USS Guadalcanal ( LPH - 7 ) USS " Guadalcanal " ( LPH - 7 ) , the third " Iwo Jima " - class amphibious assault ship ( helicopter ) , was launched by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 16 March 1963 , sponsored by Mrs . David Shoup , wife of General Shoup , the former Commandant of the Marine Corps ; and commissioned 20 July 1963 , Captain Dale K . Peterson in command . It was the second ship in the Navy to bear the name . Operational history . Upon completion of sea trials and outfitting , " Guadalcanal " departed Philadelphia to join the Amphibious Forces , U . S . Atlantic Fleet . One of a new class of ships designed from the keel up to embark , transport , and land assault marines by means of helicopters , she lent new strength and flexibility to amphibious operations . After departing Norfolk 23 October 1963 for six weeks ' shakedown training at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , " Guadalcanal " steamed to Onslow Beach , North Carolina , 6 December for practice amphibious landings . She then carried on training and readiness operations with the Atlantic Fleet , based in Norfolk until departing for Panama 11 February 1964 . Following 2 months on station as flagship for Commander PhibRon 12 with the 12 Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked and ready to land anywhere needed . " Guadalcanal " entered Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 26 May , but was deployed again 7 October as a unit of Operation " Steel Pike 1 " , a NATO landing exercise on the beaches of southern Spain . Highlights of her career included 21 July 1966 when she recovered Gemini X astronauts after their spacecraft landed in the Atlantic east of Cape Kennedy , and 13 March 1969 when she recovered Apollo 9 off the Bahamas . In October 1985 the ship logged its 100 , 000th aircraft landing . In 1987 the " Guadalcanal " was leading minesweeping operations in the Persian Gulf when it encountered the Iran Ajar laying mines in the shipping lanes . Helicopters from the Guadalcanal attacked the ship ; troops from the Guadalcanal boarded and captured the ship . ( Iran Ajar was the second enemy warship captured on the high seas by the U . S . Navy since 1815 ; the first was the captured in 1944 by the first USS " Guadalcanal " , an escort carrier . ) This Guadalcanal also provided the Marines for the first wave of Operation Provide Comfort , the Kurdish relief operations in Northern Iraq immediately following the Persian Gulf War in 1991 . She was decommissioned in 1994 , and stored as part of the James River Reserve Fleet until she was used as a target and sunk in the Virginia Capes area on 19 May 2005 . Incidents . On 9 May 1968 the ship floated adrift off North Carolina due to a burned out bearing in the propulsion system . In 1975 , an engineering incident occurred at GTMO refresher training . While undergoing a PEB ( Propulsion Examining Board ) full power run , the ship lost electrical loads several times in succession . This caused the generator switchboard to catch fire resulting in the ship going DIW ( dead in the water ) for several hours . During this examination the ship attained a record speed of 28 knots at full power . On 27 January 1976 the ship went aground in Augusta Bay , Sicily on a peak of coral which pushed in areas on either side of the bow , but did not crack or hole the ship . Three days later , with cargo , personnel , helicopters , and fuel off - loaded to assist the effort , the ship was refloated . Later that spring , while still in the Mediterranean Sea , a Marine Corps CH - 46 Sea Knight helicopter crashed on its flight deck while attempting to return to the ship after lifting off minutes earlier . ( So impactful were those incidents , that David Glunt Jr . , Captain of the LPH - 7 at the time , was heard to remark after returning to the United States in July 1976 that the six - month tour in the Mediterranean was the " Cruise from Hell . " ) On 17 September 1981 near Sardinia , Italy , a USMC CH - 53C helicopter crashed while attempting to land aboard the ship during training exercises killing all five crewmen . On 24 September 1981 the " Guadalcanal " and the , collided during underway replenishment south of Sardinia , Italy , causing minor damage but no injuries . Awards , citations and campaign ribbons . During service " Guadalcanal " received the Joint Meritorious Unit Award , Navy Unit Commendation , Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation , Navy Battle " E " Ribbon ( 4 ) , Navy Expeditionary Medal ( 1 - Iran / Indian Ocean , 2 - Lebanon , 1 - Libya ) , National Defense Service Medal , Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal ( 3 - Dominican Republic , 1 - Lebanon , 1 - Persian Gulf , 1 - Op . Restore Hope , Somalia ) , Southwest Asia Service Medal and Humanitarian Service Medal ( 1 - Beirut Evacuation ) .