USS Anchorage (LSD-36) was the lead ship of the of the United States Navy. In the ship's 34 years of service, she completed 19 deployments in the western Pacific and became the most decorated dock landing ship on the west coast. Construction Anchorage was awarded to Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi on 29 June 1965 and her keel was laid down on 13 March 1967. She was launched on 5 May 1968; sponsored by Mrs. Alexander S. Heyward, Jr., the wife of Vice Admiral Alexander S. Heyward; and commissioned at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia, on 15 March 1969. Outfitted with a large floodable stern section accessed through an enormous operable stern gate, Anchorage served as a launch platform for large landing craft, such as the LCU, as well as a "boat haven" to shelter other small craft utilized in an amphibious landing. The ship was able to provide a minimal degree of naval gunfire support through the use of two sets of twin /50 caliber guns mounted on the 02-level fore and aft. In later years these guns were removed to be replaced with Mk-38 machine guns and two Phalanx CIWS for missile defense. In its final decade of service with the US Navy, it functioned primarily as a platform for two LCAC hovercraft landing vehicles and embarked Marines. Service history After a brief, round-trip cruise to Andros Island, Bahamas, the Anchorage left Norfolk on 24 June, bound for the west coast. She paused at Mayport and Fort Lauderdale, Florida; transited the Panama Canal on 16 July; and arrived at her home port San Diego, California, on 26 July. At the end of shakedown training off the California coast, she entered the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, on 1 November, for post-shakedown availability. Pacific – Far East service 1970 Anchorage participated in numerous military operations. At the end of the Vietnam War, the ship carried Marines back to the United States as a part of the US withdrawal from Vietnam. Anchorage returned to San Diego on 9 January 1970. She set sail on the 31st for the western Pacific (WestPac) to transport Marine Corps personnel back to the United States as part of Operation Keystone Bluejay, a planned withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam. On 19 February, the ship arrived at Danang, Republic of Vietnam; took on board the personnel and equipment of the 7th Motor Battalion;