 "Tappahannock" was decommissioned at San Diego on 6 March 1970 and went into reserve at the Maritime Administration's berths at Suisun Bay.Struck from the Navy List on 15 July 1976, the globe-travelling veteran of World War II, the Cold War, and Vietnam, remained at Suisun Bay until disposed of by MARAD on 2 February 1987.