USS Kamehameha (SSBN-642) was a Benjamin Franklin-class ballistic missile submarine and the only ship in the United States Navy to be named after Kamehameha I, the first King of Hawaii (c. 1758–1819). She is one of only two United States ships named after a monarch. She was later reclassified as an attack submarine and re-designated SSN-642. The ship's motto was Imua, which roughly translates from Hawaiian as "go forth and conquer." Another motto used by her crew was Kam do, a play on the phrase "can do." Construction and commissioning The contract to build Kamehameha was awarded to Mare Island Naval Shipyard at Vallejo, California on August 31, 1962. The Kamehameha was sponsored by Mrs. Pauline Nawahineokalai King (née Evans), widow of Samuel Wilder King, the eleventh Territorial Governor of Hawaii, and commissioned on December 10, 1965 with Commander Roth S. Leddick in command of the Blue Crew and Commander Robert W. Dickieson in command of the Gold Crew. Construction began on May 2, 1963 and she was launched on January 16, 1965. Conducting deterrence patrols during the Cold War, Kamehameha's armament was 16 Poseidon ballistic missiles plus 10–12 Mark 48 heavy torpedoes non-ADCAP (advanced capability). Service History Kamehameha was built by the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California. Upon completion, she went on her first sea trials, off the coast of California. She conducted Missile firing tests at Cape Canaveral, Florida, after which she sailed to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which was her home port until 1970. Although Pearl Harbor was her home port, she made all of her Pacific patrols out of Apra Harbor, Guam, to permit maximum time on patrol station with a minimum transit time to and from the port. Kamehameha joined the United States Pacific Fleet, and the Blue Crew began her first deterrent patrol on 6 August 1966. In November 1966, the Gold Crew relieved the Blue Crew and returned to patrol. On her last Pacific patrol, the Blue Crew took her to the Pacific Missile Test Range to fire two dummy warhead missiles. The Blue Crew then took Kamehameha into port at Pearl Harbor to prepare for transfer to the Atlantic Fleet. The Gold Crew relieved the Blue Crew and spent the next few weeks in Honolulu allowing the people of Hawaii to go aboard and see the submarine named in honor of the King of Hawaii. In early June 1970, with the