuing withdrawal of Marine forces, elements of 1st Battalion, 13th Marines embarked aboard DURHAM beginning on March 21 for transportation away from Vietnam. Those personnel remained in transit aboard the ship until early April as they moved toward the United States, where the battalion was subsequently deactivated. The movement formed part of the broader reduction of Marine forces under the American redeployment program.

DURHAM continued operating in the Vietnam theater throughout 1970. Her official campaign record includes service on June 11, July 20 and July 21, August 18 and August 19, and September 6 and September 7. Documented operations brought her repeatedly into the Da Nang area as the Navy and Marine Corps continued transferring personnel and material out of South Vietnam. She also operated through Subic Bay in the Philippines, the principal United States naval logistics and repair base in the Western Pacific, which supported the ships maintaining the American naval presence off Vietnam.

USS DURHAM remained active in Vietnamese waters during 1971. Her official service periods include April 22 through April 24 and June 8 through June 11. Marine Corps records from June document vehicles and trailers being assembled for embarkation aboard DURHAM and USS TUSCALOOSA (LST 1187) at Da Nang. These activities reflected the changing naval mission in the theater as the United States accelerated the withdrawal of forces and the removal of equipment.

During 1972 and 1973, USS DURHAM continued service with Pacific Fleet amphibious forces. The ship remained available for Marine embarkations, exercises, readiness operations, and Western Pacific deployments. These years fell between the major American withdrawal from Vietnam and the final emergency evacuations in Indochina.

A Western Pacific deployment began during the autumn of 1974. On October 18, USS DUBUQUE (LPD 8) departed the United States in company with USS THOMASTON (LSD 28), USS DURHAM, USS VANCOUVER (LPD 2), and USS BLUE RIDGE (LCC 19). The ships trained during their transit across the Pacific before entering the Western Pacific operating area. By November 9, Amphibious Ready Group Bravo consisted of USS DUBUQUE, USS DURHAM, and USS FREDERICK (LST 1184). During November and December 1974, the amphibious group participated in Mablex 1-75, associated with the Philippine-American Exercise Bayanihan, in the Paluan Bay area of Mindoro. The exercise involved combined American and Philippine amphibious operations and was interrupted by storm-avoidance movements caused by Typhoon Irma. After weather conditions permitted a return to the area, amphibious landing operations resumed.

The deployment continued into 1975. By February 5, Amphibious Ready Group Bravo still comprised the three ships. DURHAM and FREDERICK transported rear elements of Battalion Landing Team 1/9 from Numazu, Japan, toward Pohang, South Korea, while DUBUQUE carried forward elements of the battalion. The ships assembled for Battalion Landing Exercise 2-75. The exercise was completed on February 24, after which the force returned toward Okinawa. The activity was part of the continuing American commitment to demonstrate the ability to reinforce South Korea during the Cold War.

Within weeks, the regional situation changed dramatically. During March and April 1975, North Vietnamese forces advanced rapidly through South Vietnam, producing the collapse of successive South Vietnamese defensive positions and a major refugee crisis. United States naval units operating offshore assisted civilians attempting to escape from areas threatened by the advance. USS DURHAM became directly involved in these humanitarian operations off Phan Rang on April 3 and April 4, 1975. Vietnamese civilians reached the ship aboard small craft and were taken aboard before later being transferred to other shipping. Contemporary documentation differs on the exact numbers involved in individual phases of the operation, but the overall evacuation aboard DURHAM involved more than 3,800 refugees during the two-day period. On April 5, 3,586 evacuees were transferred from DURHAM to the merchant ship TRANS COLORADO off Vung Tau. The operation was one of several improvised naval efforts to move civilians away from the rapidly collapsing South Vietnamese coastal regions.

By late April, the crisis had reached Saigon itself. When fixed-wing evacuation from the capital became impossible, the United States initiated Operation Frequent Wind, the helicopter evacuation of American citizens, eligible Vietnamese nationals, and other evacuees from Saigon. USS DURHAM was assigned to the Seventh Fleet amphibious force assembled offshore and operated with USS DUBUQUE and USS FREDERICK as part of Task Group 76.5. Preparatory activity aboard DURHAM had already included the assembly of supplies for the anticipated evacuation operation by April 23. DURHAM received official Vietnam campaign credit for April 29 and April 30, 1975. Her role was as part of the amphibious and logistical force supporting the evacuation from offshore. Operation Frequent Wind ended as Saigon fell on April 30.

