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USS Plymouth Rock (LSD 29)

Named after the site of the landing of the first permanent settlers in New England in 1620, the USS PLYMOUTH ROCK was the second THOMASTON - class dock landing ship and the first ship in the Navy to bear the name. Decommissioned on September 30, 1983, the PLYMOUTH ROCK was stricken from the Navy list on February 24, 1992, after being transfered to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) in November 1989. The ship was finally sold for scrapping to Peck Recycling, Richmond, Va., on August 25, 1995.

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Crew List:

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

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USS PLYMOUTH ROCK History:

USS PLYMOUTH ROCK was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation at Pascagoula, Mississippi. Her keel was laid on May 4, 1953, she was launched on May 7, 1954, sponsored by Mrs. Francis C. Denebrink, and she was commissioned on November 29, 1954, with Commander Daniel Bontecou as her first commanding officer. After commissioning and initial fitting out, PLYMOUTH ROCK sailed in January 1955 for Norfolk, Virginia, which became her home port, and conducted shakedown and training operations along the U.S. East Coast and in the Caribbean.

During the summer of 1955, PLYMOUTH ROCK was assigned to Arctic support work, transporting personnel, equipment, and supplies to early-warning installations in the far north. These voyages formed part of the large logistical effort required to construct and sustain the radar network being established across the northern approaches to North America during the early Cold War. Dock landing ships were well suited to this work because they could transport landing craft, vehicles, construction machinery, and bulky cargo to isolated areas where conventional port facilities were limited or nonexistent. Commander Morton Harvey relieved Commander Bontecou on November 23, 1955.

PLYMOUTH ROCK began 1956 with amphibious training, including LantPhibEx 1-55 and TraLex 1-56. In March 1956, she departed for her first extended Mediterranean deployment. Operating with the Sixth Fleet, she supported amphibious exercises and readiness operations in a region that had become one of the principal maritime theaters of the Cold War. She returned to the United States in October 1956.

In February 1957, PLYMOUTH ROCK departed for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for refresher training. In March, she participated in Sulex 3-57 and Caribex 1-57 before being assigned again to Arctic logistics. During two northern voyages that summer, she steamed nearly 15,000 miles while supporting the Distant Early Warning Line and related supply operations. After returning to Norfolk during the summer to load additional equipment, she sailed again on July 25. During the northern operations she delivered large quantities of cargo to isolated Arctic installations and was called upon at Thule, Greenland, to carry out emergency hull repairs on the merchant cargo ship SS RUTGERS VICTORY. PLYMOUTH ROCK returned to Norfolk on August 20. Commander John Daniel Lautaret assumed command during this period, on June 28, 1957.

The 1957 Arctic deployment also gave PLYMOUTH ROCK an unusual place in the history of upper-atmosphere and space research. Scientists led by James A. Van Allen of the State University of Iowa embarked for an International Geophysical Year research expedition. The scientific party departed Norfolk aboard PLYMOUTH ROCK on August 1 and returned on August 20. Eighteen Loki Phase II "rockoons" were carried for the expedition. A rockoon consisted of a sounding rocket lifted to high altitude beneath a balloon before the rocket motor was ignited, permitting scientific instruments to reach substantially higher altitudes than would have been possible from a conventional ground launch with the same small rocket. Between August 5 and August 14, 1957, the eighteen rockoons were launched as PLYMOUTH ROCK moved through North Atlantic and Arctic waters toward Greenland. The flights were used for measurements associated with cosmic rays, auroral radiation, atmospheric properties, and the Earth's magnetic environment. Among the recorded flights were launches on August 5 from approximately 55 degrees north, followed by additional launches progressively farther north as the ship proceeded toward Baffin Bay and Greenland. Some reached altitudes of more than 100 kilometers. The rockoon work was an additional scientific mission; PLYMOUTH ROCK's principal purpose on the voyage remained Arctic resupply.

In March 1958, the ship participated in LantPhibEx 1-58. The following month, she entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard for an unusual modification. A section of her flight deck was removed so that she could transport the approximately 600-ton mine planter YNP-3 to Turkey. From May through October, 1958 PLYMOUTH ROCK operated with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. During the cruise, she suffered a propeller problem that required repair at Malta; photographs from the period show the ship heavily ballasted by the bow to raise the stern sufficiently for work on the damaged propeller. The deployment was overtaken by the political crisis in Lebanon during the summer.

