MSC christens LMSR in San Diego
by MSC Public Affairs


NAVY WIRE SERVICE - A WIRE (NWSA) - 2 October 1998

     WASHINGTON (NWSA) -- Military Sealift Command
christened USNS Dahl Oct. 2 at the National Steel and
Shipbuilding Company in San Diego.
     Dahl is the sixth new construction large, medium-
speed, roll-on/roll-off ship (LMSR). It's named in honor
of Army Spec. Fourth Class Larry G. Dahl, of Portland,
Ore., who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously
for action in Vietnam in 1971.
     Under Secretary of the Navy Jerry MacArthur Hultin
is the principal speaker and Michelle Dahl Steanson,
Dahl's widow, is the ship's sponsor.
     Dahl died saving the lives of his fellow soldiers
by throwing himself on a grenade that was thrown into
the gun truck where he was serving as machine gunner. He
was a member of the 359th Transportation Company, 27th
Transportation Battalion in the U.S. Army Support
Command. Dahl was 21 years old when he died.
     Dahl's cargo area equals more than eight football
fields and can be loaded and unloaded in 96 hours. The
ship can carry an entire U.S. Army armored task force,
including 58 tanks, 48 other tracked vehicles and more
than 900 trucks and other wheeled vehicles.
                               -USN-