DECOMMISSIONING

The photo & text below are from a newspaper article on Hector's impending decommissioning
Article submitted by Mark Hanna SFM3 (67-70)
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Hector decommissioning
     USS Hector (AR-7), a Vulcan-class Naval tender which boasts "no job is too small" will end 43 years of service Tuesday.
     Capt. H. Warfield Leeke Jr., commanding officer, has invited the ship's original crew - known as - "plankowners" - to the decommissioning ceremony which will be held at 10 a.m. on Pier 9.
     Hector, the third oldest ship in the Navy, is named after the defender of Troy, a Greek hero in Homer's "The Iliad". Hector was built by the Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp in San Pedro, Calif. It was launched Nov 11, 1942 and commissioned Feb. 7, 1944.
     A witness to three wars, Hector served in the Marshall Islands, the Caroline Islands, the Philippines and the Marianas during World War II, preparing ships for the assault on Japan. As the war ended, it continued its overseas service until its return in 1946 to its homeport of Long Beach, Calif. for long-overdue repairs.
     During the Korean War, Hector was again called upon to provide repair facilities for ships within the combat arena- from Yokosuka to Sasebo in Japan, and from Inchon to Pusan in South Korea - until its return home in 1952.
     Hector made routine deployments to the Western Pacific until the outbreak of the Vietnam War, when it again proved the value of its repair services maintaining the fleet's readiness at achor in Vung Tau Harbor.
FRIDAY MARCH 27, 1987
USS Hector,  the third-oldest ship in the Navy,  will be decommissioned in a ceremony Tuesday at 10 a.m. on Pier 9.
 

     In January and February 1965 at Alameda, Calif., Hector set what is believed to be a record, tending 28 ships at one time, 13 of which were along side.
     Over the years of service, Hector earned six Battle Efficiency Awards, two Repair "R" Awards, three consecutive Engineering "E" Awards, and two Supply Blue "E" Awards, along with numerous campaign and humanitarian service medals.
     Hector has maintained a sense of pride in completing approximately 10,000 per year on customer ships at a value of $4 million, utilizing approximately 90,000 man-hours. It has made 28 deployments to the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans.


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