On July 14, 1958, a military coup overthrew the Iraqi monarchy. The event intensified an already serious political crisis in Lebanon, where President Camille Chamoun had requested American assistance. The United States responded with Operation Blue Bat, and Marines began landing near Beirut on July 15. PLYMOUTH ROCK was carrying Battery B, 10th Marines, a shore-party detachment, underwater-demolition personnel, heavy equipment, and two tanks associated with Battalion Landing Team 2/2, but her requirement for repairs meant that she was not present for the initial landing. She subsequently reached the operating area and delivered Battery B to Beirut on July 18. PLYMOUTH ROCK thereafter supported the amphibious force during the intervention. Battery B later reembarked, and elements of Battalion Landing Team 2/2 departed aboard the ship on August 15. The intervention continued while a political settlement was arranged in Lebanon, after which U.S. forces were withdrawn. PLYMOUTH ROCK completed her Mediterranean deployment and returned to the United States in October 1958. Captain Alan Richard Josephson assumed command on October 10.

During early 1959, PLYMOUTH ROCK took part in the continuing development of helicopter-supported amphibious warfare, then generally described as vertical envelopment. The concept was intended to permit Marine forces to move directly from amphibious ships to objectives inland rather than having every assault element approach through a conventional landing beach. Following this training, PLYMOUTH ROCK operated in the Caribbean, including waters around Puerto Rico and Cuba. In June, she entered Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for a routine overhaul. Commander Alexander Louis Redon assumed command on July 21. Following the overhaul, newly installed antisubmarine-warfare equipment was tested during December in the Florida and Bermuda operating areas.

In early 1960, PLYMOUTH ROCK was assigned to Operation Amigo, the naval support effort associated with President Dwight D. Eisenhower's visit to South America. She carried helicopters, maintenance personnel, equipment, and other material needed to support the presidential party. The operation took the ship into South American waters in February, and she crossed the equator on February 11. Marine helicopter units supported the presidential itinerary from locations ashore, with PLYMOUTH ROCK serving as their maritime transport and logistics platform. Her movements supported operations connected with Eisenhower's visit to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the President arrived on February 24, and with subsequent portions of the tour in Uruguay and Argentina. After Operation Amigo, PLYMOUTH ROCK deployed to the Mediterranean for much of the remainder of 1960 and returned in December. Commander George Stuart Simmons III assumed command on August 2.

During 1961, PLYMOUTH ROCK made several administrative lifts between Norfolk and San Juan, Puerto Rico, carried out additional Caribbean operations, and made another Mediterranean cruise. She also participated in work connected with two significant technical programs. One involved Project Mercury, for which Navy ships and aircraft were preparing to recover American manned spacecraft after ocean splashdowns. PLYMOUTH ROCK conducted spacecraft-recovery training with helicopters operating from her flight deck. The other involved development and evaluation work associated with ASROC, the Navy's rocket-delivered antisubmarine weapon. During the summer and early autumn, she also participated in PhibTraLex 4-61. Commander Richard Francis Barry Jr. assumed command on July 27.

PLYMOUTH ROCK maintained a heavy Caribbean operating schedule during 1962. Commander Mortimer James Prince assumed command on August 18. In mid-October, the ship deployed to the Caribbean and became part of the amphibious attack force assembled during the Cuban Missile Crisis. After the United States publicly announced the discovery of Soviet nuclear-capable ballistic missiles in Cuba on October 22, President John F. Kennedy ordered a naval quarantine of the island. The quarantine went into effect on October 24. PLYMOUTH ROCK operated off Cuba as part of the force available for amphibious contingency operations if the confrontation escalated. Contemporary photographs placed her in the Cuban operating area, and the ship remained associated with the crisis force for several weeks. Her service during this period later qualified for the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.

Early in 1963, PLYMOUTH ROCK visited Nassau in the Bahamas. During this period, she was also fitted experimentally with a retractable sonar installation at the bow. On May 7, she departed for another five-month deployment with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean, returning in October. Photographic records document calls or operations at Palermo, Sicily, and Rota, Spain. Commander Joseph Raymond Tenanty assumed command on July 27. The deployment again combined amphibious readiness, landing exercises, transport duties, and Sixth Fleet presence in the Mediterranean.

