Quote Originally Posted by aboutime View Post
Thanks Gunny. Now, I'll tell you how really old I am. I once visited the First ship named BOXER when it was in the Norfolk Naval base....in 1966. It was also an LHA, but only had the flight deck, and no Well deck then. That's why I asked what I did.
I also was at pier 9 aboard the USS LaSalle when the Damaged USS Forrestal CVA-59 came home after their deadly fire. We stood on deck, and could smell the burnt equipment, and the Forrestal was on pier 11. That was long before the LCAC was invented.
I loved Norfolk. Lived right off Terminal Blvd. The USS Boxer I was on was an LHD-4. Yhe original USS Boxer was what they called a jeep carrier, wasn't it? I don't know a lot about ship designs. Why do you think they don't let us drive the boats? The well deck is how they get the Amtraks, tanks and Hummers out. They flood something that drops the boat and fills the well deck with water. The LCAC's and Amtraks take off from there.

I've never been on a full size carrier. I thought the LHA's - LHD's we were on were big because they dwarfed the LPA/D's. Until a full size carrier pulled up alongside us. I was like holy crap! We're freakin' midgets.

Like I said, I'm not much on sightseeing. My favorite ship was the USS Texas. It is or at least was moored in Galveston. And I got to get off at the end of the tour. It didn't last 6 months. I hate the USS Peleilu, USS Tarawa, USS Boxer, USS Juneau, and USS Cleveland with a crying passion.