The USS Pensacola (LSD-38) was an Anchorage-class dock landing ship, the fourth Navy ship named after the naval town of Pensacola, Florida. She was laid down in 1969 at Fore River Shipyard, launched in 1970, and commissioned in 1971. After fit-out, she steamed for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for shake-down training and began a service career of deployments to the Caribbean, North Atlantic, and Mediterranean. After initial underway trials in the Gulf of Mexico in 1985, the ship transited to the Mediterranean Sea in 1988, being part of Task Group 24. The vessel took part in maneuvers in the Persian Gulf in 1990, conducting underway replenishment services. She fulfilled the same task in 1992 with the Military Sealift Command fleet oiler USNS Neosho (T-AO-143) in the North Atlantic as part of the amphibious task force. The USS Pensacola served her country for 28 years until decommissioned in 1999, always true to her motto, "For Freedom We Land." She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in the same year and sold to the Republic of China. Asbestos exposure is a primary cause of lung cancer, resulting in thousands of deaths yearly. Navy personnel were at an exceptionally high risk and should do regular health check-ups to safeguard their well-being.
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