USS Okinawa ( LPH - 3 ) USS " Okinawa " ( LPH – 3 ) was the second " Iwo Jima " - class amphibious assault ship of the United States Navy . She was the second Navy ship assigned the name " Okinawa " , in honor of the World War II Battle of Okinawa . " Okinawa " was laid down on 1 April 1960 ( 15th anniversary of the invasion of Okinawa ) by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ; launched on 19 August 1961 ; sponsored by Mrs . John L . McClellan , wife of Arkansas Senator John L . McClellan ; and commissioned on 14 April 1962 , Captain William E . Lemos in command . History . Following commissioning and sea trials , " Okinawa " departed Philadelphia on 20 June 1962 for her homeport , Norfolk , Va . , where she spent a month fitting out . After a six - week shakedown cruise out of Guantanamo Bay , Cuba and another month in Norfolk , the amphibious assault ship began participation in her first fleet exercise in the Caribbean , 15 October . Shortly thereafter the Cuban missile crisis arose and " Okinawa " remained in the area , lending force to the United States ’ stand , until 3 December , when she returned to Norfolk . The first half of 1963 was spent in availability at the Philadelphia and Norfolk Naval Shipyard s and further trial operations in the Caribbean and out of Norfolk . On 9 July , " Okinawa " began her first formal Caribbean deployment , returning to Norfolk on 1 October and spending the remainder of that year and the first part of the next in that area . Directed to provide support for the " Dominican Crisis " , she departed Onslow Beach , North Carolina with HMM - 263 ( Reinf ) and the 1st Bn . , 2d Marines on 2 May 1965 . The mission concluded on 29 May . During June 1964 , she sailed to Newport , Rhode Island and New York for the World ' s Fair . On 7 October , she left on her first trip to European waters , for operation “ Steel Pike I , ” an amphibious exercise off the coast of Spain . After a stop in France and a goodwill visit to Plymouth , England , " Okinawa " arrived back in Norfolk at the end of November . In April 1965 , while participating in an exercise off Puerto Rico , " Okinawa " was alerted and sent to an area off the Dominican Republic to act as medical evacuation ship with her marines as a floating reserve during the crisis in that troubled country . Then , following the end of her deployment , she proceeded via Norfolk to Philadelphia for overhaul . The following April she returned to Norfolk and began her third Caribbean deployment on 13 June . " Okinawa " was transferred to the Pacific Fleet ; she set sail for the West Coast on 24 January 1967 and arrived at San Diego , her new home port , on 8 February . " Okinawa " left on 10 March for her first deployment off Vietnam . On 13 April , while sailing from " Okinawa " to Taiwan , the ship was diverted by a distress call , and the next day rescued all 38 persons from the grounded Panamanian vessel " Silver Peak " near the Sento Shosho Islands . While off Vietnam , " Okinawa " was a mobile base from which a well - equipped force of marines could quickly strike via helicopters at the Communist insurgents . She returned to San Diego on 5 December . On 4 April 1968 , after an intensive period of special training , " Okinawa " recovered the unmanned Apollo 6 space capsule 380 miles north of Kauai , Hawaii . With further exercises and upkeep , she conducted her second Westpac deployment from 2 November to 26 June 1969 , when she arrived in San Diego for leave and upkeep . In 1970 , " Okinawa " delivered ten A - 4K Skyhawk single - seaters , and four TA - 4K two - seaters to New Zealand , after their purchase for the Royal New Zealand Air Force . On 7 August 1971 , " Okinawa " was the recovery ship for Apollo 15 . In April 1975 , " Okinawa " participated in Operation Eagle Pull , the evacuation of Phnom Penh , Cambodia and Operation Frequent Wind , the evacuation of Saigon , Vietnam From 7 October 1987 to 7 April 1988 , " Okinawa " was deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of mine sweeping operations and MAGTF 1 - 88 . She began her deployment heading West and continued West , circumnavigating the world . " Okinawa " was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 17 December 1992 . She was transferred to MARAD and laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet , in Suisun Bay , Benicia , Calif . The ship was sunk as a target in a COMSUBPAC ship sinking exercise ( SINKEX ) on 6 June 2002 , off the coast of Southern California , in 2 , 020 fathoms ( 3 , 700 m ) at . After being hit by several Maverick , Harpoon missile s , and general - purpose bombs , the ex - " Okinawa " was finally sunk by a Mk 48 torpedo fired by the " USS Portsmouth " .