Name Clark Laid down 17 July 1978 Construction started 17 July 1978 Builder Bath Iron Works | Ordered 27 February 1976 Commissioned 9 May 1980 Launched 24 March 1979 | |
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Namesake Admiral Joseph James "Jocko" Clark (1893–1971) Sponsored by Mrs. Olga Clark, widow of Admiral Clark | ||
The second USS Clark (FFG-11), fifth ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided-missile frigates, was named for Admiral Joseph James "Jocko" Clark (1893–1971).
Contents
History
Ordered from Bath Iron Works on 27 February 1976 as part of the FY76 program, Clark was laid down on 17 July 1978, launched on 24 March 1979, and commissioned on 9 May 1980. The Ship sponsor was Mrs. Olga Clark, the widow of Admiral Clark.
In July 1982, Clark recovered three sailors that were washed overboard from the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Spain. A fourth sailor was not recovered and was lost at sea.
In December 1992, Clark was nearby when the crew of an F-14 was forced to eject during training operations off the coast of Virginia. Clark's helicopter rescued the radar intercept officer and a United States Coast Guard helicopter rescued the pilot.
In April 1994, Clark changed homeports from Newport, Rhode Island, to Norfolk, Virginia. The ship had previously been homeported in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from the mid-1980s to 1992 and Mayport, Florida before that.
Decommissioned and stricken on 15 March 2000, she was handed over to Poland that same day to become the Polish Navy's ORP Generał Kazimierz Pułaski, after Kazimierz Pułaski, a Pole who was appointed the rank of Brigadier General in the Continental Army cavalry and fought in the American Revolutionary War.
Awards
Clark and her crew received the following unit awards, according to the US Navy unit awards website:
Clark was also nominated for the United States Public Health Service Outstanding Unit Citation for operations from 24 June 1994 to 12 July 1994, but did not receive the award. The ship was reported near Haiti in mid July 1994 around the time many refugees were fleeing Haiti in small boats.