PLYMOUTH ROCK completed two Caribbean cruises during 1964 and later joined Operation Steel Pike I off Spain. Commander Theodore Piper Dankworth assumed command on July 25. Steel Pike was one of the largest amphibious exercises conducted by the United States after World War II and was intended to test the ability to deploy a major Marine force from the United States to Europe and conduct a large-scale amphibious landing with an allied nation. Approximately 22,000 Marines and more than 5,000 vehicles were transported across the Atlantic in the amphibious force, which involved about 60 ships in the principal Marine movement. The landing phase took place in Spain beginning on October 26, 1964. PLYMOUTH ROCK participated as one of the dock landing ships supporting the movement of troops, vehicles, equipment, and landing craft ashore.

Early 1965 again found PLYMOUTH ROCK in the Caribbean. Commander Reuben Farrior Woodall assumed command on August 6, after which the ship entered an overhaul period. Her award record also confirms service connected with the U.S. operation in the Dominican Republic from October 20 through October 26, 1965. This was several months after the first American troops had entered the country during the political and military crisis that began in April. She subsequently operated in the Guantanamo Bay area during the final months of the year.

On January 17, 1966, a U.S. Air Force B-52G carrying four thermonuclear weapons collided with a KC-135 tanker during aerial refueling near Palomares, Spain. Three of the weapons were located on land, but the fourth fell into the Mediterranean. A large naval search and recovery force was assembled. PLYMOUTH ROCK participated in the operation from January 28 through March 7, 1966, and her well deck made her particularly useful for transporting deep-submergence vehicles. The research submersible ALUMINAUT was too large to be transported by aircraft and was loaded aboard PLYMOUTH ROCK at Miami. The sea voyage to Spain required approximately ten days. The smaller submersible ALVIN was partially disassembled and transported by air to Rota, where it was reassembled and tested. PLYMOUTH ROCK then took ALVIN aboard as well and carried it from Rota to the Palomares search area. ALVIN and ALUMINAUT reached the operating area on February 10. USS FORT SNELLING (LSD 30) had been designated as their principal support ship, but her well deck first had to be cleared. Her amphibious load was therefore transferred to PLYMOUTH ROCK while the two submersibles were temporarily moored outside.

Approximately an hour after this transfer began on February 10, a mistral struck the area with winds of about 70 knots and seas of 12 to 14 feet. ALVIN and ALUMINAUT had to remain at their moorings through the severe conditions. ALVIN was brought back aboard PLYMOUTH ROCK the following morning and remained there until February 12, when both submersibles could finally be placed aboard FORT SNELLING. The weather prevented the underwater search from beginning until February 14. PLYMOUTH ROCK's documented participation ended on March 7. The search continued after she departed. ALVIN located the missing weapon in March, and after further difficulties the bomb was finally recovered in April.

Later in 1966, PLYMOUTH ROCK returned to Caribbean operations. Hurricane Inez caused extensive destruction in Haiti and other parts of the Caribbean during late September and early October, and PLYMOUTH ROCK participated in relief operations for the affected population in Haiti. Commander Robert Gray Bagby assumed command on September 27.

PLYMOUTH ROCK completed three Caribbean cruises during the first part of 1967. In April, she again handled ALUMINAUT, loading the deep-diving submersible at Port Everglades, Florida, for a Caribbean operation. During the year, the ship earned the Battle Efficiency "E" and the Amphibious Assault Readiness Award. Later in 1967, she made a northern European cruise. The route included Copenhagen, Denmark, followed by Wilhelmshaven, West Germany, and Southampton, England. A contemporary Wilhelmshaven newspaper reported that the ship arrived there after a fog delay and identified Copenhagen as her previous port and Southampton as her next destination. Commander Paul Smith Jr. assumed command on November 10.

During 1968, PLYMOUTH ROCK completed two additional Caribbean deployments and transferred organizationally from Amphibious Squadron Ten to Amphibious Squadron Eight. Photographs document the ship in dry dock in May. Commander William J. Pressler Jr. assumed command on January 16, 1969. From June through July 1969, the ship deployed to northern European waters on a midshipman training cruise with approximately 200 midshipmen embarked. Confirmed port visits during the cruise included Portsmouth, England, and Hamburg, West Germany.

