USS Samuel Gompers & USS Grasp

• USS Samuel Gompers (AD-37) - The Last of Her Kind: Commissioned in 1967, USS Samuel Gompers was the last destroyer tender built by the U.S. Navy, marking the end of an era for this ship class. • Named After a Labor Leader: The ship was named for Samuel Gompers, a prominent American labor union leader and founder of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). This was unusual, as few Navy ships are named after civilians. • Vietnam War Service: USS Samuel Gompers supported naval operations during the Vietnam War, providing repair and logistical support to ships on the front lines. • Women at Sea: In 1978, USS Samuel Gompers became one of the first U.S. Navy ships to have women serve as part of the ship's company, a milestone in Navy gender integration. • Pacific Operations: Based out of San Diego and later Sasebo, Japan, the ship played a vital role in Pacific Fleet readiness through the Cold War, maintaining destroyers and other vessels. • Operation Desert Storm: Samuel Gompers deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Storm in 1991, assisting with ship repairs during the conflict. • Decommissioning and Sinking: The ship was decommissioned in 1995 and eventually sunk as a target during a training exercise in 2003, following a tradition of using retired ships for live-fire training. • USS Grasp (ARS-24) - Salvage and Rescue Heroics: Commissioned in 1944, this Diver-class rescue and salvage ship performed vital salvage operations during World War II and beyond. • Raising TWA Flight 800: In 1996, USS Grasp (ARS-51, a later ship with the same name) played a key role in recovering wreckage from TWA Flight 800 off Long Island, a high-profile and technically challenging task. • Historic Recovery Missions: The original USS Grasp (ARS-24) participated in the recovery of sunken submarines and aircraft, and the name Grasp became synonymous with complex deep-water salvage operations for the U.S. Navy.