USS Shadwell ( LSD - 15 ) USS " Shadwell " ( LSD - 15 ) was a in the United States Navy . She was named after Shadwell plantation , Albemarle County , Virginia , the birthplace and early home of Thomas Jefferson , author of the Declaration of Independence and third President of the United States . Initially authorized under the Lend - Lease Act and named " Tomahawk " , then renamed " Waterway " upon assignment to the United Kingdom , LSD - 15 was reassigned back to the United States and named " Shadwell " . She was laid down on 17 January 1944 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co . , at Newport News , Virginia ; launched on 24 May 1944 ; sponsored by Miss Mary Greenman ; and commissioned on 24 July 1944 , Lieutenant Commander William K . Brooks in command . World War II . After shakedown , " Shadwell " sailed from Hampton Roads on 26 August 1944 . She transited the Panama Canal on 1 September and headed for San Diego , where she laid over for a docking period . After almost a month at San Diego , she departed on 2 October to join the Pacific Fleet . Upon arrival , " Shadwell " was employed in the transportation of heavy amphibious equipment between the islands of the southern Pacific . During this time , she visited Tulagi and Guadalcanal in the Solomons , Espiritu Santo on the New Hebrides , Manus in the Admiralty Islands , and Hollandia and Aitape on New Guinea . On 28 December 1944 , " Shadwell " embarked elements of the 1060th Engineer Battalion , United States Army , and sailed from New Guinea with Task Force 78 ( TF 78 ) . Though her convoy came under continual submarine , surface , and air attack , so efficient were the screening units that " Shadwell " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s guns remained silent throughout the entire voyage to Lingayen Gulf , Luzon , P . I . However , on 9 January 1945 ( D - Day for the Luzon invasion ) , " Shadwell " ' s gunners proved their worth by splashing an A6M Zero . " Shadwell " returned immediately to the staging area at Hollandia , New Guinea , embarked additional troops of the 1060th Army Engineers , then departed for Leyte , P . I . At Leyte , she joined Task Group 78 . 8 ( TG 78 . 8 ) , which soon made for Lingayen . On the evening of 24 January 1945 , the task group was sailing south of Siquijor Island , in the Philippines , when it was attacked by three torpedo bomber s . Two were splashed by the convoy ' s combat air patrol , but the third escaped into the darkness . It soon returned , swooping down from the hills on the island , and pressed home its attack . The convoy ' s antiaircraft guns brought the enemy down , but not before he was able to release his torpedo . The air - dropped " fish " struck " Shadwell " just forward of amidships on the starboard side , tearing a hole in her bottom 60 feet wide ( 20 m ) . The landing ship was taking water badly and soon began to sink . The convoy steamed on while two destroyer s stood by to evacuate her crew if necessary . " Shadwell " ' s crew worked frantically to save their sinking ship and , by morning , their efforts were rewarded . " Shadwell " was steaming under her own power , steering for Leyte by trick wheel . Of the more than 500 men aboard " Shadwell " at the time , there were no fatalities and only three casualties , all only slightly injured . Temporary repairs were made at Leyte and , when she was deemed seaworthy , " Shadwell " steamed on to Manus in the Admiralty Islands . There she went into drydock and underwent further temporary repairs before crossing the Pacific for permanent repairs . On 4 May , she reached Bremerton , Washington , and entered the Puget Sound Navy Yard . Just over two months later , she departed the yard to rejoin the fleet , sailing on 11 July . She stopped over at San Francisco on the 14th and 15th , fueled and took on ballast , then set course for Hawaii . On 23 July , she anchored in Maalaea Bay , off Maui and , the next day , shifted to Pearl Harbor . On the 28th , " Shadwell " set sail for the western Pacific , specifically Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshalls . She arrived there on 6 August and departed on the following day , bound for Samar in the Philippines . En route to Samar , she was diverted twice , first to Saipan , then to Guam , where she arrived on 13 August . " Shadwell " departed that same day to join the 3d Fleet and , on the 17th , two days after the cessation of hostilities , she joined TG 30 . 8 . Ten days later , the landing ship arrived in Sagami Wan , off Tokyo Bay , and , two days thereafter , moored in the bay itself . " Shadwell " remained moored at Tokyo through May 1946 , operating the boat pool there . Returning to the United States in mid - 1946 , " Shadwell " underwent preinactivation overhaul and , on 10 July 1947 , was placed out of commission , in reserve . She was berthed at Orange , Texas , as a unit of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet . 1950 – 1970 . On 20 September 1950 , " Shadwell " was recommissioned at Orange , Texas . She operated for the next five years in the western Atlantic and Caribbean . Ranging as far north as Labrador , Greenland , and Newfoundland , " Shadwell " participated in several Arctic Circle expeditions and exercises including " Bluejay " and " Convex " in 1951 and " Pinetree " in 1953 . The remainder of her time was spent along the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean . On Friday , 4 February 1955 Customs Inspector George M . Bacon was killed when he tripped and fell aboard the USS Shadwell , which was docked in Hampton Roads . The vessel had just returned from a tour of the Caribbean and had requested Customs clearance . Inspector Bacon fell approximately 20 feet into the interior dock - well , resulting in significant trauma to his head . He was pronounced dead on the ship . Inspector Bacon was a U . S . Army veteran of World War I veteran and had served with the United States Customs Service for several years . He was survived by his wife , two sons , grandson and brother . In 1956 , after one Caribbean operation , " Shadwell " departed Norfolk for a tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean . Thus she began a schedule of deployments , alternating Atlantic - Caribbean duty with cruises in the Mediterranean , which lasted until she was decommissioned in 1971 . Ten times , during the intervening 15 years , Shadwell cruised the " middle sea " and visited its ports of call . In 1959 , " Shadwell " became the first helicopter - carrying dock landing ship ( She had her call letters changed from LSD to LPH when she carried helicopters ) . In 1961 , she underwent a Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization ( FRAM ) overhaul . She was in the Atlantic supporting the Cuban quarantine in October 1962 . In February 1964 , she participated in the amphibious exercise " Quick Kick V " on the coast of South Carolina . Seven months later , during the passage to her sixth Mediterranean deployment , " Shadwell " took part in Operation " Steel Pike " executed off the coast of Spain . In 1967 , she won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the Atlantic Fleet . In January 1968 , she was in the Caribbean engaged in Operation " Spring Board . " On 8 July 1969 , she was involved in a night - time collision with the off Malta . During August 1969 , " Shadwell " departed the Mediterranean after a five - month deployment . She entered Little Creek , Virginia , on the 19th to begin inactivation overhaul . Eight months later , on 9 March 1970 , she was placed out of commission , in reserve . On 9 September , " Shadwell " was transferred to the James River , Virginia , group of the National Defense Reserve Fleet . " Shadwell " was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 November 1976 . Mobile Bay . On 10 November 1988 , the " Shadwell " , decommissioned and now known as the ex - USS " Shadwell " , was transferred to the Fire Research Detachment , Little Sands Island , Mobile Bay , Alabama . She is serving as a test and training platform in the development of fire models and other damage and control systems . " Shadwell " is on the stricken list and will eventually be disposed of upon the end of her use as a test and training platform . " Shadwell " was grounded on Little Sand Island in Mobile Bay , Alabama , as a result of hurricanes Katrina and Rita . The ship was removed from the position of grounding in 2006 . A U . S . Navy Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit ( MDSU ) assisted with the project . Awards . " Shadwell " earned one battle star for World War II service . In 1967 , she won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the Atlantic Fleet .