RICHARD M McCOOL JR LPD 29

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.

San Antonio Class Amphibious Transport Dock Naming Ceremony by SecNav Richard V. Spencer 2 May 2018 Keel Authenticated 12 April 2019 - Launched 5 January 2022 Christened 11 June 2022 - Delivered to USN 11 April 2024 USS RICHARD M. McCOOL LPD-29 Commissioned 7 September 2024

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. USS Richard M. McCool Jr. LPD-29 Covers Page 1     (2019-2022)

 

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	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

Locy Type FDC 11-2y (USS, FPO AE 09591) (Unit 100332 Box 1)

2024-09-07

Commissioning, cachet by Mike Brock

 

Locy Type 12-2cy (USS, FPO AE 09591) (Unit 100332 Box 1)

2024-12-11

Collector request by Foster E. Miller, III

 

Other Information

NAMESAKE - Captain Richard Miles McCool, Jr., USN (4 January 1922 – 5 March 2008)
        McCool was born in Oklahoma. McCool graduated from high school at the age of 15. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in political science. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, he was accepted into a new Navy ROTC program, and later was appointed to the Naval Academy. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1944 (his class of 1945 graduated a year early). By June 10, 1945, he was serving as a lieutenant on the USS LCS(L)(3)-122, a Landing Craft Support ship. On that day, off the coast of Okinawa Island, McCool helped rescue the survivors of sinking destroyer USS William D. Porter DD-579. The next day, his own ship was hit by a Japanese kamikaze. Although he suffered severe burns and shrapnel wounds in the initial explosion, McCool continued to lead his crew in the firefighting and rescue efforts until relief arrived. For his actions during the Battle of Okinawa in World War II, McCool received the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor.
         He also served in the Korean War and in the Vietnam War. He retired at the rank of Captain in 1974 after a 30-year career.
        Capt. McCool earned the Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korea Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with one Campaign star and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal during his Naval career.

The ships sponsors are Shana McCool and Kate Oja, granddaughters of Captain Richard M. McCool, Jr.

 

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