The events of April 1975 marked the end of DURHAM's principal involvement in the Vietnam conflict. She then returned to the normal pattern of Pacific Fleet amphibious training, forward deployment, and readiness operations. During 1976 the ship continued these duties.

By January 1977, USS DURHAM was again assigned to Amphibious Ready Group Bravo. A Marine Corps status report for January 5 listed the group as USS DUBUQUE, USS DURHAM, and USS RACINE (LST 1191). The logistics support element of Battalion Landing Team 2/9 was embarked aboard DURHAM. At that time, DURHAM was proceeding toward Subic Bay. The ready group continued supporting the regular rotation of Marine landing forces in the Western Pacific, including training centered on Okinawa and regional contingency readiness.

USS DURHAM continued Pacific amphibious operations during 1978. Early in 1979, DURHAM was once again assigned to Amphibious Ready Group Bravo. The group consisted of USS DUBUQUE, USS DURHAM, USS FRESNO (LST 1182), and USS CAYUGA (LST 1186), with Battalion Landing Team 1/9 providing the Marine landing force. At the beginning of January, DUBUQUE and CAYUGA were visiting Hong Kong while DURHAM and FRESNO were proceeding toward Subic Bay, where arrival was expected on January 5. The deployment formed part of the continuing American amphibious presence maintained in East Asia following the Vietnam War.

During the early 1980s, the Navy reorganized portions of its amphibious fleet to retain useful lift capacity while reducing active-duty manpower requirements. USS DURHAM was transferred to the Naval Reserve Force. By May 1982, official Marine Corps documentation identified DURHAM, USS MOBILE (LKA 115), and USS RACINE as Pacific Fleet Naval Reserve Force amphibious ships. Under the reserve-force concept, the ships were maintained by reduced active-duty crews supplemented by Naval Reservists during training and activation periods. Despite the reserve designation, DURHAM retained substantial operational capability and continued to deploy.

A major Western Pacific and Indian Ocean deployment began on January 30, 1983. USS DURHAM deployed as part of Amphibious Squadron Three with USS NEW ORLEANS (LPH 11), USS VANCOUVER, USS DENVER (LPD 9), USS SCHENECTADY (LST 1185), and USS BARBOUR COUNTY (LST 1195). The deployment lasted until July 15 and included several major exercises.

During the early months of the deployment, the amphibious force participated in Exercise Team Spirit, the annual large-scale United States-Republic of Korea exercise. Team Spirit practiced reinforcement and combined defense of South Korea and involved the rapid movement of American naval, air, ground, and Marine forces to the Korean theater. The exercise took place against the continuing Cold War confrontation on the Korean Peninsula and was one of the largest recurring American military exercises in East Asia. DURHAM also participated in a Valiant Usher exercise with Australian forces. The Valiant Usher series emphasized combined amphibious warfare and gave American and Australian forces repeated opportunities to practice ship-to-shore movement, command arrangements, landing-force logistics, and operations in unfamiliar coastal environments. During the same deployment, the amphibious force participated in Exercise Tangent Flash beginning on April 26 and in Exercise Valiant Blitz from June 4 through June 11, including amphibious operations in the Okinawa region.

An unusual operation occurred during the 1983 deployment when USS DURHAM participated in the recovery of a sunken landing vehicle in Dingalan Bay in the Philippines. The recovery was sufficiently notable to be included in the Navy's later historical evaluation of the ship. After more than five months of Western Pacific and Indian Ocean operations, DURHAM completed the deployment on July 15, 1983.

The ship remained active in Pacific amphibious training during 1984. On October 18, USS DURHAM departed San Diego with an Amphibious Squadron Five deployment that included USS OKINAWA (LPH 3), USS CLEVELAND (LPD 7), and USS FORT FISHER (LSD 40). During the westward transit, the force participated in Exercise Bell Volcano 85-1 in Hawaiian waters beginning on October 29. The exercise provided amphibious training before the force continued toward the Western Pacific.

DURHAM remained involved in major Pacific exercises during 1985, including Rim of the Pacific 1985. Later in the year, she undertook an extensive Western Pacific and Indian Ocean operating period with ships of Amphibious Squadron Five, including USS OKINAWA, USS CLEVELAND, and USS FORT FISHER. From August 9 through August 31, the force conducted its Pacific transit and reached the Subic Bay area at the beginning of September.

