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Gilliland (T-AKR-298)

1996–

First U.S. Navy ship named in honor of Charles Leon Gilliland -- born on 24 May 1933 in the community of Colfax near Mountain Home, Ark., who attempted to enlist in the Marine Corps at age 16, but was turned away and advised to continue his education. Afterwards, his parents agreed to let him enlist in the Army on his 17th birthday, 24 May 1950. He completed basic training at Fort Riley, Kan. and by year’s end deployed to Korea.

On 25 April 1951, Cpl. Gilliland was serving with Company I, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division near Tongmang-ni when a numerically superior Chinese force launched a coordinated assault against his company perimeter. The brunt of the attack was directed up a hill covered by his automatic rifle. His assistant was quickly killed by enemy fire but Gilliland, facing the full force of the assault, continued steady fire into the Chinese which eventually stemmed the onslaught. When two enemy soldiers escaped his raking fire and infiltrated the area, he leaped from his foxhole, overtook and killed them both with his pistol. Sustaining a serious head wound during the struggle, he refused medical attention and returned to his emplacement in order to continue his defense of the vital hill. His unit was then ordered back to new defensive positions, but Gilliland volunteered to remain to cover the withdrawal and hold the enemy at bay, thus preventing the enemy from completely overrunning his company positions. Gilliland was never seen again.

Awarded the Medal of Honor, posthumously, for his heroism near Tongmang-ni, Cpl. Gilliland was the youngest Medal of Honor recipient of the Korean War.

(T-AKR-298: displacement 32,589; length 954'; beam 106'; draft 36'; speed 24 knots; complement 30 civilian and 5 active duty; class Gordon)

Built as the Danish Selandia in 1972; the ship was assigned to the Military Sealift Command (MSC) as Gilliland (T-AKR-298) on 23 August 1996. She was converted at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va., with a contract date of 23 May 1997; sponsored by Mrs. Dale G. Shelton, sister of the late Cpl. Gilliland; and entered non-commissioned U.S. Navy service with MSC with a primarily civilian crew. A non-combatant Large, Medium-Speed, Roll-on/Roll-off (LMSR) vessel, Gilliland and other ships of her class are used to pre-position tanks, trucks, various wheeled vehicles and supplies needed to support an army heavy brigade. She is assigned to the Atlantic surge force and is maintained in Ready Operational Status 4.

In June 1996 Gilliland collided with the destroyer Deyo (DD-989) when she broke loose from the pier at Newport News Shipbuilding, Va. There were no casualties or injuries reported.

Detailed history pending.

Paul J. Marcello

11 January 2016

Published: Wed Jan 13 08:40:03 EST 2016