USS Dubuque

USS Dubuque (LPD-8) is an of the United States Navy. USS Dubuque is the second ship named after Dubuque, Iowa on the Mississippi River and her founder, Julien Dubuque - a French Canadian explorer. USS Dubuque was commissioned on 1 September 1967 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia. History Dubuques keel was laid down on 25 January 1965 by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was launched on 6 August 1966 and commissioned on 1 September 1967 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia. In November 1967, the ship arrived at her first homeport of San Diego, California after transiting the Panama Canal. From 1968 until 1975, She made five Western Pacific deployments that saw extensive duty in Vietnam. In a highly publicized event in October 1968, the ship returned 14 repatriated prisoners of war (POWs) to North Vietnam. From 1969 until 1971 the ship conducted ten Operation Keystone Cardinal troop lifts to Okinawa as part of the withdrawal of US forces. Dubuque relieved as the launch platform for HMA-369's Marine Hunter-Killer (MARHUK) Operations near Hon La (Tiger Island) off the coast of North Vietnam. From February to June 1973 the ship operated helicopters that conducted naval mine clearance operations in Haiphong Harbor as part of Operation End Sweep. In April 1975 the ship participated in Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of Saigon and the rescue of refugees fleeing South Vietnam.