604 N Enterprise Blvd.
Lake Charles, LA 70601
30.24625,-93.205583
In addition to the previously mentioned U.S.S. Kidd, Louisiana is also home to another historic battleship that has seen its share of battle and has been permanently decommissioned. This beauty docks on the banks of the Calcasieu River in Lake Charles. The U.S.S. Orleck (DD-886), a destroyer battleship, traveled the world’s oceans for fifty four years of active duty.
The Orleck was first commissioned to the U.S. Navy on September 15, 1945. The Orleck is a three hundred and ninety foot battleship that served in Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War. She won four battle stars for service during the Korean Conflict and was "Top Gun" of the seventh Fleet in Vietnam.
She is most well-known for not only being a member, but the founding sister, of the famed Train Busters Club of Korea. This unique naval club was a group that focused on the destruction of trains which ran the deadly gauntlet in the Taeback Mountain range. The Trainbusters Club saw its beginnings in July 1952 when the Orleck destroyed two trains during a two week period. The commander of Task Force 95, recognizing a morale booster when he saw one, declared Orleck the “train-busting champion” and issued a challenge to the rest of the American task group to beat that score. When it was all said and done, a total of twenty-eight trains had been destroyed, yet it is said the number was unofficially much larger than that. Her actions garnered her unique nickname, the “Gray Ghost on the Vietnam Coast.”
