USS Platte Anchor

USS Platte Anchor. . , This 13-ton anchor is from the USS Platte (AO-186), the second U.S. Navy warship named after the Platte Rivers flowing through Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri, including Platte City. The first USS Platte (AO-24) served in three wars from 1939 to 1970 earning 22 battle stars. The ship's bell from that vessel is on loan from the U.S. Navy and is displayed in the Platte County Courthouse lobby., The second USS Platte, from which this anchor is salvaged, was commissioned in 1983 and saw service in the Persian Gulf War. AO-186 was 700-feet in length with a beam of 88-feet. The ship displaced 37,815 tons when loaded with 180,000 barrels of oil and 600-tons of supplies. In 1999 the ship was decommissioned and transferred to the Naval Fleet Reserve before being scrapped in 2014. During the ship's commission AO-186 earned four campaign medals, four unit commendations and three Navy Battle "E" ribbons., Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan, U.S. Navy, reflected in 1890 that "Fuel stands first in importance of the resources of the fleet. Without ammunition, a ship may run away, hoping to fight another day but without fuel she can neither run, nor reach her station, nor remain on it, if remote, nor fight.", Fleet oilers provide the fuel, ammunition and supplies necessary to sustain carrier task forces, amphibious strike forces and surface battle groups at sea for extended periods, a capacity unequaled by any other navy in the world., This anchor is dedicated as a memorial to each ship named USS Platte and to the thousands of men and women who have served the United States of America in maritime service.