Commander Elmer Hill Kiehl assumed command on January 29, 1970. PLYMOUTH ROCK again operated in the Caribbean and carried elements of the 3rd Light Antiaircraft Missile Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps. During the spring, she became directly involved with Project Tektite II. The underwater habitat used during Tektite I had been refurbished for the expanded 1970 program, and PLYMOUTH ROCK transported the Tektite II habitat from the Philadelphia area to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Contemporary material from the Tektite program specifically records the habitat aboard PLYMOUTH ROCK. It was delivered to the Virgin Islands and subsequently installed underwater in Great Lameshur Bay. Tektite II used successive teams of scientist-aquanauts living in the submerged habitat for extended periods, while NASA and other participating organizations also studied human behavior and performance in an isolated environment.

In June 1970, PLYMOUTH ROCK participated in the NATO exercise Love Song in the North Atlantic. A further North Atlantic deployment followed during July and August, after which the ship returned to Caribbean operations. Commander Charles Himrod Cross assumed command on June 29, 1971. PLYMOUTH ROCK began 1971 operating in the Caribbean and remained with Atlantic Fleet amphibious forces throughout the year, carrying out the recurring cycle of amphibious training, landing-craft operations, readiness periods, and maintenance.

In January 1972, PLYMOUTH ROCK participated in Operation Snowy Bleach. Late in February, she departed for an approximately six-month Mediterranean deployment that lasted until August. Photographs confirm Mediterranean operations including a call at Bari, Italy. After returning to the United States, she began another Caribbean deployment in October 1972, remaining in that operating area into March 1973.

Commander Roger Sherman Betts assumed command on January 26, 1973. During the Caribbean deployment, PLYMOUTH ROCK participated in Carib 2-72 and subsequently in Exercise Exotic Dancer VI. Exotic Dancer VI was a large Atlantic Fleet exercise conducted during late March and early April 1973 and included amphibious activity in the western Atlantic and off the North Carolina coast. In July 1973, PLYMOUTH ROCK received another Battle Efficiency "E".

A lengthy maintenance and operational period followed in 1974. PLYMOUTH ROCK entered a shipyard in what became two successive overhaul periods. She temporarily emerged from the yard in May to participate in Exercise Solid Shield and resumed overhaul work in June. Commander Jerold Joseph Larson assumed command on September 5. Later that year, PLYMOUTH ROCK joined Marine Amphibious Ready Group 2-74 for a deployment to northern Europe and the Mediterranean. The group included USS GUAM (LPH 9), USS PONCE (LPD 15), USS CHARLESTON (LKA 113), PLYMOUTH ROCK, USS SUMTER (LST 1181), and USS SPARTANBURG COUNTY (LST 1192), carrying the 32nd Marine Amphibious Unit. The embarked aviation element included six AV-8A Harriers, representing an important stage in the operational integration of the vertical/short-takeoff-and-landing aircraft with deployed Marine amphibious forces.

The group operated southwest of the United Kingdom during Exercise Alien Gold. During the exercise, PLYMOUTH ROCK suffered a boiler casualty and was forced to proceed to Portland, England, escorted by SUMTER, for repairs. Official Marine Corps reporting placed both ships at Portland by October 9, 1974. The remainder of the amphibious group was scheduled for port calls at Southampton, Cardiff, and Portland before proceeding to Rota, Spain, for turnover with the force already in the Mediterranean. Following repair, PLYMOUTH ROCK continued her overseas operations. Photographic records from this general deployment period also document calls in Mediterranean ports including Villefranche-sur-Mer, France, Alicante, Spain, and Rota.

PLYMOUTH ROCK returned to Little Creek in 1975 and participated in another Solid Shield exercise during the spring. In July, she entered a shipyard in Baltimore, Maryland, for an overhaul. The availability became unusually prolonged when labor problems and a shipyard strike delayed the work. PLYMOUTH ROCK consequently spent the entire calendar year 1976 in the yard.

Commander William Alexander Herman assumed command on January 11, 1977. Following completion of the extended overhaul, PLYMOUTH ROCK underwent Amphibious Refresher Training to restore operational proficiency. She subsequently returned to overseas operations and deployed to the Mediterranean for the remainder of the year.