The ships temporarily left Subic Bay for storm avoidance on September 4 and September 5. On September 8, the amphibious group began moving south toward Australia. From September 19 through September 23, DURHAM participated in Valiant Usher 85-5AS off Western Australia, a combined United States-Australian amphibious exercise. Following the exercise, DURHAM visited Fremantle from September 24 through September 30. On October 2, USS DURHAM and USS CLEVELAND separated from the principal amphibious formation and proceeded toward Penang, Malaysia. They reached Penang for a port visit on October 9 and October 10. The two ships departed on October 11 and proceeded to Singapore, where they remained from October 12 through October 17. They sailed from Singapore on October 18 and continued their Western Pacific operations.

During 1986, USS DURHAM underwent a significant Selected Restricted Availability at Southwest Marine in San Diego. The repair contract was valued at approximately $3.187 million, with completion scheduled for July 1986. The availability involved repair, maintenance, preservation, and modernization work intended to sustain the aging amphibious cargo ship for continued service.

USS DURHAM returned to major overseas exercises in 1987 as part of Amphibious Squadron Five. The amphibious force included USS TRIPOLI (LPH 10), USS DULUTH (LPD 6), USS GERMANTOWN (LSD 42), USS FREDERICK, and USS DURHAM. From September 11 through September 16, more than 4,000 Marines and sailors of the 13th Marine Amphibious Unit and Amphibious Squadron Five participated in Exercise Valiant Usher 87 off Western Australia. The exercise involved Australian forces and practiced combined amphibious operations.

Early in 1988, USS DURHAM participated in Exercise Kernel Blitz 88-1 from February 1 through February 15 off southern California. Training was centered on the waters off San Clemente Island and the Camp Pendleton area and tested command and control, ship-to-shore movement, Marine landing-force operations, and the integration of newer amphibious systems with older ships. Soon afterward, DURHAM entered another major maintenance period. On March 4, 1988, Southwest Marine in San Diego received a contract valued at approximately $7.611 million for a Drydocking Phased Maintenance Availability on the ship. Completion was scheduled for July 1. This availability represented one of the most substantial documented shipyard periods of DURHAM's later service and was intended to preserve her material condition for continued deployment.

Later in 1988, DURHAM again participated in the Valiant Usher exercise series. During Valiant Usher 88-5 on November 8, a CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter was documented conducting flight operations with DURHAM. Although the CHARLESTON-class ships lacked aircraft hangars, their stern flight decks allowed helicopters to embark or discharge personnel and cargo and enabled them to support vertical-lift portions of amphibious operations.

USS DURHAM remained active on the United States West Coast during 1989 and continued amphibious readiness and training. She was photographed underway off San Diego on January 12.

The most consequential deployment of DURHAM's later career began in 1990. The 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit departed Southern California on June 20 embarked aboard an Amphibious Squadron Five group consisting of USS OKINAWA, USS OGDEN (LPD 5), USS FORT McHENRY (LSD 43), USS CAYUGA, and USS DURHAM. The embarked Marine force included Battalion Landing Team 1/4, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 164, and Marine Service Support Group 13. The deployment had originally been planned as a routine approximately six-month Western Pacific cruise. During July, the amphibious force trained in the Philippines. On July 16, a major earthquake struck Luzon, causing extensive destruction and casualties. American units already in the region participated in relief operations, and elements of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit assisted during the aftermath. DURHAM remained with the amphibious group supporting the deployed force.

The strategic situation changed abruptly on August 2, 1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait. The invasion led the United States and a growing international coalition to begin the rapid deployment of military forces to Southwest Asia under Operation Desert Shield. The planned Western Pacific itinerary of the amphibious group was altered, and the ships moved toward the Middle East. The Amphibious Squadron Five group reached the Gulf of Oman operating area on September 7. The arrival of USS DURHAM and the other amphibious ships gave United States Central Command a sea-based Marine force at a time when coalition forces were still rapidly assembling in Saudi Arabia and neighboring areas. During the autumn, the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit prepared for several possible missions, including amphibious raids, seizure of offshore objectives, maritime interception, and reinforcement operations.

One important task was preparation for the enforcement of United Nations sanctions against Iraq. Naval forces stopped and inspected merchant ships suspected of violating the embargo. On October 24, the Marines conducted realistic boarding training aboard USS DURHAM, which was used as a simulated merchant vessel. An Arabic-speaking officer played the role of an uncooperative master while the boarding force practiced procedures for gaining control of a vessel. On October 26, another training boarding was conducted aboard USNS ANDREW J. HIGGINS (T-AO 190).

