USS Suribachi (AE-21) was a of the United States Navy. The ship was laid down on 31 January 1955 at Sparrows Point, Maryland, by Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard, Inc.; launched on 2 November 1955; sponsored by Mrs. Lemuel C. Shepherd; and commissioned on 17 November 1956. She was named for the volcano of Iwo Jima, Mount Suribachi, the hill where the photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima was taken. Service history 1956–1960 Between commissioning and August 1957, Suribachi completed fitting out and conducted shakedown training out of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. In September and October, she participated in three NATO exercises – Seaspray, Strikeback, and Pipedown – as flagship for the Underway Replenishment Group (URG). During the following year, she continued to operate along the east coast and in the Caribbean Sea undergoing a yard overhaul and training at Guantanamo Bay. In November 1958, Suribachi sailed on an extended tour of duty with the 6th Fleet. She cruised the Mediterranean until May 1960, taking time in June 1959 to serve as flagship for Service Squadron 2 during Operation Lantflex. 1961–1972 Suribachi deployed to the Mediterranean two more times, from February to August 1961 (under the command of Captain Frederick T. Moore, Jr) and from August 1962 until the spring of 1963, before entering the yard of the Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., at Baltimore, Maryland, for conversion to a Fast Automatic Shuttle Transfer ammunition ship (AE-FAST). At that time, she was placed in commission, in reserve. In addition to the FAST conversion, Suribachi received a helicopter platform on her fantail enabling her to conduct vertical replenishments for the fleet. On 15 December 1965, the ammunition ship was placed back in full commission at Norfolk, Virginia, where she continued fitting out until the beginning of February 1966. She then got underway for five weeks of shakedown training in the Caribbean area out of Guantanamo Bay. From mid-March to mid-April, she and conducted the operational evaluation of her newly installed FAST system, in the vicinity of Mayport, Florida. In June, she returned to her schedule of 6th Fleet deployments and Atlantic coast-Caribbean operations. Between June 1966 and June 1972, she made four more Mediterranean cruises, during which she visited many of the interesting ports along the littoral of the "middle sea". Her mission, as always, was to maintain the logistics support for the fleet at a high level of readiness.