Safe at Home : War aftermath: The Tripoli is welcomed back to its San Diego port. The ship was the only U.S. vessel damaged in the Persian Gulf.

The amphibious assault ship Tripoli, the only U.S. Navy ship to sustain major combat damage in Operation Desert Storm, returned home Thursday, more than eight months after being deployed to the Persian Gulf.

Despite the 20-by-30-foot hole caused by an Iraqi mine explosion Feb. 18, the 25-year-old ship continued its mine-clearing mission for five additional days until it ran out of fuel for its helicopters.

Four sailors suffered minor injuries in the explosion, which occurred at 4:30 a.m. about 10 feet below the water line on the starboard side. The explosion left the 686-foot ship dead in the water for most of the day, while crew members did preliminary repairs and pumped out flooded areas.

A second ship, the Long Beach-based Aegis guided missile cruiser Princeton, suffered minor damage on the same day in another mine explosion. The Princeton was damaged when it steamed toward the Tripoli in response to a false alarm that two Tripoli crewmen had been thrown overboard in the explosion.

The Tripoli pulled into the 32nd Street Naval Station about 8:45 a.m. Thursday, with its crew of about 1,100 sailors and Marines. The ship had sailed for the Persian Gulf on Dec. 1.

Capt. G. Bruce McEwen, the ship’s skipper, praised his young crew for keeping the Tripoli battle-ready while repairing the damage caused by the 320-pound mine.

McEwen, a USC graduate and native of Ontario in San Bernardino County, said the crew’s average age is 21.5 years.

“They immediately went to general quarters. There was no screaming, no yelling. Our young sailors began to limit the flooding,” McEwen said in a pier-side interview. “ . . . They were very professional. The country should be very proud of them. They represent a cross-section of the youth of America.”

The Naval Historical Center in Washington reported that the Tripoli is the first U.S. Navy ship since the Civil War to sustain major mine damage and still continue with her mission.

The center said the gunboat Jonquil suffered similar damage on March 6, 1865, while clearing obstructions and mines near Charleston, S.C., but continued on its mission.

The Tripoli was the flagship for mine-clearing operations in the northern Persian Gulf. On the day of the explosion, it was the lead ship in a battle group that had been targeted by the Iraqis for attack with Silkworm missiles, McEwen said.

The ships were in an area east of the Kuwaiti coast thought to be mine-free and were more concerned with the Silkworm threat, he added.

“We had not detected any mines and were preparing to declare the area to be mine-free, when the explosion occurred. . . . We went dead in the water because we were unsure of the extent of the damage,” McEwen said.

About one hour after the early-morning explosion, the ship’s boiler-room mechanics got one boiler going, but McEwen ordered the ship to remain anchored because he and his staff were unsure whether there were more mines in the area.

As it turned out, the explosion was fortunate, McEwen said. It led to a sweep of the area, which resulted in the discovery of 10 minefields and more than 1,100 mines.

During the time that the Tripoli was anchored, repair crews worked 9 1/2 hours to repair the damage. While the repairs were being done below deck, the rest of the crew remained at battle stations.

Later that evening, allied minesweepers cleared a channel, which allowed the Tripoli and its helicopters to continue clearing the mines. About 21 Iraqi mines were destroyed by the Tripoli’s ordnance teams, which were dropped next to the mines by helicopter.

McEwen said the ship continued minesweeping for five more days, until it ran out of fuel for its helicopters. The mine explosion caused the loss of nearly two-thirds of the helicopter jet fuel that the Tripoli was carrying.

The cleared channel was used by the World War II-era battleship Missouri to pound the Kuwaiti coastline with naval gunfire in support of U.S. ground troops.

The Tripoli then sailed to Bahrain, where permanent repairs were made. The repair job, which was completed in about one month, took 120 tons of steel to strengthen the ship’s hull. After the repairs were completed, the Tripoli returned to the Persian Gulf. It departed for San Diego on June 23.

Family members began gathering at the pier early Thursday morning, awaiting their loved ones’ arrival.

Some Tripoli wives expressed anger over their husband’s lengthy deployments. Navy officials said “long deployments” usually last six months, but the Tripoli was gone for more than eight months.

“I’m not sure how I feel about him coming home. I’m happy he’s finally back, but I guess you could say that I’m also angry with the Navy,” said Julie Lawrence, 29, of Santee, who was waiting anxiously for her husband, Guy Lawrence, 22 and a missile technician, to disembark.

“All the guys who got back earlier got the parades,” she said. “These guys aren’t getting anything, zero. We’re the only ones who will get to greet them. It’s not fair to them. The parades were held too early. The country should have waited for everyone to get back before putting on the parades.”

Antsy family members proved too much for the Navy to handle. The Navy had attempted to keep the families in a blocked-off area, about 100 yards from the docked ship. But soon, the orderly but determined crowd forced its way through a gate and began walking toward the ship while the sailors were disembarking.

This first group was followed by larger groups, and Navy officials made no attempt to stop them. The throngs moved hurriedly but in an orderly, almost military, fashion.

“The only way to stop them is to be flat rude, and nobody is in the mood to be rude at a time like this,” said Master Chief Mike McClellan.