Search the Site with

General Characteristics

Crew List

Memorabilia

Cruise Books

About the Ship's Coat of Arms

Homeports of USS Lassen

COs of USS Lassen

About the Christening Ceremony

Accidents aboard the Ship

About the Name Lassen

History

Image Gallery

to end of page

USS Lassen (DDG 82)

USS LASSEN is the fourth OSCAR AUSTIN class guided missile destroyer and the first ship in the Navy named after Commander Clyde Everett Lassen, USN.

back to top

go to the end of the page

back to top

go to the end of the page

Crew List:

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

• Click here to view the list.

back to top

go to the end of the page

• Click here to see which USS LASSEN memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

back to top

go to the end of the page

USS LASSEN Cruise Books:

• Maiden Cruise Book 2003

back to top

go to the end of the page

About the Ship's Coat of Arms:

The Shield:

Dark blue and gold are the colors traditionally used by the Navy. The Aegis shield highlights the modern weaponry of the USS LASSEN. The blue chevron recalls LT Lassen s service in the coastal campaign during the Vietnam War. It also simulates the prow of a ship, alluding to the first LASSEN s mission as an ammunition ship, which rearmed many of the major fleets. The heraldic sea lion symbolizes the strength and courage, demonstrated by LT Lassen. The chevron suggests the Medal of Honor awarded for LT Lassen s heroism, above and beyond the call of duty, for the rescue of two aviators. The compass rose symbolizes the landing lights of his helicopter, while rescuing the aviators, revealing his position to the enemy, when illumination was lost.

The Crest:

The palm fronds suggest the first LASSEN s area of operations in the Pacific; the lightning flashes symbolize striking capabilities and refer to the first LASSEN s service in World War II, rearming many of the major fleets. The trident s three tines represent battlestars earned during World War II in the Pacific as well as denoting the multifaceted offensive/defensive armament of the present DDG 82.

back to top

go to the end of the page

Homeports of USS LASSEN:

back to top

go to the end of the page

Commanding Officers of USS LASSEN:

back to top

go to the end of the page

About the Christening Ceremony:

The ARLEIGH BURKE (OSCAR AUSTIN) class guided-missile destroyer, LASSEN, was christened Saturday, Nov. 6, 1999, during an 11 a.m. ceremony at Litton Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Miss.

Rep. Steven T. Kuydendall of California delivered the ceremony's principal address. Linda B. Lassen, wife of the ship's namesake and Barbara O. Pilling, wife of Navy Adm. Donald Pilling, vice chief of Naval Operations, served as ship co-sponsors. In the time-honored Navy tradition, Mrs. Lassen and Mrs. Pilling broke a bottle of champagne across the bow to formally christen LASSEN.

back to top

go to the end of the page

Accidents aboard USS LASSEN:

back to top

go to the end of the page

About the Ship s Name:

Clyde Everett Lassen, a native of Fort Myers, Florida, earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for his courageous rescue of two downed aviators while commander of a search and rescue helicopter in Vietnam.

On June 19, 1968, Lassen, then a 27 year old Lieutenant flying a UH-2 Seasprite, embarked on a mission to recover two downed naval aviators whose plane had been shot down deep in North Vietnamese territory. Upon reaching the hilly terrain where the aviators were hiding, LT Lassen made several attempts to recover the aviators, but dense tree cover, enemy weapons fire and intermittent illumination frustrated his efforts. Determined to complete his mission, LT Lassen turned on the landing lights of the helicopter, despite the danger of revealing his position to the enemy. After the pilots made their way to the helicopter and with his damaged helicopter dangerously low on fuel, LT Lassen evaded further antiaircraft fire before landing safely at sea onboard a guided missile destroyer-with only five minutes of fuel left in the helicopter s fuel lines.

The account of the rescue was logged as a successful, routine search and rescue mission. But at the home base for Helicopter Combat Squadron Seven, the rescue flight of June 19, 1968, will always be acclaimed as one of the most daring feats of flying to come out of the Vietnam Conflict.

LT Lassen became the first naval aviator and fifth Navy man to be awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery in Vietnam.

Commander Lassen died in 1994 from cancer.

CITATION: "For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as pilot and aircraft commander of a search and rescue helicopter, attached to Helicopter Support Squadron 7, during operations against enemy forces in North Vietnam. Launched shortly after midnight to attempt the rescue of 2 downed aviators. Lt. (then Lt.(jg.)) Lassen skillfully piloted his aircraft over unknown and hostile terrain to a steep, tree-covered hill on which the survivors had been located. Although enemy fire was being directed at the helicopter, he initially landed in a clear area near the base of the hill, but, due to the dense undergrowth, the survivors could not reach the helicopter. With the aid of flare illumination, Lt. Lassen successfully accomplished a hover between 2 trees at the survivors' position. Illumination was abruptly lost as the last of the flares were expended, and the helicopter collided with a tree, commencing a sharp descent. Expertly righting his aircraft and maneuvering clear, Lt. Lassen remained in the area, determined to make another rescue attempt, and encouraged the downed aviators while awaiting resumption of flare illumination. After another unsuccessful, illuminated rescue attempt. and with his fuel dangerously low and his aircraft significantly damaged, he launched again and commenced another approach in the face of the continuing enemy opposition. When flare illumination was again lost, Lt. Lassen, fully aware of the dangers in clearly revealing his position to the enemy, turned on his landing lights and completed the landing. On this attempt, the survivors were able to make their way to the helicopter. In route to the coast he encountered and successfully evaded additional hostile antiaircraft fire and, with fuel for only minutes of flight remaining, landed safely aboard USS JOUETT (CG 29, formerly DLG 29). Lt. Lassen's extraordinary heroism at the risk of his life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Navy."

