HISTORY
OF THE
U. S. S. UVALDE (AKA-88) / (LKA-88)
The USS UVALDE (AKA-88), formerly the SS WILD PIGEON, was build by the Moor Drydock Company, Oakland, California. Prior to her commissioning on 20 May 1944 she was acquired by the Navy and renamed for Uvalde County, Texas, the home of former Vice-President John Nance Garner. World War II found the UVALDE active in numerous Pacific Theater Campaigns. Her first deployment took her to Manus Island, Admiralty Island. There on 10 November 1944, after the explosion and sinking of the ammunition ship USS MOUNT HOOD (AE-11), the UVALDE provide vital assistance to ships in the harbor suffering heavy casualties from the blast.
After several missions in the vicinity of New Guinea she became a part of Task Group 77-9 then deployed in Lingayen Gulf, Luzon. It was here that she first braved the infamous Japanese Kamikaze attacks. Her next port was Biak, in the Southern Group of Leyte Gulf where she joined Task Group 78-5 headed for Mindoro Island and Leyte. After weeks of detailed preparation and training she sailed to Okinawa. During the assault on 3 April 1945 the UVALDE was credited with shooting down a Japanese suicide plane making an attack on the USS LATIMER (APA-152).
After Okinawa the UVALDE shuttled troops and cargo between the Marianas, Eniwetok, Guam and Pearl Harbor. June of 1945 found her headed for Everett, Washington and drydock repairs. A scant two months later she was transporting troops and material to the Marianas, Hollandia, New Guinea and Brisbane, Australia. By February 1946 UVALDE was again ready for a states side yard overhaul. From Mare Island Naval Shipyard she returned to serve in parts of the Marianas, Okinawa and China. Up until mid-1950 the UVALDE's operation schedule consisted primarily of troop and cargo transport to vital outposts in the Western Pacific.
After WWII, the UVALDE joined the United Nations forces for the duration of the Korean conflict. In August of 1954, she participated in the "Passage to Freedom Operations" in which 600,000 Vietnamese civilians were evacuated to South Vietnam in order to escape the Communist regime in the North. During this time the Uvalde was in Tourane Bay a halfway point between Hanoi and Siagon. In 1957, the UVALDE was decommissioned and in November 1961, she was the first AKA to be re-activated for the Berlin Crisis. After fitting out, she was redesignated as an LKA-88 and transferred to the Atlantic Fleet. She home ported in Norfolk, Virginia where she served with a unit of the Amphibious Squadron Six. In 1962 the UVALDE served as a component of the American Blockade during the Cuban missile crisis and in 1964, while deployed with Amphibious Squadron Eight, she stood by during the Panamanian Riots. The UVALDE was twice called for duty in the Dominican Republic, once as a bulk fuel control ship in June of 1965 and then as a component of units involved in the withdrawal of American Forces in August of 1966.
In addition to her operational commitments, the UVALDE has been deployed three times to the Mediterranean and three times to the Caribbean since 1961, having returned to the USA in February 1968 from participation in exercises in the Caribbean. She returned from the Mediterranean exercises in August of 1968.
The UVALDE was declared obsolete and unfit for service and was decommissioned for a final time on November 29th, 1968 at the Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, Virginia. She was struck from the list of Navy Ships on December 1st, 1968 and sold to Levin Metals of San Jose, California to be scraped.
A Portion of the main mast, the ships bell and one of her anchors was taken to Uvalde, Texas where it now rests in a park on Main Street. Uvalde, Texas recently built a new library and museum where many artifacts of the ship are now on display. Items from the wheel house and from the Captain's Cabin as well as items donated by the crew.
U. S. S. UVALDE (AKA-88) / (LKA-88)
Built by
MOORE DRYDOCK COMPANY
Oakland, California
Keel Laid: 27 March 1944
Launched: 20 May 1944
Commissioned: 18 August 1944
Sponsor: Mrs. George J. Kern
Decommissioned: 2 January 1958
Recommissioned: 18 November 1961
Decommissioned: 29 November 1968
Struck from Naval Records: 1 December 1968
Sold to Levin Metal Company
San Diego, California
and scraped.
Captains of the USS Uvalde
LCDR William M. McCoy, USNR 18 Aug. 1944-13 Sep. 1945
LCDR Frank C. Dilworth, USN 13 Sep. 1945 - 23 Feb. 1946
CAPT Dominic L. Mattie, USN 28 Feb. 1946 - 14 Jun. 1946
LCDR Grady C. Pittard, Jr. USNR 14 Jun. 1946 - 20 Jun. 1946
CDR Alfred J. Oxley, USNR 20 Jun. 1946 - 5 Sep. 1946
CAPT Elwood C. Madsen, USN 5 Sep. 1946 - 14 Jan. 1948
CDR William S. Estabrook, Jr., USN 14 Jan. 1948 - 9 Mar. 1949
CAPT Guy P. Garland, USN 9 Mar. 1949 - 13 Mar. 1950
CAPT Louis F. Teuscher, USN 13 Mar. 1950 - 21 Jun. 1951
CAPT Ralph a. Wilheim, USN 21 Jun. 1951 - 25 Sep. 1952
CAPT Frederick s. Steinke, USN 25 Sep. 1952 - 18 Dec. 1953
CAPT Roy M. Davenport, USN 18 Dec. 1953 - 25 May 1955
CAPT Thomas G. War.eld, USN 25 May 1955 - 2 Aug. 1956
CAPT Robert O. Beer, USN 2 Aug 1956 - 13 Aug. 1957
CAPT Benjamin C. Fulghum, USN 13 Aug. 1957 - 2 Jan. 1958
CAPT Charles A. Baldwin, USN 18 Nov. 1961 - 19 Dec. 1962
CAPT William D. Owen, Jr., USN 19 Dec. 1962 - 20 Dec. 1963
CAPT Frederick W. Pennoyer III, USN 20 Dec. 1963 - 4 Dec. 1964
CAPT Francis A. Butler, USN 4 Dec. 1964 - 25 Nov. 1965
CAPT John O. Sherman, Jr., USN 25 Nov. 1965 - 18 Nov. 1966
CAPT Paul V. Purkrabek, USN 18 Nov. 1966 - 14 Jun. 1968
CAPT R. S. Smith, USN 14 Jun. 1968 - 29 Nov. 1968
SHIP'S CITATIONS & MEDALS WON
Assault and Occupation of Okinawa, 1 Star
Communist China Aggression, 1 Star
Second Korean Winter, 1 Star
Korea, Summer-Fall 1953, 1 Star
Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia)
China Service Medal (Extended)
United Nations Service Medal
Korean Service Metal
Korea Presidential Unit Citation Badge
State of Vietnam Presidential Unit Citation
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
National Defense Service Medal
compiled by Bob Ruyle 2004