On November 10, the amphibious group was temporarily released from direct Central Command operational control and proceeded eastward while remaining subject to rapid recall. The ships reached Subic Bay on November 19. During this period, the force conducted maintenance, restored equipment, and participated in Exercise Valiant Usher 91-1A. As the international deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait approached, the amphibious force was recalled toward Southwest Asia.

By January 1991, USS DURHAM had joined a much larger concentration of amphibious ships assembled for the possible liberation of Kuwait. The force included the five ships of DURHAM's group as well as USS TARAWA (LHA 1), USS MOBILE, USS VANCOUVER, USS DENVER, USS JUNEAU (LPD 10), USS NEW ORLEANS, USS TRIPOLI, USS ANCHORAGE (LSD 36), USS MOUNT VERNON (LSD 39), USS GERMANTOWN, USS PEORIA (LST 1183), USS FREDERICK, and USS BARBOUR COUNTY. The concentration gave coalition commanders the option of conducting a substantial amphibious landing along the Kuwaiti coast and compelled Iraqi forces to prepare against that possibility.

Operation Desert Storm began on January 17, 1991. USS DURHAM remained with the forward amphibious force during the main combat period and qualified for the Combat Action Ribbon for service from January 17 through February 28. The ship did not provide naval gunfire or operate an embarked fixed aviation group; her contribution was amphibious cargo lift, logistical support, command integration within the task force, and the maintenance of landing-force capability from the sea.

On January 29, USS OKINAWA, USS OGDEN, USS FORT McHENRY, USS CAYUGA, and USS DURHAM operated in connection with the Marine seizure of Umm al Maradim Island off Kuwait. When Marines landed, they encountered no Iraqi troops because the island's garrison had already withdrawn. Weapons, ammunition, air-defense equipment, and other abandoned Iraqi military material were found ashore and were captured or destroyed.

The large amphibious force remained an important element of coalition deception planning. Iraqi forces had constructed substantial coastal defenses because an amphibious assault against Kuwait remained a credible possibility. In the early hours of February 25, after the coalition ground offensive had begun, the aviation combat element of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit conducted a helicopter demonstration toward the Ash Shuaybah area. The operation was designed to reinforce Iraqi expectations that a landing might occur along the coast while the principal coalition ground attack advanced from Saudi Arabia and through the western desert. DURHAM remained part of the supporting sea-based force.

Following the collapse of organized Iraqi resistance in Kuwait, the amphibious force conducted operations intended to secure offshore territory and deal with remaining Iraqi troops. On March 4, 1991, Marines of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit landed on Faylaka Island and accepted the surrender of more than 1,400 Iraqi military personnel; contemporary Marine Corps accounts give a figure of approximately 1,413 prisoners. The prisoners included troops associated with Iraqi naval infantry and other units that had remained on the island after the ceasefire. They were subsequently moved to USS OGDEN for processing.

With major operations in Southwest Asia completed, the Amphibious Squadron Five ships began their return toward the United States. The group reached Subic Bay on March 24. Four ships departed on March 28, but USS DURHAM remained behind temporarily because of an engineering casualty. Approximately 36 hours later, she resumed the homeward voyage. Additional engineering problems aboard USS CAYUGA complicated the movement of the returning ships, but DURHAM continued across the Pacific and arrived at San Diego on April 17, 1991. The deployment had lasted almost ten months and had developed far beyond its original Western Pacific purpose.

USS DURHAM began another Western Pacific and Indian Ocean deployment with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit on January 6, 1992. Amphibious Squadron Five included USS OKINAWA, USS DULUTH, USS FORT McHENRY, USS TUSCALOOSA, and USS DURHAM. The deployment took the ships through the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, Southwest Asian waters, and the East African region. USS DURHAM was photographed departing Subic Bay on February 7 after a one-week port visit. The deployment occurred during the final months of the long American naval presence at Subic Bay. Following the Philippine Senate's rejection of a new bases agreement, the United States was withdrawing from the installation, ending an important Pacific basing relationship that had existed in various forms for nearly a century.

During the spring of 1992, the amphibious force operated off East Africa. DURHAM was documented in the vicinity of Malindi, Kenya, in early April. The deployment also included operations and exercises elsewhere in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific before the ships returned toward the Philippines and ultimately the United States. The 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit became the final deploying Marine Expeditionary Unit to use Subic Bay before the end of the American base presence. The deployment concluded on July 6, 1992.

