LHD-7 is the second ship to bear the name “IWO JIMA.” The first, LPH-2, was designed from the keel up as an amphibious assault ship, was launched September 17, 1960 at Bremerton, Washington and commissioned August t26, 1961. The ship carried a squadron of 24 Marine helicopters, plus a Battalion Landing Team of 1,500 Marines. In September 1963, IWO JIMA (LPH 2) made her first deployment to the Western Pacific, one of six deployments the ship would make to the region. During each deployment the ship played an active role in Southeast Asian operations by conducting over 30 amphibious landings in Vietnam. IWO JIMA (LPH 2) conducted other missions including mine countermeasures, search and rescue, refueling of other ships, and evacuation of American civilians and those of friendly nations from hostile territory. In April 1970, IWO JIMA (LPH 2) made history while serving as the Primary Recovery Ship for Apollo 13, the crippled lunar landing mission depicted in the Academy Award winning film starring Tom Hanks. In June 1976, IWO JIMA (LPH 2) commenced her fourth deployment to the Mediterranean and participated in the evacuation of civilians from Beirut, Lebanon. In August 1990, two weeks after the initial deployment of troops to the Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Shield, IWO JIMA (LPH 2) became the first amphibious assault ship to deploy to that area, and served as part of the coalition which ultimately drove Iraqi forces from Kuwait. USS IWO JIMA (LPH 2) was decommissioned in 1993.

Fabrication work for the new USS IWO JIMA (LHD 7) began at Ingalls shipyard on September 3, 1996, and the ship’s keel was laid on December 12, 1997. She was launched on February 4th, 2000. USS IWO JIMA (LHD 7) was christened by her sponsor, Mrs. Zandra Krulak, in Pascagoula, Mississippi on March 25th, 2000. The commissioning crew moved aboard in April of 2001, and made the ship’s maiden voyage (accompanied by more than 2,000 World War II veterans—many of them survivors of the Battle of Iwo Jima) on June 23rd, 2001. She was commissioned a week later in Pensacola, Florida, on June 30th, 2001. Shortly thereafter, the ship and crew began an accelerated Inter Deployment Training Cycle, which tested virtually every system onboard in realistic combat conditions. Iwo Jima was also the first ship on the waterfront open to the public after the tragedy on September, 11th.

IWO JIMA and the Marines of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) deployed March 4th.   

During this multi-purpose amphibious assault ship’s 2003 maiden deployment, USS IWO JIMA (LHD 7) demonstrated the true versatility of the “Gator Navy.” IWO JIMA inserted Marines into Northern Iraq from the Mediterranean, established a presence in the Persian Gulf, patrolled the waters off the Horn of Africa and conducted a peacekeeping operation in Liberia.

February 27th, the LHD-7 crew was recognized for its tremendous efforts during the preceding year as IWO JIMA was awarded the 2003 Battle Efficiency Award among Atlantic Fleet “Big Deck” amphibious ships.

The announcement also included notification of IWO JIMA’s receipt of numerous warfare area awards, including its third consecutive Engineering/Survivability and Command, Control, Communications and Information Warfare Excellence Awards; second consecutive Supply Management Excellence and first TYCOM Safety Award.