Namesake Manitowoc, Wisconsin Laid down 27 February 1967 Commissioned 24 January 1970 Launched 4 January 1969 | Ordered 29 December 1965 Acquired 1 April 1970 Construction started 27 February 1967 | |
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Name USS Manitowoc (LST-1180) Builder Philadelphia Naval Shipyard | ||
USS Manitowoc (LST 1180) was the second ship of the Newport class LST in the United States Navy. LST 1180 was laid down at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 27 February 1967; named Manitowoc (after the county in Wisconsin) on 21 March 1967; launched 4 January 1969 and sponsored by Mrs. Gaylord Nelson, wife of the U.S. senator from Wisconsin; and commissioned 24 January 1970.
"Manitowoc" is Anishinaabe for "home of the Great Spirit." The ship's nickname was "Mighty Manny."
Manitowoc conducted two deployments off Vietnam in 1971 and 1972. She carried troops to Lebanon during the intervention there in 1982 and 1983, and participated in the Grenada operations in October and November 1983. Manitowoc participated in the Persian Gulf War before decommissioning on 30 June 1993. The ship was then transferred to the Republic of China through the Security Assistance Program on 29 September 2000.
Notable officers and crew
Notable officers and crew include:
Cmdr. John D. Kolata, USN, served as commanding officer of the Manitowoc from 1982-85 during the ship's involvement in the Beirut Multinational Peacekeeping Force and Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada). After he retired from the Navy, he served as a city manager in Ohio and Illinois. He ran for city council in Kewanee, Illinois, in 2011.
In an October 2014 article for Veterans Life/Kitsap Military Times, Kolata wrote that Operation Urgent Fury stopped the expansion of communist Cuba and contributed to the end of the Cold War. "The entire amphibious task force that Manitowoc was part of during Operation Urgent Fury displayed true flexibility in carrying out the orders of our commander in chief, President Ronald Reagan," he wrote. "In my opinion, it was necessary to stop the expansion of communist Cuba and its ally, the USSR, into other parts of our hemisphere and in no small manner was a first step in the dissolution of the USSR and the end of the Cold War."
Rear Adm. William J. Marshall III served as a lieutenant commander aboard the Manitowoc in the early 1980s. He later served as the Navy's director of expeditionary warfare and as commanding officer of Navy Region Northwest.
John J. Murray, actor and author, served as a seaman aboard the Manitowoc in the early 1980s. As Malachy Murray, he appeared in several episodes of "All My Children" (2004) and "One Life to Live" (2004) and, as of 2016, had significant roles in three films. He authored the book "Unique New York" (260 pages, One Broadway Productions, 2007).