TARAWA LHA 1
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.
Keel Laid 15 November 1971 - Launched 1 December 1973 |
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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.
- USS Tarawa LHA-1 Covers Page 1 (1978-2009)
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 |
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Locy Type |
1976-05-29 |
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First Day in Commission. Ship's cachet, signed by CO.
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Locy Type |
1976-08-06 |
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Welcome to Home Port, San Diego CA. Cachet by USS California Chapter No. 51, USCS
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Locy Type |
1978-10-13 |
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Cachet by the Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
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Locy Type |
1993-11-20 |
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50th Anniversary of the Assault on Tarawa
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Locy Type |
1993-11-20 |
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50th Anniversary of the Assault on Tarawa
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Locy Type |
2000-11-10 |
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Collectors request, from the Thad Kaczkowski collection.
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Locy Type |
2006-04-13 |
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SASE to contributor Tom Kean.
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Locy Type |
2007-02-28 |
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Cachet by Philip R. Edwards
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Locy Type |
2008-12-04 |
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Deactivation, from the Thad Kaczkowski collection.
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Locy Type |
2001-03-23 |
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Cachet by Charles B. (CB) Hall, from the Bob Govern collection.
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Locy Type F |
2008-05-05 |
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Serviced by Earl Minnis
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Locy Type F |
2008-11-20 |
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Commemoration of the Battle of Tarawa, cachet by Phil Edwards
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Locy Type F |
2008-12-04 |
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Deactivation Ceremony, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
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Locy Type |
2009-03-31 |
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Last Day of Commission
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Locy Type |
2009-03-31 |
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Last Day of Commission
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Locy Type |
2009-03-31 |
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Last Day of Commission
USPS Pictorial Postmarks
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USPS |
2008-12-04 |
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Deactivation Ceremony, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
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USPS |
2009-03-31 |
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Decommissioning, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
Other Information
USS TARAWA has earned the Joint Meritorious Unit Award Ribbon, the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon w/ 2 bronze stars, the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon w/ 1 bronze star, the Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (5 awards), the Navy Expeditionary Medal w/ one bronze star, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal w/ 2 bronze stars, the Southwest Asia Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal w/ 2 bronze stars and the Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) during her Naval career.
NAMESAKE - Named for Tarawa Atoll. During World War II, Tarawa was occupied by the Japanese, and starting on November 20, 1943 it was the scene of the bloody Battle of Tarawa. On that day United States Marines landed on Tarawa and Makin atolls and suffered heavy losses from Japanese soldiers occupying entrenched positions on the atolls. The Marines secured the island after three days of intense fighting.
Two ships of the US Navy have borne the name TARAWA - USS Tarawa CV-40 and USS Tarawa LHA-1.
The ships sponsor was Audrey B. Cushman, the wife of General Robert E. Cushman, former Commandant of the Marine Corps.
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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