BELLE GROVE LSD 2

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Ashland Class Dock Landing Ship Originally authorized as Mechanized Artillery Transport (APM) Reclassified Landing Ship Dock (LSD) July 1 1941 Keel Laid October 27 1942 - Launched February 17 1943 USS BELLE GROVE LSD-2 Commissioned August 9 1943 - Decommissioned August 30 1946 Recommissioned December 27 1950 - Decommissioned November 12 1969 Struck from Naval Register November 12 1969 Sold July 24 1970 to N. W. Kennedy Ltd, Vancouver, B.C. for scrap

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. Covers Page 1     (1944-68)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Date From to Date To	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

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Post Office Established August 30 1943 - Disestablished July 16 1946

 

Locy Type 2z

1945-03-01

Censored wartime (WWII) use

 

Locy Type 2z*

1944-11-28

Censored wartime (WWII) use

 

Locy Type P (9efu with "NEW YORK, NY" removed)

1946-05-06 to 1946-05-10

Note:

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Post Office Reestablished March 12 1951 - Disestablished 1969

 

Locy Type FDPS 2 Mar 12, 1951

1951-03-12

First Day Postal Service

 

Locy Type 2

1954-08-23

Note:

 

Locy Type 2 ("U.S.S. narrower)

1956-12-31

Territory of Hawaii cachet by George V. Sadworth. The ship was at Long Beach CA at this time.

 

Locy Type 2(n) (USS)

1963-03-27

Note:

 

Locy Type 2(n+) (USS)

1968-12-25

Christmas, cachet by E-F Cachets

 

Locy Type 9efu

1954-08-23

Note:

 

Locy Type 9efu

1956-12-31

Territory of Hawaii cachet by George V. Sadworth. The ship was at Long Beach CA at this time.

 

Other Information

BELLE GROVE earned 7 Battle Stars (WWII)
* Gilbert Islands operation
Makin Island, November 20 to December 2 1943
* Marshall Islands operation
Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, January 31 to February 8 1944
* Marianas operation
Capture and occupation of Saipan, July 15-28 1944
* Tinian capture and occupation
July 21-28 1944
* Leyte operation
Leyte Gulf landings, October 20, October 31 to November 9 and November 13-21 1944
* Luzon operation
Lingayen Gulf landings - Abuyo and San Pedro Bay, January 9-16 1945
* Iwo Jima operation
Assault and capture of Iwo Jima, February 19 to March 16 1945

Earned 7 Campaign Stars (Vietnam)
* Vietnam Defense
July 4 to August 27 1965
September 4-10 1965
September 17-18 1965
September 28-29 1965
October 23-24 1965
* Vietnamese Counteroffensive
February 9-12 1966
March 5 to April 23 1966
* Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase II
October 20 to November 4 1966
* Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase III
September 7 to October 26 1967
November 8-21 1967
November 26 to December 1 1967
December 21-25 1967
January 1-5 1968
* Tet Counteroffensive
February 3-6 1968
* Tet69/Counteroffensive
March 4 to March 7 1969
March 16-20 1969
March 26-31 1969
April 3-10 1969
May 20-23 1969
May 30 to June 2 1969
June 5-8 1969
* Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969
June 11-17 1969
June 21-30 1969
July 14-17 1969
July 27 to August 1 1969
August 3-15 1969

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons...
China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (7) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (1-Cuba, 3-Vietnam) - Vietnam Service Medal (7) - Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (6) - Philippines Liberation Medal (2) - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal

NAMESAKE - The site of a home and plantation in King George County, Va., the birthplace of President James Madison

 

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If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.

 

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