as part of the Third Fleet. Decommissioning Peleliu returned to Naval Base San Diego on 24 December 2014 from her final six-month deployment to the Western Pacific. Upon return, the ship made preparations to decommission in March 2015 after 34 years of service, 17 deployments and more than transited. Peleliu was decommissioned on 31 March 2015 in San Diego. Following her decommissioning, the 820 ft-long vessel was moved to Pearl Harbor to join the reserve fleet. USS Peleliu was placed in an inactive reserve status and moored alongside her sister ship . Ship's coat of arms The stars across the top of the shield represent the eight Medal of Honor recipients from the Battle of Peleliu Island in 1944. Centered is the large Roman numeral "V", which represents the hull number of the ship, LHA-5. The four-point star in the "V" identifies the four functions of the landing force, and sustain their operations ashore. In the lower left-hand side of the shield is a ring, which by tradition of heraldry, symbolizes the fifth born. The 1st Marine Division emblem is the constellation Southern Cross with the numeral '1' superimposed. Retired Navy Chief DSC William J. Cunningham, a plankowner, was the primary designer of the Ship's Coat of Arms contributing all design work except the four-point star during pre-com in 1979. References External links Peleliu homepage USS Peleliu history at U.S. Carriers Tarawa-class amphibious assault ships Cold War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi 1978 ships