USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2)
Pacific recovery forces (Task Force 130)
On 17 April 1970, Iwo Jima was the flagship of Task Force 130 that waited for the Apollo 13 spaceship's astronauts after their memorable "successful failure" mission and splashdown near American Samoa. In the 1995 film Apollo 13, Iwo Jima was played by her sister ship, New Orleans (LPH-11). Iwo Jima's skipper, Captain Leland E. Kirkemo, is portrayed by the film's central protagonist, Captain Jim Lovell.
USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2)-13