USS Peleliu (LHA-5) is a of the United States Navy, named for the Battle of Peleliu of World War II. Entering service in 1980, she has been deployed to the Persian Gulf on several occasions, performed an evacuation of U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, operated with the INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce, participated in Pacific Partnership deployments, and provided assistance following the massive floods in Pakistan in 2010. She was decommissioned in San Diego, California on 31 March 2015. She currently rests, out of commission and in reserve, at NAVSEA Inactive Ships On-site Maintenance Office, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii alongside in the inactive reserve in case of further need. Design and construction Peleliu was originally going to be named USS Khe Sanh, and then USS Da Nang. Pelelius keel was laid down in 1976 at the Litton Industries Ingalls Shipbuilding company in Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was launched on 25 November 1978, sponsored by Peggy Hayward, the wife of the Chief of Naval Operations at that time, Admiral Thomas B. Hayward. Peleliu was commissioned on 3 May 1980. Operational history 1980s Peleliu immediately steamed southwards and transited the Panama Canal to the Pacific Ocean. She crossed the Equator for the first time on 27 May 1980, setting a new record for time between an American warship's commissioning and her crossing over into the Southern Hemisphere. Peleliu then steamed to the seaport of Long Beach, California. Following the 17 October 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, Peleliu was one of the 24 U.S. Navy and Military Sealift Command ships that rendered assistance. Peleliu provided shelter for 300 victims and provided helicopter support. 1990s Peleliu deployed again to the Western Pacific in January 1990. The ship, along with her Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), participated in multinational exercises including Exercise Team Spirit with forces from the Republic of Korea, and Exercise Cobra Gold, in Thailand. Peleliu returned home to Naval Station Long Beach in July and later that summer entered the shipyard for an availability period that was scheduled to last nearly a year. The U.S. response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 curtailed the shipyard availability and forced Peleliu into an accelerated schedule of pre-deployment training, but she did not deploy for Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. She eventually departed Long Beach in May 1991, in support of ongoing U.S. operations in the Middle East. In June 1991, while en