HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 62

BY  ISENHART, HEIN, LUKAN, MOORE, MURPHY, and VANDER LINDEN

A Resolution honoring the four-decade saga of the USS Dubuque and its crew.

   WHEREAS, after over 40 years of service, from Vietnam to the Horn of Africa, the USS Dubuque is scheduled for decommissioning on June 30, 2011, and will be placed in reserve; and
   WHEREAS, LPD-8, as the USS Dubuque is designated, was commissioned in 1967 as an amphibious transport dock; and
   WHEREAS, the USS Dubuque saw extensive duty in Vietnam, earning eight campaign stars for Vietnam service, and in a highly publicized event in October 1968, the ship returned 14 repatriated prisoners of war to North Vietnam; and
   WHEREAS, in the final chapter of the Vietnam conflict, in April 1975 the USS Dubuque participated in the evacuation of Saigon and the rescue of refugees fleeing South Vietnam; and
   WHEREAS, over the decades the USS Dubuque saw service throughout the globe and has received two Navy Unit Commendations, four Meritorious Unit Commendations, three Battle Efficiency Awards, three Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals, and four Humanitarian Service Medals, and participated in countless amphibious exercises and operations throughout the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans; and
   WHEREAS, most recently in 2010 the USS Dubuque and its crew completed a humanitarian mission, providing support services in a massive humanitarian and disaster relief effort for the flood-ravaged nation of Pakistan; NOW THEREFORE,

   BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That the House of Representatives honors the men and women who have served aboard the USS Dubuque and honors the ship itself for over four decades of military and humanitarian service.