USS Iwo Jima ( LHD - 7 ) USS " Iwo Jima " ( LHD - 7 ) is a . Fabrication work for " Iwo Jima " began at Ingalls shipyard on 3 September 1996 , and the ship ' s keel was laid on 12 December 1997 . She was launched on 4 February 2000 . USS " Iwo Jima " was christened by her sponsor , Mrs . Zandra Krulak , wife of General Charles C . Krulak , the former Commandant of the Marine Corps , in Pascagoula , Mississippi on 25 March 2000 . The commissioning crew moved aboard in April 2001 , and made the ship ' s maiden voyage on 23 June 2001 , accompanied by more than 2 , 000 World War II veterans — many of them survivors of the Battle of Iwo Jima . She was commissioned a week later in Pensacola , Florida , on 30 June 2001 . Shortly thereafter , the ship and crew began an accelerated Inter Deployment Training Cycle , which tested virtually every system on board in realistic combat conditions . " Iwo Jima " was also the first ship on the waterfront open to the public after the terrorist attacks of September 11 . 2003 deployment . The " Iwo Jima " and the Marines of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit ( 26 MEU ) along with two other amphibious assault ship s formed the " Iwo Jima " Amphibious Ready Group . The " Iwo Jima " left port on 4 March 2003 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and deployed Marines in April 2003 from the Mediterranean Sea into Northern Iraq for the Iraq War . In July 2003 , the " Iwo Jima " deployed to the coast of Liberia as part of JTF Liberia in response to the Second Liberian Civil War . During this operation , the Southern European Task Force ( SETAF ) as the command element of JTF Liberia and the " Iwo Jima " with the 26 MEU landed Marines in Liberia to perform humanitarian assessments . " At its height , JTF Liberia consisted of over 5 , 000 service members from the SETAF headquarters , the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit , the three - ship Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group , 3rd Air Force ' s 398th Air Expeditionary Group , U . S . Army Europe ' s 21st Theater Support Command , and Army Special Forces . " USS " Iwo Jima " served as the 2nd Fleet flagship in 2005 , based out of Norfolk , Virginia . Hurricane Katrina . On 31 August 2005 , the " Iwo Jima " was sortied to the Gulf of Mexico to provide disaster relief and to conduct support operations in the wake of Hurricane Katrina . The " Iwo Jima " sailed up the Mississippi River to the city of New Orleans to directly support relief operations and act as the central command center for all federal , state and local disaster recovery operations . During this critical period , the " Iwo Jima " also served as the region ’ s only fully functional air field for helicopter operations , conducting over one thousand flight deck operations ; provided hot meals , showers , drinking water , and berthing to thousands of National Guardsmen and relief workers ; provided medical services , including first aid and surgical services , for disaster victims ; and conducted clean - up operations in the city and suburbs of New Orleans . The " Iwo Jima " served as flagship for the Commander - in - Chief , George W . Bush , during Hurricane Katrina Joint Task Force , and is only the second Navy ship to have been presented the flag of the President of the United States . Recent activities . On 6 June 2006 , the " Iwo Jima " left its homeport of Norfolk , Virginia , and began a regularly scheduled six - month deployment to the U . S . European Command and U . S . Central Command area of responsibilities , as flagship for the " Iwo Jima " Expeditionary Strike Group , encompasing 6 , 000 Sailors and Marines . The ship has also been a part of the evacuation effort of American citizens from the conflict in Lebanon . News reports on 15 July 2006 stated that the " Iwo Jima " , flagship of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit , would be used to evacuate U . S . citizens from Lebanon after the Israeli Defense Force made the Beirut International Airport unusable through bombing its runways and fuel storage areas . This exercise was completed by 1st Battalion 8th Marines under the 2nd Marine Division , the same unit that was attacked in the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing . In 2002 , 2004 , 2009 , 2010 , and 2011 , " Iwo Jima " participated at the annual Fleet Week in New York City . On 16 February 2007 , " Iwo Jima " was awarded the 2006 Battle " E " award . On 3 November 2010 , " Iwo Jima " was deployed to Haiti in anticipation of providing humanitarian assistance due to an impending Tropical Storm Tomas . On 27 March 2012 , " Iwo Jima " was deployed as part of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group with Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit supporting maritime security operations and security cooperation efforts in the U . S . 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility . On 11 April 2012 , an MV - 22 from the VMM - 261 crashed near Agadir , Morocco , during a joint training exercise after taking off from USS " Iwo Jima " . Two Marines were killed and two others were seriously injured . Early May 2012 " Iwo Jima " was operating in the Gulf of Aqaba and in the South of the Red Sea . In November 2012 , " Iwo Jima " was dispatched to the eastern Mediterranean , during escalating warfare between Israel and Hamas , in case evacuation of U . S . citizens from Israel was required , delaying the scheduled return to Norfolk of the " Iwo Jima " . Summer of 2013 , " Iwo Jima " undergoes maintenance in dry dock in Norfolk , VA . In 2014 " Iwo Jima " will shift homeport to Mayport . Motto . The ship ' s motto , Uncommon Valor , is based on Fleet Admiral Chester W . Nimitz ' s words when he spoke of Sailors and Marines who fought at Iwo Jima : " Among the Americans who served on Iwo Island uncommon valor was a common virtue . "