Fire causes minor damage to Iwo

A fire broke out on the Navy amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima in the late evening of Nov. 14 pierside at Naval Station Mayport, Fla. Eleven sailors were treated and released with minor injuries. Sailors aboard the ship reported smoke in the cargo hold at 11:45 p.m. Members of the crew, along with sailors from the guided-missile destroyer The Sullivans, Naval Station Mayport and Jacksonville fire departments, put the fire out about five hours later. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. (Source: Military.com 11/15/19) Gulf Coast Note: Fabrication work for Iwo Jima began at Ingalls shipyard in the fall of 1996. Iwo was christened by her sponsor, Mrs. Zandra Krulak, wife of General Charles C. Krulak, former Commandant of the Marine Corps, in Pascagoula, Miss., in March 2000. The commissioning crew made the ship's maiden voyage June 2001, accompanied by more than 2,000 WWII veterans - many of whom survived the Battle of Iwo Jima. She was commissioned a week later in Pensacola, Fla., on June 30, 2001.