Week 8: Refocus

Formatting Interviews & Refocusing

This week on the Veterans History Project I have had the duty of refocusing on existing interviews and revisiting questions for consideration. I've been assigned the task of inventing a new question series in the aftermath of both COVID-19 and now Hurricane Ian. Veterans pose a unique take on the individual response to tragedy and pandemic with their time in service and existing conditions during their time in service. The questions I am instructed to create pertain to this idea; How has a veteran's service changed or ordered their actions in response to a societal crisis? What changed in perspective? What stayed the same? Its important to register not only the memory of a Veteran, but also how that memory has shaped the individual. 

 USS La Salle (LPD-3, AFG-3)

The USS La Salle (LPD-3), awarded August 3, 1963, is the second ship of the Veteran we previously discussed prior to the destruction of Hurricane Ian. The USS La Salle had an extensive career with many distinct jobs throughout it's life. The amphibious transport dock made it's first appearance among the 80 ships in Operation Steel Pike I, a training exercise off the coast of Spain (Sea Forces, 2022). From there, the ship spent a year in Naples, Italy before it's return to Norfolk where it was reassigned to the Caribbean Amphibious Ready Squadron; The USS La Salle (LPD-3) served as Command and Control for the American involvement in the Dominican Republic revolution in 1965 (Sea Forces, 2022). 

After that, the ship returned to Norfolk where it was upgrade and reconstructed before it's reassignment as a Miscellaneous Command Ship in 1972 (Sea Forces, 2022). The ship was given the nickname "The Great White Ghost of the Arabian Coast" after being painted white for a Middle East deployment in 1972. In 1979, the ship played a large role in the evacuation of 260 American and foreign national civilians from the Iranian seaport of Bandar Abbas, becoming the leading ship of the Persian Gulf at the outset of the Iranian Hostage Crisis (Sea Force, 2022). The USS La Salle (AFG-3) became a flagship leading mine sweeps and providing primary fire fighting rescue assistance during Yemen's civil war and Operation Desert Storm before returning to Norfolk (Sea Forces, 2022). The ship commenced her role following September 11th, 2001 serving in support of "Operation Enduring Freedom" and "Operation Iraqi Freedom" (Sea Forces, 2022). Ultimately, the ship was sunk as a target during a Missile Exercise with USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) in Pensacola, Florida on April 12, 2007 (Sea Forces, 2022). 

Bibliography

“LPD 3 / AGF 3  -  USS LaSalle.” Sea Forces. Accessed October 12, 2022. https://www.seaforces.org/usnships/lpd/LPD-3-USS-LaSalle.htm.