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COMBAT PHOTOGRAPHY FROM PARADISE...1971

By the Boys Who Carried In
The Boys Who Built the Seahuts!
LST 1176
USS GRAHAM COUNTY
Many thanks to Roger Allie <lword@theofficenet.com>, who provided these photos.
Go Back To Page 1 Of The Graham County series!

This page is devoted to photos of the early days, as well as any other "first photos" anyone would care to share.

Send me YOUR Photo NOW!

The Stories are in the "guestbooks".
Entries are listed by the 1st year the writer got there.  Select the years you're looking for:

Troglodites
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Wannabes

Meanwhile, Welcome to Diego Garcia, 30 years ago...
The USS GRAHAM COUNTY has docked, and the men are off to have a beer and build an airfield...

...
Who Were These Guys?  Anybody Know?  They'd be a little bit older now, of course...


"Let's see... I think we'll put Air Ops right about here..."
The first trees come down to make way for the runway.


But seriously folks... What ultimately handled B-2s attacking the Taliban started right here!
 


The Lagoon Beach, the first day.


The "Welcome To Diego Garcia" Sign set up by the first arrivals.


The docking area.  Approximately where the Seaman's Club now stands.


Piping the Captain ashore.

The docking area:



6 inch gun at "Cannon Point"


Captain Colbert's fishing excursion - probably the first by Americans at Diego Garcia.

More shots of the docking area:



The very first land crab to be run over by a piece of USN heavy equipment.  Not the last...


Setting up the Causeway.


Donkey in the jungle, 1971.  Looks like nothing's changed!


Fuel Bladders for heavy equipment.  Lots of fuel bladders.


DG 1 - the hut in the foreground eventually became the "Ship Inn" which was the name of the original Brit Club.
The site was located across the street from the current Brit Club.


DG 1 on the way to Point Marianne.


The Temple of Doom at Point Marianne, 1971

Here's some info about the Graham County in 1965:  From Michael Turner <rascule@stonesurfer.com>:

I was stationed on the Graham County LST 1176 in 1965.  I dont have any pictures but while aboard we made a Med cruise and a Caribean cruise, while in the Caribean we we dropped off our contingent of marines and seabees at Gitmo and transport the Army to the Dominican Republic as a peace keeping force, while there we came under small arms fire.
The Graham County was also refered to as a 'tanker T' as it carried fuel for refeuling other ships in the fleet..
The dock we tied up  to in Little Creek right next to the seal training facility.
And by the way a 36 degree roll would ring the ships bell, the flat bottom had a tendency to roll in high seas, it was the pontoons that kept the ship from rolling over.  Michael Turner E3 bo'son striker



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