After her return, USS DURHAM entered a restricted availability at San Diego and was formally recorded in that status on October 1, 1992. By then, she had served for more than twenty-three years, and newer classes of amphibious ships were increasingly replacing the specialized cargo ships and tank landing ships that had formed the backbone of earlier amphibious forces. DURHAM continued limited Pacific Fleet service during the remaining period of her commissioned career.

USS DURHAM was decommissioned on February 25, 1994. She subsequently entered inactive reserve status and was eventually berthed at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. By March 30, 2000, she was documented there in Category B reserve status. The Navy initially retained the ship because her large cargo capacity could potentially provide additional amphibious lift in a major contingency, but the likelihood of reactivation diminished steadily as newer ships entered service and the material condition of the inactive CHARLESTON-class vessels deteriorated.

During the 2000s and 2010s, the Navy periodically reviewed the inactive CHARLESTON-class ships. Their age, corrosion, obsolete equipment, and the growing cost of reactivation eventually outweighed the value of maintaining them as reserve assets. USS DURHAM was formally stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on August 31, 2015. Unlike some of her sister ships that were eventually designated for dismantling, the former USS DURHAM was selected for disposal as a live-fire target. Her final operation came during Rim of the Pacific 2020, conducted around the Hawaiian Islands from August 17 through August 31. Because of the global coronavirus pandemic, the exercise was reduced in scope and conducted largely at sea. Ten nations, 22 surface ships, one submarine, aircraft, and approximately 5,300 personnel participated.

Before use as a target, the former DURHAM underwent the environmental preparation required for Navy sinking exercises. Petroleum products, hazardous materials, and other potential contaminants were removed or remediated in accordance with federal environmental regulations. The selected sinking area was more than 50 nautical miles from land and in water deeper than 1,000 fathoms. USNS SIOUX (T-ATF 171) towed the former DURHAM from Pearl Harbor to the designated target area and released her for the multinational sinking exercise. The live-fire sequence began on August 29, 2020. USS JEFFERSON CITY (SSN 759) fired a Mk 48 heavyweight torpedo against the former amphibious cargo ship. United States Navy helicopters from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 37 employed Hellfire missiles, while an aircraft of Patrol Squadron 46 fired an AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile. USS LAKE ERIE (CG 70) also fired a Harpoon, and USS CHUNG-HOON (DDG 93) engaged DURHAM with her 5-inch gun.

Allied ships and aircraft participated as well. KDB DARULEHSAN (OPV 07) of the Royal Brunei Navy fired an Exocet anti-ship missile. HMAS STUART (FFH 153) of the Royal Australian Navy engaged the target with her 5-inch gun, while an Australian MH-60R helicopter fired Hellfire missiles. HMCS REGINA (FFH 334) of the Royal Canadian Navy launched two Harpoon missiles. The event allowed participating forces to practice detection, targeting, weapon employment, multinational coordination, and battle-damage assessment against a full-size naval target.

After absorbing the combined attacks, the former USS DURHAM sank shortly after midnight local time on August 30, 2020, in deep water north of Hawaii. Her sinking ended a physical existence extending more than fifty-two years from her launch in March 1968 and more than twenty-six years after her decommissioning.

Official Navy records credit USS DURHAM with a Navy Unit Commendation, two Meritorious Unit Commendations, Battle Efficiency recognition, two National Defense Service Medal awards, six Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal awards, Vietnam Service Medal credit, three Southwest Asia Service Medal awards, ten Sea Service Deployment Ribbons, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. She also qualified for the Combat Action Ribbon for operations between January 17 and February 28, 1991.

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USS DURHAM SINKEX:

Ex-USS DURHAM was sunk as a target during exercise RIMPAC 2020 on August 30, 2020, off Hawaii. The video shows the decommissioned ship being hit by three anti-ship missiles. The SINKEX involved live fire from ships and aircraft. Official US Navy video.

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USS DURHAM Image Gallery:

The photo below was taken by me on July 29, 2006, and shows the DURHAM [front] berthed at the Naval Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility in Pearl Harbor, HI. The other ships are ST. LOUIS (LKA 116) [moored alongside behind the DURHAM], the ACADIA (AD 42) [behind the two amphibious cargo ships] and the DULUTH (LPD 6) [background].

The photos below were taken by me on March 20, 2010, and show the DURHAM still laid-up at the Naval Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility in Pearl Harbor, HI.

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