Search the Site with

General Characteristics

Crew List

Memorabilia

Cruise Books

Accidents aboard the Ship

About the Ship's Coat of Arms

About the Name "Oak Hill"

Image Gallery

to end of page

USS Oak Hill (LSD 51)

USS OAK HILL is the third HARPERS FERRY class Dock Landing Ship and the second ship in the Navy to bear the name.

General Characteristics:	Keel laid: September 21, 1992
	Launched: June 11, 1994
	Commissioned: June 8, 1996
	Builder: Avondale Industries, New Orleans, Louisiana
	Propulsion system: four 16 cylinder Colt-Pielstick Diesel Engines
	Propellers: two
	Length: 610 feet (186 meters)
	Beam: 84 feet (25.6 meters)
	Draft: 20 feet (6 meters)
	Displacement: approx. 16,500 tons full load
	Speed: 22 knots
	Well deck capacity: two LCAC or one LCU or four LCM-8 or nine LCM-6 or 15 amphibious assault vehicles (AAV)
	Aircraft: none, but two landing spots allow for operation of aircraft as large as the CH-53E
	Crew: Ship: 24 officers, 328 enlisted
	Crew: Marine Detachment: 504 Marines
	Armament: two 20mm Phalanx CIWS, two Mk-38 Machine Guns, six .50 Machine Guns, two Rolling Airframe Missile Systems
	Cost: about $135 million
	Homeport: Little Creek, VA

go to the end of the page

Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS OAK HILL. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

Click here to view the list.

go to the end of the page

Click here to see which USS OAK HILL memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

go to the end of the page

USS OAK HILL Cruise Books:

Mediterranean and Arabian Sea Cruise Book 2008

go to the end of the page

Accidents aboard USS OAK HILL:

Date	Where	Events
February 19, 2000	off Morehead City, N.C.	The Norfolk-based dock landing ship OAK HILL ran aground and spent nearly eight hours on a mud bank off Morehead City, N.C., before tugs and a rising tide freed it. The ship sustained no significant damage and was allowed to continue to its overseas deployment. Its commanding officer has remained in command.

go to the end of the page

About the Ship's Coat of Arms:

The Shield:

The dark blue and gold represent the US Navy. The eagle's head, derived from the Coat of Arms of the Monroe family, represents both the heritage of the home Oak Hill for which the ship is named, and also the United States. The compass rose symbolizes navigation and a world-wide scope of operations. The anchor represents the trials and tribulations in the life of a sailor. A fouled anchor is the worst enemy. Gold stands for excellence, red for courage and sacrifice, and white for integrity.

The Crest:

The torch, derived from the Statue of Liberty's torch, symbolizes freedom, and also refers to the protection denoted in the ship's motto. The gold mullets record the five Battle Stars awarded to the first USS OAK HILL (LSD 7) for service in World War II. Gold signifies excellence.

Supporters:

The crossed Navy and Marine Corps officer swords symbolizes the ship's united mission with the United States Marine Corps in amphibious operations.

The Motto:

"Nations' Protector" is a nod to the Monroe Doctrine. "Oak Hill" was the homeplace of James Monroe in Virginia.

go to the end of the page

About the Ship’s Name:

USS OAK HILL honors the residence of the fifth President of the United States, James Monroe.

Oak Hill, located in Loudon County, Virginia, was constructed in 1820-1823 with the assistance of James Hoban, Irish architect of the white House and the protege of Thomas Jefferson. It is a brick mansion that stands at the head of an avenue of trees. The simple interior is ornamented by two very handsome mantels sent by the Marquis de Lafayette from Europe. Incidentally, Lafyette stayed at Oak Hill during his triumphal tour of the United States.

Monroe spent much time at Oak Hill making trips to and from the Capitol on horseback and carrying state papers in his saddle bags. While at Oak Hill, he penned the Monroe doctrine, a pronouncement he made in 1823 staking out the Western Hemisphere as an American hemisphere of influence. After retiring from public life in 1825, he remained at Oak Hill until Mrs. Monroe's death five years later, at which time he went to live with his daughter in New York.

Oak Hill passed out of the family in the years following Monroe's death in 1831. Confederate Colonel John W. Fairfax bought Oak Hill in 1854. His wife remained at the mansion to manage the plantation during the Civil War and was an unwilling hostess when Union General George G. Meade made it his headquarters during the Battle of Second Manassas.

Today it still remains as a private residence, the home of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Delasmutt. The historic mansion is a fitting monument to an important part of American History and to President Monroe.

go to the end of the page

USS OAK HILL Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by me and show the OAK HILL at Norfolk, Va., on November 9, 2008.

The photos below were taken by me on May 5, 2012, and show the OAK HILL early in the morning at Little Creek, Va.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the OAK HILL at General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., Norfolk, Va., undergoing a Phased Maintenance Availability (PMA) on October 12, 2016.

The video and the photos below were taken by me and show the OAK HILL arriving at Kiel, Germany, after participating in BALTOPS 2018 on June 15, 2018. The OAK HILL is in the fifth month of a scheduled deployment as part of the USS IWO JIMA (LHD 7) Amphibious Ready Group. Since leaving her homeport in February 2018, the ship has already operated in the Mediterranean, Black Sea, Red Sea and the Baltic Sea.

The photos below were taken by me and show the OAK HILL at Naval Base Kiel, Germany, on June 15-16, 2018.


			Click here for more Photos.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the OAK HILL at Little Creek, Va., on September 21, 2018.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the OAK HILL undergoing a Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) at the Marine Hydraulics Industries (MHI) Ship Repair & Services shipyard, Norfolk, Va., on December 26, 2021. The OAK HILL entered the shipyard on February 1, 2021.