USS Uvalde

Duane's take

The way the marker here in Uvalde tells it, this is the story I'm passing along to you. There's a ship with a Texas name, and that name carried some weight. The USS Uvalde, a C-2 type cargo ship, was constructed and commissioned by the U.S.

Navy in 1944. She was built by the Moore Drydock Company out of Oakland, California, and she stretched four hundred and fifty-nine feet from bow to stern. She was named to honor two things at once: the county of Uvalde, and its most famous resident, former United States Vice-President John Nance Garner.

Not a bad pair of namesakes for a ship heading into the Pacific Theater of World War II. Not a bad pair at all. The Uvalde served during the war, most active in the campaigns of the Pacific, and when the fighting finally stopped, she didn't just sail home and tie up.

She kept working. Troop transport, cargo runs, vital outposts in the Western Pacific. She earned the Occupation Service Medal for operations in Chinese waters.

That's not a ribbon you pick up for doing nothing. Then came the Korean Conflict. The Uvalde served as part of the United Nations Force, and after that stretch of duty, she was placed into the reserve fleet.

You might think that's the end of a ship's story. It wasn't. In 1961, the Cold War had a way of reminding everyone that the world was still a complicated and dangerous place.

The Berlin Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis. The Navy reactivated the Uvalde to answer those events, and she went back to work.

By the time she was done, she had accumulated numerous service awards and citations. Then, in 1968, the USS Uvalde was decommissioned. Now, the city of Uvalde had been watching all of this.

Over the years, the people here had kept a quiet but genuine interest in the ship that carried their name into some of the most consequential moments of the twentieth century. So when the Navy offered up several items of the vessel's equipment, the city gladly accepted. The anchor and the bell, two pieces of a working ship that had crossed the Pacific and sailed into history, they ended up right here.

They're not just decorations. They're reminders of the ship and her crew. A name on a hull is one thing.

The men who sailed her, that's the whole story.

What the marker says

Constructed and commissioned by the U.S. Navy in 1944, the "USS Uvalde" was a C-2 type cargo ship named to honor former United States Vice-President John Nance Garner and the county of his residence. The "Uvalde" was built by the Moore Drydock Company of Oakland, California, with an overall length of 459 feet. The "Uvalde" served the United States Navy during World War II and was most active in the campaigns of the Pacific Theater. After the war ended, the ship provided troop and cargo transport to vital outposts in the Western Pacific and earned the Occupation Service Medal for operations in Chinese waters. After service as part of the United Nations Force in the Korean Conflict, the "Uvalde" became part of the reserve fleet. In 1961, the ship was reactivated in response to the events of the Cold War, including the Berlin and Cuban Missile Crises. After earning numerous service awards and citations, the "USS Uvalde" was decommissioned in 1968, the City of Uvalde, which had remained interested in the ship's service record over the years, gladly accepted the Navy's offer of several items of the vessel's equipment. The anchor and bell displayed at this site are reminders of the history of the ship and her crew. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986.