In July 1978, PLYMOUTH ROCK departed on another major overseas deployment. During the North Atlantic portion of the cruise, she participated in Northern Wedding 78, a large NATO exercise conducted during September. The exercise was designed to practice the reinforcement and defense of northern Europe, movement of forces across the Atlantic, protection of sea lines of communication, and large-scale amphibious operations. PLYMOUTH ROCK formed part of the American amphibious force operating in northern European waters, and the principal exercise period ran from September 4 through September 19. Amphibious activity included operations associated with the Danish coast around Oksbol.

The deployment also produced a substantial series of European port visits. PLYMOUTH ROCK was at Amsterdam, Netherlands, on October 5, 1978, and the cruise also included visits to ports in England, Kiel in West Germany, Brest in France, Santander in Spain, and Naples, Italy. The ship then shifted into the Mediterranean operating cycle with the Sixth Fleet. From November 15 through November 21, she participated in PhibLex 11-78 in the Vatika area of Greece as part of an amphibious group that included USS IWO JIMA (LPH 2), USS TRENTON (LPD 14), PLYMOUTH ROCK, USS BOULDER (LST 1190), and USS FAIRFAX COUNTY (LST 1193). Commander Robert Kenney Barr Jr. assumed command at Naples on November 27.

On December 23, 1978, PLYMOUTH ROCK entered Barcelona, Spain, with IWO JIMA and FAIRFAX COUNTY for an extended holiday port visit. The ships remained there until January 8, 1979. The Mediterranean deployment continued into early 1979 before PLYMOUTH ROCK returned to Atlantic Fleet duties. Photographs from February document PLYMOUTH ROCK alongside IWO JIMA during an underway refueling evolution while Marine helicopters were embarked aboard the amphibious assault ship.

During the remainder of 1979, PLYMOUTH ROCK carried out a varied series of assignments that extended beyond conventional amphibious training. Recorded missions included laying underwater acoustic cable, supporting submarine missile test firings, conducting assault-craft training, transporting construction equipment, and supporting minesweepers at sea. A Caribbean and Bermuda cruise took place during the summer. In October, the ship proceeded toward Bermuda in connection with the installation or use of specialized equipment associated with a Chief of Naval Operations special-interest project.

In October 1979, PLYMOUTH ROCK also took part in Reinforcex at Guantanamo Bay. The exercise took place during heightened U.S.-Soviet tension after the United States raised concerns about a Soviet combat brigade stationed in Cuba. Reinforcex demonstrated the ability to reinforce the U.S. naval base rapidly with Marine forces transported by sea and air. On October 17, approximately 1,800 Marines of the 38th Marine Amphibious Unit landed at Guantanamo Bay from USS NASSAU (LHA 4), PLYMOUTH ROCK, and SPARTANBURG COUNTY. The landing combined waterborne and helicopter-borne movement. PLYMOUTH ROCK's performance during the broader October and November operational period contributed to the ship receiving a Meritorious Unit Commendation; the official award period extended from October 2 through November 18, 1979.

PLYMOUTH ROCK ended 1979 with humanitarian operations in Jamaica. Her individual qualifying period for the Humanitarian Service Medal was November 26 through December 17. The ship transported construction equipment as part of the relief effort and supported work intended to assist areas affected by natural disaster.

In February 1980, PLYMOUTH ROCK became the first amphibious "Gator" reported to receive fuel from an oiler using an astern-refueling method. In March, she entered a shipyard at Portsmouth, Virginia, and was subsequently transferred to Newport News Shipyard for additional repairs. Commander Donald Eddie Larison relieved Commander Barr on December 13. His tenure was brief, and Commander Andrew Janke Conklin assumed command on January 13, 1981.

PLYMOUTH ROCK's most extensive late-career deployment began in June 1981 with Unitas XXII, the annual series of multinational exercises conducted by the United States and South American naval forces. The operation lasted from mid-June until mid-December and carried PLYMOUTH ROCK around South America. A reinforced Marine detachment centered on Company K, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines embarked aboard the ship, together with assault amphibian, artillery, motor-transport, and other supporting personnel. Marine Corps operational summaries list approximately 225 Marines in the force. The deployment and associated Meritorious Unit Commendation period began on June 15.

The U.S. naval force associated with Unitas XXII included USS STUMP (DD 978), USS DAHLGREN (DDG 43), USS CAPODANNO (FF 1093), USS THOMAS JEFFERSON (SSN 618), and USS SCAMP (SSN 588), with additional ships participating during particular national phases. During the Brazilian phase the U.S. contingent also included USS BARNEY (DDG 6), USS STEINAKER (DD 863), USS VOGELGESANG (DD 862), USS KOELSCH (FF 1049), USNS MARIAS (T-AO 57), and USCGC STEADFAST (WMEC 623). PLYMOUTH ROCK carried the principal embarked U.S. Marine amphibious element.

