The 6th Fleet flagship participated in the commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of Operation Dragoon, the operation which led to the liberation of southern France by Allied Forces during World War II. This year marked the fourth consecutive visit that the Mount Whitney has made to the allied nation.
During the visit, Sailors hosted ship tours, as well as an evening reception, and took part in remembrance ceremonies throughout Theoule-Sur-Mer. Georges Botella, mayor of Theoule-Sur-Mer, hosted the USS Mount Whitney at a formal reception at Theoule-Sur-Mer’s town hall.
The last event was a remembrance ceremony at the Rhone American Cemetery in Draguignan, France, home to U.S. service members that fell in World War II, many of whom died in Operation Dragoon. The Mount Whitney Color Guard participated in the ceremony.
Mount Whitney, forward deployed to Gaeta, Italy, operates with a combined crew of U.S. Navy Sailors and Military Sealift Command civil service mariners. The civil service mariners perform navigation, deck, engineering and supply service operations, while military personnel support communications, weapons systems and security. It is one of only two seaborne Joint Command Platforms in the US Navy, both of which are forward deployed.
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