CCG IRONWOOD DECOMMISSIONING CEREMONY

Oct. 6 KODIAK, Alaska - After 57-years of service, three wars, eight homeports and more than a half-million nautical miles past the propeller the Coast Guard Cutter Ironwood will be retired from military service.
The 180-foot ?B? Class (also known as Mesquite class) buoy tender will be decommissioned during a ceremony at the Northern Lights Recreational Facility at the Integrated Support Command Kodiak, Alaska, at 10:30 a.m. today. The Ironwood was commissioned on Oct. 11, 1943, primarily to conduct aids to navigation duties for the Coast Guard. It has been stationed in Boston, San Francisco, Monterey, Calif., Guam, Honolulu, Homer, Adak, and Kodiak. The cutter served in World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam War, and is the only United States ship left on active duty awarded the Korean Service Medal. It is the second oldest commissioned cutter in service behind the Coast Guard cutter Storis. It also holds the distinction of being the only 180-foot buoy tender built at the Coast Guard Yard at Baltimore, Md. Photo by PA1 Keith Alholm.