Name This Peoria Landmark

Why is there a Japanese Garden at the Courthouse? I have no idea.

Navsource.org:

# Laid down, 24 February 1968, at National Steel and Shipbuilding Corp, San Diego, CA.
# Launched, 23 November 1968
# Commissioned USS Peoria (LST-1183), 21 February 1970, CDR. John T. Williams in command
# During the Vietnam War Peoria participated in the following campaigns:

Vietnamese Counteroffensive – Phase VII
May 12 -14 & 20 – 23, 1971
June 21 – 25, 1971

Consolidation I
August 8 – 11 & 13 – 15, 1971

# Decommissioned, 28 January 1994
# Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, category C status, at Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF) Pearl Harbor, HI.
# Struck from the Naval Register, 6 November 2002
# Final Disposition, sunk as a target sunk, 12 July 2004, during RIMPAC 2004
# Peoria earned two campaign stars for Vietnam War service

Peoria is the fifth ship of the twenty ship Newport tank landing ship class, which replaced the traditional bow door design LST. Two derrick arms support a thirty-ton, 112-foot bow ramp for the unloading of tanks and other vehicles ashore, additionally, amphibious vehicles can be launched from the tank deck via the ship’s stern gate and the ship’s flight deck can accommodate most Navy helicopter types.

The plaque can be found in the Peoria Courthouse Plaza along a wall as one would be exiting up a set of stairs towards Hamilton.

883

Peoria County-

World War One:
Total Service Members: 5,500
Lives Lost: 211

World War Two:
Total Service Members: 23,010
Lives Lost: 662

HOI News: Saturday, May 26, 2007 at 10 a.m. in the Peoria County Courthouse Plaza. The Memorial will be dedicated to all Peoria County veterans who served, lost their lives, or supported from home during World Wars I & II. Representative Ray LaHood will introduce special guest speaker General Wayne A. Downing, U.S. Army Ret. U.S. Senator Richard Durbin will offer additional comments. Additional speakers will follow.