USS Point Defiance ( LSD - 31 ) USS " Point Defiance " ( LSD - 31 ) was a of the United States Navy . She was named for a location in Pierce County , Washington , the site of a military reservation established by the U . S . Government in 1866 . She was the second ship assigned that name , but the construction of the " Point Defiance " ( LSD - 23 ) was canceled on 17 August 1945 . " Point Defiance " ( LSD – 31 ) was laid down on 23 November 1953 by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp . , Pascagoula , Miss . ; launched on 28 September 1954 , sponsored by Mrs . Arthur D . Struble ; and commissioned on 31 March 1955 , Commander Oscar B . Parker in command . Service history . 1955 – 1962 . Following shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico , the new dock landing ship arrived Long Beach , California , in July 1955 and joined Amphibious Squadron 7 , Amphibious Force , Pacific Fleet . After two deployments to the western Pacific , " Point Defiance " became one of the first rocket - launching surface ships to support the 1958 International Geophysical Year Solar Eclipse Expedition to the South Pacific . Launchers on deck fired eight Nike - Asp sounding rocket s to collect scientific data during the eclipse . In May 1959 " Point Defiance " participated in the large scale and highly successful amphibious " Operation Twin Peaks " off Oceanside , California In February 1960 " Point Defiance " made her third cruise to the western Pacific , participating in " Operation Blue Star " , a combined amphibious operation with Chinese Nationalist Forces . In June 1960 she participated in " Operation Sea Hawk " , a combined amphibious landing with Republic of Korea forces and returned to Long Beach in July . She operated off the West Coast during most of 1961 , and made a brief cruise to Pearl Harbor and Okinawa . " Point Defiance " departed Long Beach for the western Pacific in January 1962 . In May she landed Marines at Bangkok , Thailand . In October she transited the Panama Canal and steamed to the Caribbean ready to act if needed during the Cuban Quarantine . 1963 – 2011 . In early 1963 " Point Defiance " carried bathyscaphe " Trieste " from San Diego through the Panama Canal to Boston for deep search operations into the cause of the loss of the nuclear submarine . In September " Point Defiance " was on her way to the western Pacific again . In October she steamed to Vietnam to safeguard U . S . interests , and in November participated in another combined amphibious operation with the Republic of China . From April to September 1964 , " Point Defiance " operated in the eastern Pacific , then underwent overhaul . She departed for the western Pacific on 27 April 1965 and off - loaded men and equipment at Da Nang , South Vietnam , on 26 May . On 18 June she helped rescue survivors from the midair collision of two Guam - based B - 52s . In July she landed Marines at Qui Nhơn , South Vietnam , and in early August helped salvage " Frank Knox " ( DDR - 742 ) , aground on Pratas Reef . In late August she took part in the very successful " Operation Starlite " , an amphibious raid at Van Tuong , South Vietnam , which inflicted heavy enemy casualties . After another successful amphibious landing , she returned home on 24 November . " Point Defiance " again departed for the western Pacific on 27 March 1966 , and began transporting troops and equipment from U . S . bases in the Far East to South Vietnam . She returned to Long Beach on 24 June , but deployed to South Vietnam again on 1 November . On 11 January 1967 " Point Defiance " participated in " Deckhouse V " , a major U . S . operation in the Kien Hoa area . On 18 May she sent U . S . Marines on to the beach in the southern half of the Demilitarized Zone , exchanging fire with North Vietnam ese shore batteries . She returned to Long Beach on 24 June . On 7 May 1968 " Point Defiance " was off on another deployment to the western Pacific , once again with an amphibious ready group off Vietnam . She returned to Long Beach on 18 December . Decommissioning , 1983 – 2011 . " Point Defiance " was decommissioned on 30 September 1983 and her name struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 24 February 1992 . She was sold to Pegasus Inc . , on 29 September 1995 , but repossessed by the Navy , 1 July 1997 . Custody was transferred to Maritime Administration ( MARAD ) , 18 December 1998 , and she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet , Suisun Bay , Benicia , California . On 28 July 2011 , " Point Defiance " was sold by MARAD to All Star Metals of Brownsville , Tx for $ 578 , 539 to be dismantled . " Point Defiance " departed the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet on 8 September to be cleaned by Allied Defense Recycling at the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard . " Point Defiance " was towed to Brownsville upon completion of the cleaning and is currently undergoing scrapping .