USS Duluth Makes Last Liberty Port Visit
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS050801-05
Release Date: 8/1/2005 10:11:00 AM
By Journalist Seaman Joseph Caballero, Fleet Public Affairs Center, Pacific
USS DULUTH (NNS) -- Amphibious transport dock USS Duluth (LPD 6) completed a four-day liberty port visit to Esquimalt, British Columbia, July 15.
The 39-year-old ship visited Esquimalt as part of its 15-day sunset cruise. The ship is scheduled to be decommissioned Sept. 28.
“This was the last liberty port visit,” said Lt. Cmdr. Paul A. Gilmartin, executive officer of the ship. “During deployment, we didn’t get many port visits, so this was one for the crew to enjoy.”
During the port visit, most Duluth Sailors went to the historic city of Victoria, just four miles from Esquimalt.
“It was a very nice place and probably one of the best places we’ve seen so far,” said Yeoman 3rd Class (SW) Rashad Scott, legal clerk of Duluth. “The people there were nice and willing to help us find our way around. I really appreciated that.”
Some Sailors also visited museums, like the Royal British Columbia Museum and the Maritime Museum of British Columbia. Both museums show how the Navy has helped shape British Columbia.
“It was an important spot in the early 20th century for the United States Navy and other ships,” said Scott. “Ships used to dock here all the time on the way out to the Pacific.”
Crew members also experienced the British Columbian outdoors by exploring conservation areas nearby.
“I was told it was like a rainforest – very dense and green. It really was beautiful,” said Midshipman 3rd Class Michael Glavan, a Naval Academy student aboard Duluth for his summer training cruise.
Duluth returned June 6 from a six-month deployment with Expeditionary Strike Group 5, where it supported operations in the Persian Gulf and humanitarian efforts in Southeast Asia during Operations Unified Assistance, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
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