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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Mauna Kea (AE-22)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Mike - Hotel - Uniform NMHU
JANAP Tactical Voice Radio Call Sign - Citrus (F)oxtrot - Section 6A of JANAP 119(F) 1968

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Secretary of the Navy Letter of Commendation
Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (2)
Second Row - Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (2) - National Defense Service Medal - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (5-Taiwan Straits, 4-Quemoy-Matsu, 6-Vietnam, 1-Persian Gulf)
Third Row - Vietnam Service Medal (12) - Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (12) - Vietnam Campaign Medal

Suribachi Class Ammunition Ship:

Laid down, 6 May 1955, at Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Inc, Sparrows Point, MD.

Launched, 3 May 1956

Commissioned, USS Mauna Kea (AE-22), 30 March 1957, CAPT. Kenneth Loveland, in command

During the Vietnam War USS Mauna Kea participated in the following campaigns:

Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Vietnam War Campaigns
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase II 24 January to 8 February 1967 18 February to 17 March 1967 30 March to 13 April 1967 29 April to 18 May 1967 24 to 31 May1967	Summer-Fall 1969 14 June to 9 July 1969 30 July to 18 August 1969 29 August to 18 September 1969 1 to 21 October 1969
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase III 1 to 17 June 1967 1 to 19 July 1967	Sanctuary Counteroffensive 24 to 30 June 1970
Tet Counteroffensive 15 March to 1 April 1968	Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase VII 1 7 July 1970 18 July to 9 August 1970 25 August to 3 September 1970 27 September to 18 October 1970 2 to 14 November 1970 20 November to 2 December 1970 15 to 31 December 1970 9 to 13 January 1971
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase IV 2 April 1968 10 to 24 April 1968 16 to 28 June 1968	Consolidation I 19 August to 3 September 1971 12 to 21 September 1971 13 to 18 October 1971 29 October to 8 November 1971 15 to 26 November 1971
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase V 7 to 17 July 1968 27 July to 6 August 1968 17 to 28 August 1968 7 to 15 and 25 to 26 September 1968	Consolidation II 15 to 23 December 1971 2 to 13 January 1972
Tet 69/Counteroffensive 11 to 27 April 1969 4 to 15 May 1969 24 May to 5 June 1969	Vietnam Ceasefire 23 August to 4 September 1972 11 to 24 September 1972 8 to 22 October 1972 10 to 14 November 1972 1 to 22 December 1972 27 December 1972 1 to 25 January 1973

Decommissioned, 30 June 1995

Laid up in the Reserve Fleet

Struck from the Naval Register, 12 December 1996

USS Mauna Kea (AE-22) earned twelve campaign stars for Vietnam War service

Title transferred to MARAD, 18 December 1998 for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.

Final Disposition, disposed as targets during RIMPAC 2006, sunk 12 July 2006

Specifications:
Displacement 9,286 t.(lt) 15,728 t.(fl)
Length 511'
Beam 72'
Draft 28'
Speed 20 kts.