The medal was officially presented 16 January 1969.

back to top

go to the end of the page

USS LASSEN History:

USS LASSEN was laid down on August 24, 1998, at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, launched and christened on October 16, 1999, and commissioned on April 21, 2001, at Tampa, Florida. Following commissioning she shifted to her first homeport at San Diego, where she spent the remainder of 2001 and 2002 conducting shakedown, combat system qualifications, and fleet integration trials. During this period she joined carrier groups for air defense and strike exercises in the Southern California operations area and around Hawaii, developing the standard operational pattern for a new Flight IIA unit in the immediate post-9/11 era. Through 2003 and 2004, the destroyer remained in the Pacific Fleet training cycle, executing independent steaming exercises, missile firings, and escort rehearsals, while preparing for a long-term reassignment to forward deployed forces in Asia.

In August 2005, LASSEN shifted homeport to Yokosuka, Japan, becoming part of the Seventh Fleet's forward-deployed naval forces. From 2005 through 2008, she established a steady rhythm of Western Pacific patrols, conducting ballistic missile defense alert duty in the Sea of Japan during North Korean launch cycles, freedom of navigation transits in the East and South China Seas, and joint and combined training with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Republic of Korea Navy, and Royal Australian Navy. Her port visits during these patrols included Sasebo, Singapore, Manila, Hong Kong, and Darwin, reinforcing security cooperation.

On February 15, 2009, while maneuvering in Yokosuka harbor, she was involved in a low-speed collision with a small pleasure craft; no injuries resulted and the boat was able to return under its own power. Later that year, on July 1, 2009, LASSEN was ordered to shadow the North Korean cargo ship KANG NAM 1, suspected of transporting illicit materials in violation of UN sanctions, highlighting her role in maritime interdiction and proliferation security. During 2010, she maintained ballistic missile defense readiness and patrol presence in the Philippine Sea and South China Sea, alternating with maintenance alongside in Yokosuka.

After the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, LASSEN sortied from Yokosuka and repositioned to Sasebo to continue scheduled maintenance while other Seventh Fleet units surged north in Operation Tomodachi. She remained part of the regional maritime security network through the spring and summer. Between 2012 and 2014, she completed successive patrols, combining ballistic missile defense stations, escort of carrier strike groups, and cooperative deployments with allies, with port visits to Busan, Subic Bay, Manila, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

On October 27, 2015, she transited within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands, conducting a Freedom of Navigation Operation intended to challenge excessive maritime claims in the South China Sea. This was the first such U.S. Navy operation in the Spratlys in several years and drew wide regional attention. At the start of 2016, she began her final Seventh Fleet patrol, departing Yokosuka on January 6, and later that year shifted homeport to Naval Station Mayport, Florida, marking the end of more than a decade forward-deployed.

From 2017 through 2019, she integrated into the Atlantic Fleet's surface force, completing composite training unit exercises, Atlantic deployments, and Mediterranean presence missions, as well as maintaining readiness for Caribbean and Western Hemisphere operations. In 2019, she deployed with the HARRY S. TRUMAN (CVN 75) Carrier Strike Group for operations that spanned the 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility, returning to Mayport on June 14, 2020, after nine months at sea. While deployed she also supported enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific with an embarked Coast Guard detachment, contributing to several large drug interdictions in May 2020.

In 2021, she underwent maintenance and short Atlantic underways to reset after the lengthy cruise. In 2022, she participated in public outreach and fleet events, including Navy Week New Orleans in April and a Port Everglades Fleet Week arrival on May 1, and she held a change of command on April 14. She continued local training out of Mayport with short at-sea periods in the early months of the year. In 2023, she remained assigned to Atlantic Fleet readiness cycles, supporting periodic exercises and standing ready for European or Caribbean tasking as required. On October 7, 2024, she sortied from Mayport as part of preparations for Hurricane Milton, returning after the storm passed.

back to top

go to the end of the page

USS LASSEN Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by Brian Barton and show the LASSEN moored alongside the USS PREBLE (DDG 88) at San Diego, Calif., on December 6, 2003.

The photos below were taken by Shiu On Yee during USS LASSEN's port visit to Hong Kong July 10 - 15, 2012, while the ship was assigned to the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73) Strike Group.

The photos below were taken by Shiu On Yee during USS LASSEN's port visit to Hong Kong November 8 - 12, 2013, while the ship was assigned to the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73) Strike Group. The port visit was cut short when the ships were ordered to proceed to the Philippines to provide disaster relief in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. The ship in the background on the second photo is USS MUSTIN (DDG 89).

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning on May 26, 2017, during an open ship event aboard USS Lassen (DDG 82) as part of Fleet Week New York.

			Click here for more Photos.

back to top

---

Back to Destroyers list. Back to ships list. Back to selection page. Back to 1^st page.