MAJ STEPHEN W PLESS T-AK 3007
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.
- USNS MAJOR STEPHEN W. PLESS T-AK 3007
Placed In Service 1985 -
SGT Matej Kocak Class Maritime Prepositioning Ship
Built by Sun Ship Building Co.as "SS Charles Carroll" a Maritime Administration type (C7-S-133a) hull
Delivered to the Maritime Administration in 1983 for operation by the Waterman Steamship Corp.
Acquired by the U.S. Navy under a long-term charter in 1985
This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). 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.
- Covers Page 1 (2007-12)
Postmarks
This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). 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.
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Postmark Type |
Postmark Date |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
|---|
|
Locy Type |
2005-04-12 |
 |
N/A |
Note: Postmark courtesy of the USCS Postmark Survey, March 2005 by Paul Bunter.
|
USPS Slogan |
2007-03-21 |
 |
 |
Note: Ship's Marking
|
USPS Slogan |
2007-03-21 |
 |
|
Note: Ship's Marking on the back of this cover.
|
Unused |
2007-03-21 |
 |
 |
Note: Picture postcard of the ship with ship's marking.
|
Locy Type |
2012-01-06 |
 |
 |
Serviced by Leonhard Venne, USCS #9987
|
Locy Type SL |
2012-01-06 |
 |
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Serviced by Leonhard Venne, USCS #9987
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Ship's Marking |
2012-01-06 |
 |
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Serviced by Leonhard Venne, USCS #9987
|
Ship's Marking |
2012-01-06 |
 |
 |
Serviced by Leonhard Venne, USCS #9987
|
USPS Pictorial |
2007-08-07 |
 |
 |
The postmark is for Major Pless being awarded the Medal of Honor. The cachet shows the ship that is named in his honor.
Other Information
NAMESAKE - Major Stephen W. Pless, USMC (September 6 1939 - July 20 1969)
Pless served as a UH-1 "Huey" helicopter pilot in Vietnam from August 1966 until September 1967. In addition to earning the Medal of Honor during his tour, Pless was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Silver Star medal, the Bronze Star medal, the Air Medal with seven Silver Stars and two Gold Stars, the Navy Commendation Medal with a Combat V, the Purple Heart, the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Order of Military Merit, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.
During his tour, Pless successfully flew 780 combat missions. At the time that he was promoted to the rank of Major, Pless was the youngest Marine officer to hold that rank. Pless was the 18th Marine to receive the Medal of Honor during the course of the Vietnam War, but was the only Marine aviator to do so.
After his return from Vietnam, Pless served as a Marine Aviator flight instructor. Stephen Pless was killed in a motorcycle accident in Pensacola, Florida on July 20, 1969, just over six months after receiving the nation's highest award for gallantry in action.
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