USS Peleliu ( LHA - 5 ) The USS " Peleliu " ( LHA - 5 ) is a " Tarawa " - class amphibious assault ship of the United States Navy , named for the Battle of Peleliu of World War II . Entering service in 1980 , she has been deployed to the Persian Gulf on several occasions , performed an evacuation of U . S . Naval Base Subic Bay following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo , operated with the INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce , participated in Pacific Partnership deployments , and provided assistance following the massive floods in Pakistan in 2010 . It is scheduled for decommissioning at some point in 2013 – 2014 and to be operationally replaced by one of the new America - class amphibious assault ship s that are in planned production . Design and construction . The " Peleliu " was originally to be named first the USS " Khe Sanh " , and then the USS " Da Nang " . The keel of the " Peleliu " was laid down in 1976 at the Ingalls Shipbuilding company in Pascagoula , Mississippi . She was launched on 25 November 1978 , sponsored by Peggy Hayward , the wife of the Chief of Naval Operations at that time , Admiral Thomas B . Hayward . The " Peleliu " was commissioned on 3 May 1980 , with Captain T . P . Scott in command . Ship ' s Coat of Arms . The stars across the top of the shield represent the eight Medal of Honor recipients from the Battle of Peleliu Island in 1944 . Centered is the large roman numeral " V " which represents the hull number of the ship , LHA - 5 . The four - point star in the " V " identifies the four functions of the landing force , and sustain their operations ashore . In the lower left - hand side of the shield is a ring which by tradition of heraldry , symbolizes the fifth born . The 1st Marine Division emblem is the constellation Southern Cross with the numeral ' 1 ' superimposed . Operational history . The " Peleliu " immediately steamed southwards , and then she transited the Panama Canal to the Pacific Ocean . She crossed the Equator for the first time on 27 May 1980 , setting a new record for time between an American warship ' s commissioning and her crossing over into the Southern Hemisphere . Next , the " Peleliu " steamed to the seaport of Long Beach , California . Following the 17 October 1989 earthquake in the San Francisco area , a variety of Naval forces provided relief services , with a total of 24 U . S . Navy and Military Sealift Command ships rendering assistance . LHA - 5 Peleliu provided shelter for 300 victims and provided helicopter support . In June 1991 , while she was coming back from the Persian Gulf after Operation Desert Storm , the " Peleliu " participated in the evacuation of the Americans at the U . S . Naval Base Subic Bay , following the volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo . This eruption was one of the largest eruptions during in the past 100 years , and it covered a large region of the Philippines in volcanic ash . This eruption destroyed of most of the American naval base there , and also Clark Air Force Base . This evacuation included taking several patients from the maternity ward at the Subic Bay naval hospital , and hence there were several births of babies in the onboard hospital of the " Peleliu " . Upon returning to her home port at Long Beach Naval Shipyard , the " Peleliu " went through an extensive shipyard rehabilitation including time in the dry dock . She was again underway by May 1992 and going through workups and inspections for her next WESTPAC deployment on January 21 , 1994 . She changed home ports to Naval Station , San Diego during this time period as well . Upon deploying with members of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit and following stops in Pearl Harbor and Singapore , she steamed for Mogadishu , Somalia to participate in Operation Continue Hope and Operation Quick Draw . VIP visits included Chairman , Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Shalikashvili , COMPHIBGRU THREE , Rear Admiral James B . Perkins III , and CJTF Major General Thomas M . Montgomery , U . S . Army . Brig . General Vercauteren , USMC , visited with his deployed Marines as well . While off the coast of Mombasa , she participated in Operation Distant Runner at the border of Rwanda and Brundi . Medical and Dental Civic Action Programs ( MEDCAP , DENCAP ) were performed in the villages of Kipini and Witu , Kenya , provid medical and dental services to local civilians . Leaving Somalia March 25 , 1994 , she steamed to Perth , Australia for a much deserved port visit . On June 30 , 1994 " Peleliu " slowed her pace home and along with ship ' s company , Marines of 2nd Battalion 5th Marines paused to honor the fallen off the coast of her name sake Peleliu , where 50 years prior the Marines of 1st Marine Division suffered 6 , 526 casualties with 1 , 256 killed in action against 10 , 138 Japanese defenders of which very few were taken alive in the Battle of Peleliu . The " Peleliu " was deployed to East Timor as part of the Australian - led INTERFET peacekeeping task force from 26 October to 27 November 1999 . The " Peleliu " departed from San Diego in August 2001 with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit on board for a routine six - month deployment in the Western Pacific . She was in the port of Darwin , Australia , during the September 11 attacks . Following those attacks , the " Peleliu " was sent to the North Arabian Sea , and on 26 November 2001 , she took the first U . S . Marines to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom . After the American Taliban John Walker Lindh was captured in Afghanistan , he was sent to the " Peleliu " on 14 December 2001 . There he was interrogated by a U . S . Marine Corps intelligence team . While he was on board the " Peleliu " , Lindh signed confessions and he told his interrogators that he was not merely a member of the Taliban , but a full member of Al Qaeda . Lindh received surgery by the senior surgeon of the " Peleliu " to remove a bullet in his leg , and he was also treated for frostbite on his toes . On 2 January 2004 , a hostile boat was intercepted by warships at sea in the Indian Ocean , and then fifteen people were detained . An estimated of hashish was seized by American and Australian warships after the interception of a their boat on 1 January 2002 in the North Arabian Sea . The " Peleliu " steamed to support of the Pacific Partnership mission from 23 May through 20 September 2007 . This mission included medical , dental , construction , and other humanitarian assistance programs on shore and afloat in the Philippines , Vietnam , Papua New Guinea , the Solomon Islands , and the Marshall Islands . The medical personnel on board the " Peleliu " included teams from the U . S . Navy and ten other countries , and also from three private assistance organizations . In 2008 , the " Peleliu " was sent to the Indian Ocean to support Operation Iraqi Freedom , Operation Enduring Freedom , and antipiracy operations . On 10 August 2008 , the " Peleliu " responded to a distress call from a merchant ship , the " Gem of Kilakari " , that was being attacked by armed pirates in the Gulf of Aden . That pirate attack was put to an end with no injuries . In August 2010 , the " Peleliu " was sent to Port of Karachi , Pakistan , to use 19 of her helicopters for rescues during the massive floods in southern Pakistan , which were the worst one in the ( very long ) recorded history of Pakistan . During this deployment , Captain David Schnell , the commanding officer of the " Peleliu " , was relieved of his command and reassigned for being " unduly familiar " with several crewmembers . Captain Mark E . Cedrun , the chief of staff for Expeditionary Strike Group 3 , replaced Captain Schnell as the commanding officer of the " Peleliu " . On 24 November 2010 , the " Peleliu " returned full circle and she was berthed in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone on her first visit there since the evacuation by the Navy in 1991 . That deployment also included a port visit to Phuket in Thailand . The " Peleliu " returned to her home port in San Diego in December 2010 , and she remains on active service in the U . S . Navy as of May 2012 . On 17 September 2012 , " Peleliu " deployed to the C5F AOR under the command of Captain James T . Cox .