The USS Frederick, a Navy Tank Landing Ship named after The City of Frederick, will be honored by Mayor Randy McClement and the Board of Aldermen at the Mayor and Board of Aldermen Public Meeting on Thursday, October 18th.
CONTACT: Susan Harding, Public Information Officer, 301-600-1385
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, October 10, 2012
The City of Frederick to Receive Memorabilia from USS Frederick
Navy Tank Landing Ship Named After City
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Frederick, MD -- The USS Frederick, a Navy Tank Landing Ship named after The City of Frederick, will be honored by Mayor Randy McClement and the Board of Aldermen at the Mayor and Board of Aldermen Public Meeting on Thursday, October 18th. Captain Brian T. Smith, United States Navy, former and final Commanding Officer of USS FREDERICK (LST 1184) will present his personal memorabilia from the USS Frederick to The City of Frederick.
The Tank Landing Ship, USS Frederick, was launched on March 8, 1969 and commissioned on April 11, 1970. Named in honor of The City of Frederick, Maryland, the warship served our Nation proudly for over 32 years.
“This indeed will be a very special event for The City of Frederick. I am very honored that Captain Smith is making a special trip to City Hall to make the presentation. Many citizens are unaware that we had a navy vessel named after our City and this is the perfect occasion to learn more about the ship, the crew and the man that commanded her through her final year of service,” said Mayor Randy McClement.
The USS Frederick made over thirteen major deployments to the Western Pacific and Far East. She participated in the Vietnam withdrawal operation in 1970 and Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of Saigon in April 1975. The USS Frederick was also directly involved in both Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf. The USS Frederick was one of the few ships to have been used in an actual amphibious assault in modern combat operations during the liberation of Kuwait.
On October 5, 2002, in a ceremony at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the USS Frederick was retired from service and her name removed from the active list. The National Ensign and the Naval Jack, with its distinctive “Don’t Tread On Me” motto, to last fly over USS Frederick was presented to the “hometown” of Frederick, Maryland. On September 22, 2004, Smith visited City Hall to present memorabilia from the USS Frederick’s Decommissioning Ceremony. This will be Captain Smith’s second presentation to The City of Frederick.
The public is welcome to attend the presentation, which will take place at 7:00 PM in the Boardroom of City Hall on Thursday, October 18th at the beginning of the Public Meeting.
For more information, please contact Susan Harding at susan@cityoffrederick.com or 301.600.1385.
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