Complement

Officers 23

Enlisted 324

Armament four twin 3"/50 gun mounts

Propulsion

one geared turbine

two boilers, steam turbines

single propeller, 16,000shp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Source
	50k	*Namesake* Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii. Its peak is 13,803 ft above sea level, making it the highest point in the state of Hawaii. Most of the volcano is underwater, and when measured from its oceanic base, Mauna Kea is the tallest volcano in the world, measuring over 33,000 ft in height. Mauna Kea is about a million years old, and has thus passed the most active shield stage of life hundreds of thousands of years ago. In its current post-shield state, its lava is more viscous, resulting in a steeper profile. Late volcanism has also given it a much rougher appearance than its neighboring volcanoes due to construction of cinder cones, decentralization of its rift zones, glaciation on its peak, and weathering by the prevailing trade winds. Mauna Kea last erupted 6,000 to 4,000 years ago and is now considered dormant. The peak is about 25 ft higher than Mauna Loa, its more massive neighbor.	Tommy Trampp
	75k	Broadside view of *USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22) off Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 18 September 1957. Mauna Kea** was undergoing repairs at Mare Island from 17 August to 11 October 1957. Mare Island Naval Shipyard photo # 36704-9-57, 9/18/57.	Darryl Baker
	24k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** under way, date and location unknown.	USS Rainier (AE-5) web site
	68k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** under way, date and location unknown. US Navy photo from "Jane's Fighting Ships" 1958-59 Edition.	Robert Hurst
	180k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** under way, date and location unknown. US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, August 1960.	Robert Hurst
	925k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** change of command, 27 July 1962 at NAD, Concord, CA. CAPT. Joseph E. Hoker (left) was relieved by CAPT. James S. Elkins (right). US navy photo from the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum.	Darryl Baker
	711k	Stern view of *USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22) with USS Frank Knox (DD-742) alongside. Photo was taken from USS Ranger (CVA-61) sometime during Ranger**'s 1962-'63 WestPac cruise.	John Slaughter, Webmaster, USS Ranger History & Memorial Site
	99k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** under way, date and location unknown. US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, February 1964.	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret
	122k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** under way, date and location unknown. US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, December 1964.	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret
	224k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** at Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock Co., WA., 2 March 1965. US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now the the holdings of the National Archives, cataloged under National Archives Identifier (NAID) 6927661	Robert Hurst
	62k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** under way, date and location unknown. ©Marine Photos, San Diego, CA.	Mike Smolinski and Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
	78k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** tied to a mooring buoy in 1965, location unknown. Photo from the 1968-69 Edition of "Jane's Fighting Ships", courtesy Hajime Fukaya.	Robert Hurst
	99k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** under way, date and location unknown. US Navy photo.	Wendell Royce McLaughlin Jr.
09052232	223k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** underway off San Diego, CA., date unknown. © George Barber	Nicholas Tiberio
	247k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** under way, date and location unknown. US Navy photo.	Mike Smolinski
	252k	Overhead view of *USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** at sea, 25 May 1966, speed 14 knots (26 kph). US National Archives and Records Administration, catalog Identifier (NAID) 6927725, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.	Robert Hurst
	290k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22) highlines ammunition to the aircraft carrier USS Bennington (CVS-20) in the Gulf of Tonkin, 10 September 1968. Bennington*, with assigned Carrier Anti-Submarine Air Group 59* (CVSG-59), was deployed to the Western Pacific and Vietnam from 30 April to 9 November 1968. US Navy photo # USN 1137061 by PH1 Garrison, U.S. Navy.	Robert Hurst
	123k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** under way in the Pacific Ocean in 1969 conducting a vertrep replenishment. US Navy photo.	Mike Smolinski
	223k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22) conducting a replenishment at sea with USS Blandy (DD-943)** in 1970, location unknown. US Navy photo.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
	155k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** moored pierside, circa 1970, location unknown.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
09052231	328k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22) preparing to come alongside HMAS Brisbane (D-41)**, in 1971 to conduct and underway replenishment. Photo by Bob Westthorp RAN 1964-1988.	Bob Canchola
09052233	198k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22) coming alongside USS Ranger (CVA-61)** in the Tonkin Gulf in 1971 for an underway replenishment evolution.	Photo by Al Kleier from USS Ranger
	294k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** under way, date and location unknown.	Wolfgang Hechler
	271k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** moored pierside, Naval Station Pearl Harbor, HI., 25 March 1981. Photo by J.D. Martin Jr. during March 1981 Tiger Cruise aboard USS Niagara Falls (AFS-3).	HS1 Steve Martin, USCG Ret.
09052234	3854k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** underway while passing under the Golden Gate Bridge at the entrance to San Franciisco Bay, October 1981.	Photo by CAPT. Mark Heilenday, USN Ret.
	420k	Aerial view of *USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** underway, 15 October 1983, location unknown. Defenseimagery photo # DN-SC-85-07286, a US Navy photo by PH3 Tony Yebba, now in the collections of Defense Imagery.	Robert Hurst
	257k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** anchored off Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, 2 June 1984. US National Archives and Records Administration catalog item NAID 6379735, a US Navy photo by PH2 Michael A. Dumas.	Robert Hurst
	195k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** preparing to drop anchor off Singapore, 28 August 1992. Photo by Simon Olsen.	Chris Howell, Port of Bluff, N.Z.
	204k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** under way, date and location unknown	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret
	63k	*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22)** conducting an underway replenishment, date and location unknown.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret
	228k	Decommissioned ex-*USS Mauna Kea* (AE-22) (left) and ex-USS Pyro (AE-24)** (right) moored pierside at Mare Island, 22 November 2001.	Ron Reeves

USS Mauna Kea (AE-22)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	CAPT. Loveland, Kenneth :RADM	30 March 1957 - 2 November 1957
02	CAPT. Waliszewski, Henry Ludwig	2 November 1957 - 20 January 1959
03	CAPT. Cochran, Dale Eugene	20 January 1959 - 26 January 1960
04	CAPT. Hilton, Hart Dale	26 January 1960 - 19 May 1961
05	CAPT. Hoker, Joseph Emil, USN (USNA 1941)	19 May 1961 - 27 July 1962
06	CAPT. Elkins Jr., James Samuel	27 July 1962 - 14 August 1963
07	CAPT. McCormick Jr., Thomas Edward	14 August 1963 - 17 October 1964
08	CAPT. Howe Jr., George Benjamin	17 October 1964 - 27 February 1965
09	LCDR. Leedom Jr., Clair Edward	27 February 1965 - 15 November 1965
10	CAPT. Timmes, Francis Xavier, USN	15 November 1965 - 29 October 1966
11	CAPT. Lindsay, John Ross, USN (USNA 1946)	29 October 1966 - 14 February 1968
12	CAPT. Sells, Warren Hanson	14 February 1968 - 17 July 1969
13	CAPT. Polk, Thomas Harding, USN (USNA 1945)	17 July 1969 - 4 October 1970
14	CAPT. Monger, Albert Jackson (Jack) :RADM	4 October 1970 - 10 August 1971
15	CAPT. Grafius, Guy A. B.	10 August 1971 - 6 December 1972
16	LCDR. Dirvianskis, Jonathan Arunas	6 December 1972 - 18 May 1974
17	CDR. Kilpatrick, Thomas Eugene	18 May 1974 - 14 August 1976
18	CDR. Riedel Jr., Bernard	14 August 1976 - July 1978
19	CDR. Davis, Alden Adams	July 1978 - 12 July 1980
20	CAPT. Breece, James Philip	12 July 1980 - 10 July 1982
21	CAPT. Amos, Robert E., USN	10 July 1982 - 17 August 1984
22	CDR. Kelly, John Thomas	17 August 1984 - 17 December 1986
23	CDR. Charuhas, Richard B.	17 December 1986 - 9 January 1989
24	CDR. Gorski, Thomas Henry, USN (USNA 1971)	9 January 1989 - 24 April 1991
25	CDR. Strott, John B.	24 April 1991 - 24 January 1993
26	CDR. Nathanson, Richard F.	24 January 1993 - 30 June 1995


Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foy Log

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Last Updated 13 September 2023