The last frigate on the West Coast was decommissioned Thursday at Naval Base San Diego at a ceremony attended by former commanders and crew.
The USS Gary returned to San Diego in April from its final deployment, in which it patrolled for drug smugglers off Central America.
The Navy is retiring its frigate fleet in favor of more modern littoral combat ships, which are designed for combat in coastal waters. The last frigate to be decommissioned will be the Norfolk, Virginia-based USS Kauffman later this year.
The ship is named for Donald Arthur Gary, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for helping to rescue hundreds of sailors trapped below decks when the aircraft carrier USS Franklin was badly damaged after being bombed off the coast of Japan in March 1945.
