National Museum of the U.S. Navy

The Oliver-Hazard Perry class guided-missile frigate, USS Stark (FFG-31) was commissioned on October 23, 1982.  While in the Persian Gulf on May 17, 1987, she was struck by two Iraqi Exocet missiles, killing 37 sailors and wounding 21.   Brought under control, the frigate sailed to Bahrain and was successfully repaired at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi.  Following repairs and subsequent tours in the Atlantic and Middle East, Stark was decommissioned on May 7, 1999, and was scrapped in 2006. 

Image: 330-CFD-DN-ST-88-10218:  USS Stark (FFG-31), on sea trials following repairs, August 28, 1988.   Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.