The USS Plymouth Rock (LSD-29) was a Thomaston-class dock landing ship laid down in 1953, launched, and commissioned in 1954. After shakedown, she transported men and equipment to the Arctic Distant Early Warning Line in 1955 and deployed to the Mediterranean for amphibious operations a year later. In 1958, the ship operated with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, participating in the U.S. Marine Corps landing in Lebanon. During the early 1960s, she carried support helicopters and other equipment for President Dwight D. Eisenhower's visit to South America, made several cruises to the Caribbean, and served as part of the blockade force during the Cuban Missile Crisis. After three Caribbean cruises in 1967, the vessel deployed to northern Europe. She spent the next several years alternating between deployments in the Caribbean and the North of Europe. The USS Plymouth Rock was decommissioned in 1983, transferred to the Maritime Administration in 1989, laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, and struck from the Register in 1992. Due to extensive asbestos use on Navy ships built before the 1980s, being deployed potentially endangered the health of veterans. Even those who never worked directly with asbestos were at a high risk of developing exposure-related diseases decades after service.
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