The first amphibious phase involving the embarked Marines took place from June 25 through June 29 around St. Eustatius in the Netherlands Antilles. Combined amphibious training followed at Aruba on June 30, with a post-exercise review at Curacao on July 1. Venezuelan naval operations followed without participation by the embarked U.S. Marines. From July 8 through July 14, the force conducted the Colombian phase. Colombian law prevented armed foreign troops from landing, so U.S. Marine activity ashore was restricted to a small number of unarmed observers while Colombian Marines carried out the actual landings. On July 16, PLYMOUTH ROCK crossed the equator during the deployment.

Brazilian operations ran from July 25 through August 24. American and Brazilian forces conducted combined training, culminating in a landing and reembarkation at Marambaia on August 19 and August 20. Commander Alan Brown Moser relieved Commander Conklin on August 5 while the deployment was in progress. The Uruguayan phase followed from September 3 through September 11, with combined Marine training at Montevideo. Operations with Argentina were conducted from September 14 through September 25 at Puerto Belgrano and included training both afloat and ashore followed by a combined amphibious exercise supported by tactical aviation and naval gunfire.

The Chilean phase ran from September 29 through October 25 and included combined training followed by amphibious operations in the vicinity of Puerto Aldea. PLYMOUTH ROCK also made a documented visit to Valparaiso during the Chilean portion of the cruise. The subsequent Peruvian phase ran from October 28 through November 13. Activities included combined training followed by an amphibious raid and an airborne assault conducted against exercise opposition. PLYMOUTH ROCK called at Callao, Peru, during this phase.

From November 15 through November 23, the force conducted operations with Ecuador. These included rehearsal landings followed by an opposed combined amphibious landing at Salinas. The final Marine training phase took place at Rodman, Panama, from November 25 through November 27 and concentrated on jungle training. PLYMOUTH ROCK's Meritorious Unit Commendation for the deployment covered June 15 through December 15, 1981.

PLYMOUTH ROCK returned to major fleet exercises during 1982. In April, she participated in Ocean Venture 82, a large Atlantic Fleet exercise that included operations in the Caribbean and amphibious activity around Vieques. In August, the ship formally received recognition connected with her Unitas deployment. Her final major overseas deployment began in September, when she sailed for northern European waters to participate in Northern Wedding 82, part of NATO's broader Autumn Forge exercise series. Northern Wedding involved naval and amphibious forces operating in the North Atlantic and northern European approaches and was designed to exercise reinforcement routes, protection of shipping, and defense of NATO's northern region.

During the 1982 deployment, PLYMOUTH ROCK suffered a serious engineering casualty in the North Atlantic and became unable to proceed normally under her own power. SUMTER took the dock landing ship in tow. Surviving photographs document the towing arrangements and show the two ships during the operation. SUMTER towed PLYMOUTH ROCK to Portsmouth, England, where repairs could be undertaken. After completion of her remaining North Atlantic activities, PLYMOUTH ROCK returned to the United States.

Commander Morton William Kenyon relieved Commander Moser on April 27, 1983, becoming PLYMOUTH ROCK's final commanding officer. During the following months, the ship was progressively prepared for inactivation. Equipment and material were removed and the crew was reduced as the decommissioning date approached. On September 30, 1983, PLYMOUTH ROCK was decommissioned after almost 29 years of commissioned service. The ship remained in Navy custody after decommissioning. On November 8, 1989, she was transferred to the Maritime Administration and placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on February 24, 1992. The Maritime Administration sold PLYMOUTH ROCK for scrapping to Peck Recycling of Richmond, Virginia, on August 25, 1995, for $268,707. The transfer from the reserve fleet and dismantling process continued thereafter; an official NAVSEA ship-disposition record lists PLYMOUTH ROCK as finally scrapped in September 1996.

PLYMOUTH ROCK's documented decorations include two Navy Meritorious Unit Commendations, the Battle Efficiency "E", the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for qualifying service associated with Lebanon, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic, and the Humanitarian Service Medal for Jamaica Relief.

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