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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1st Commissioning August 9 1943 to August 30 1946

 

Locy Type 2z

1945-03-01

Censored wartime (WWII) use

 

Locy Type 2z*

1944-09-25

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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2nd Commissioning December 27 1950 to November 12 1969

 

Locy Type 2

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)

1968-12-25

Christmas, cachet by E-F Cachets

 

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 - December 1943
* Marshall Islands operation, Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, January - February 1944
* Marianas operation, Capture and occupation of Saipan, June 1944
* Tinian capture and occupation, July 1944
* Leyte operation, Leyte Gulf landings, October 1944
* Luzon operation, Lingayen Gulf landings - Abuyo and San Pedro Bay, January 1945
* Iwo Jima operation, Assault and capture of Iwo Jima, February - March 1945

Earned 7 Campaign Stars (Vietnam)
* Vietnam Defense, July - October 1965
* Vietnamese Counteroffensive, February - April 1966
* Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase II, October - November 1966
* Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase III, September 1967 - January 1968
* Tet Counteroffensive, February 1968
* Tet69/Counteroffensive, March - June 1969
* Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969, June - August 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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