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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Patch at right contributed by Mike Smolinksi

USS Suribachi (AE-21)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Zulu - Xray - Uniform
 NZXU
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (2) - Navy "E" Ribbon (2) - Navy Expeditionary Medal (5-Lebanon)
Second Row - National Defense Service Medal - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (1-Grenada, 1-Libya) - Vietnam Service Medal (1)
Third Row - Southwest Asia Service Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal - Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)
Suribachi Class Ammunition Ship:
  • Laid down, 31 January 1955, at Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Inc, Sparrows Point, Baltimore, MD.
  • Launched, 2 November 1955
  • Commissioned, USS Suribachi (AD-21), 17 November 1956, CAPT. Brooks J. Harral USN in command
  • During the Vietnam War USS Suribachi participated in the following campaign:
    Vietnam War Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Vietnam Ceasefire
    12 to 15 June 1972
    14 July 1972
    24 July to 4 August 1972
    10 to 22 and 28 to 31 August 1972
    24 to 30 September 1972
    13 to 25 October 1972
    31 October to 10 November 1972
    7 to 21 December 1972
    2 to 12 and 16 to 20 January 1973
    26 January to 8 February 1973
  • Decommissioned, 2 December 1994
  • Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 12 December 1996
  • Custody transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD), 31 March 2000 for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Fort Eustis, VA.
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 8 June 2009, to International Shipbreaking Ltd. of Brownsville, TX., for $20,001.00.
  • USS Suribachi earned one campaign star for Vietnam War service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 9,758 t.(lt) 15,688 t.(fl)
    Length 512'
    Beam 72'
    Draft 28'
    Speed 20 kts.
    Complement 20 officers, 324 enlisted
    Armament four twin 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts
    Propulsions two boilers, steam turbines, single shaft, 16,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Suribachi 127k USS Suribachi (AE-21) underway, circa 1957, location unknown.
    US Navy photo # NH 97245, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Suribachi 76k USS Suribachi (AE-21) underway off Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 18 February 1971 © Richard Leonhardt
    Suribachi 137k USS Suribachi (AE-21) underway, 9 July 1962. Photo by PH2 Tate USN
    US Navy photo # NH 97246 from the collections of the Naval Historical Center    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Suribachi 91k USS Suribachi (AE-21) underway, circa, mid-1980s, location unknown.
    US Navy photo # NH 97247 from the collections of the Naval Historical Center    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Suribachi 103k USS Suribachi (AE-21) during mid-Atlantic, underway replenishment of USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), 30 November 1989
    US Navy photo # NH 97248 from the collections of the Naval Historical Center    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Suribachi 103k USS Suribachi (AE-21) transiting the Suez Canal, August 1990. Photo by PH3 Frank A Marquart
    US Navy photo # NH 97249-KN from the collections of the Naval Historical Center    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Suribachi 60k USS Suribachi (AE-21) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 .
    Suribachi 55k USS Suribachi (AE-21) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 ,
    Suribachi 63k USS Suribachi (AE-21) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 .
    Suribachi 65k USS Suribachi (AE-21) underway, date and location unknown.
    ©Atlantic Fleet Sales, Norfolk, VA.    		 Mike Smolinski
    Suribachi 101k USS Suribachi (AE-21) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Wendell Royce McLaughlin Jr
    View the USS Suribachi (AE-21)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    "AE" Sailors Association
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Ammunition Ship (AE) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2009 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 3 July 2009