- USS Mathews (AKA-96)
USS "Mathews" (AKA-96) was an sclass|Andromeda|attack cargo ship named after
Mathews County, Virginia . She served as a commissioned ship for 18 years and 8 months."Mathews" (AKA–96) was laid down
15 September 1944 underMaritime Commission contract by theFederal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. ,Kearny, N.J. ; launched22 December 1944 ; sponsored by Miss Mary Margaret McBride; acquired by the Navy3 March 1945 ; and commissioned15 March 1945 , Comdr. C. A. Thorwall, in command.With less than a month’s training behind her, "Mathews" departed Norfolk
8 April 1945 for thePacific with military cargo and passengers. Stopping briefly in Hawaii for further training, she steamed on toEniwetok andUlithi , arriving at the latter21 June . On10 July , with Army passengers and equipment on board, she sailed for Okinawa, which had recently been secured after 82 days of fighting. "Mathews" entered Hagushi Bay14 July , remaining until the 22d when she departed for Ulithi. From there she carried cargo toGuadalcanal andGuam . While en route to the latter, she received word of Japan’s unconditional surrender.Proceeding to the
Philippines from Guam, she began ferrying occupation troops to the American zone ofKorea ; and for the next 2½ months she operated betweenLingayen Gulf andJinsen , Korea. On19 November , her passenger accommodations filled with returning veterans, she departed Korea for the United States, arriving Norfolk23 December . She remained on the east coast until2 October 1946 , when she sailed forSan Francisco and deactivation. Arriving26 October , she decommissioned there4 April 1947 and was turned over to theMaritime Commission atSuisun Bay .Reacquired by the Navy in 1951, "Mathews" recommissioned
16 February 1952 and reported for duty with the Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet,17 March . After training at Long Beach she sailed for thePribilof Islands , on a resupply assignment1 July returning with a cargo of seal products. A year later,1 July 1953 , the attack cargo ship got underway forKorea where she transported prisoners–of–war, primarily Chinese, fromKoje-do toInchon , the port of exchange. Returning to Long Beach23 April 1954 , "Mathews" trained along the west coast through 1955. These operations were interrupted only by another resupply mission to Pribilof, from which she again returned with a cargo of valuable seal products.In 1966, "Mathews" again deployed with the
7th Fleet . Assigned to that fleet’s amphibious force12 January –4 October , she participated in squadron and fleet exercises from Japan to thePhilippines , joining in the Black Ship Festival atShimoda 17 May to21 May . During 1957, "Mathews" was involved for the most part in amphibious training operations along the coast of Southern California. She made WestPac deployments in 1958, 1959, and 1960, again resupplying Pribiloff after her 1958 cruise. 1961 saw "Mathews" operating off the west coast.On
22 January 1962 , Mathews once again departed for duty with the 7th Fleet. Towards the end of her tour, asCommunist insurgency inLaos continued to threatenThailand , she was called on to transport Marines and cargo support elements of the 3d Marine Division from Okinawa toBangkok . Arriving9 June , her passengers and cargo added strength to the 1,800 marines landed16 May , at the request of the Thai government, and positioned defensively in the north."Mathews" returned to Long Beach
30 July , but within 3 months was again called on to aid in the thwarting of Communist military plans. In late October, as the crisis over the U.S.S.R.’s establishment of missile bases on Cuba mounted, "Mathews" was attached to the Atlantic Fleet and throughout the quarantine period operated with amphibious groups in theCaribbean , returning to California16 December .Her annual deployments to WestPac since 1962 further involved the ship in anti–Communist activities. In 1963–64, she served a month, mid–December to mid–January, as a unit of the Amphibious Ready Group at Subic Bay. During June, July, and August, 1965, she shuttled troops and cargo from Okinawa to
Da Nang andChu Lai ,South Vietnam , and in October, Republic of Korea Army units fromPusan ,Korea , to Qui Nhon. She arrived back at Long Beach2 December only to depart again10 January 1966 for Okinawa with Marine artillery elements embarked, returning to California in March.On
2 May , "Mathews" got underway for her third western Pacific deployment in 370 days, with Marine engineers on board en route to Chu Lai. She then shuttled between Subic Bay, Da Nang, andHue , before departing for Yokosuka and Long Beach, arriving there23 July and engaging in amphibious, tactical and engineering exercises for the remainder of the year.After operations on the west coast through the first half of 1967. "Mathews" sailed for the Far East
21 July 1967 to resume her role in the struggle against Communist aggression inVietnam . She remained in the western Pacific into 1968, sailing for the west coast4 February with calls at Okinawa, Yokosuka, andPearl Harbor before reaching Long Beach19 March .After operating off the California coast for the next 7 months, "Mathews" put into
San Diego 14 October . She decommissioned there31 October 1969 , and was struck from the Navy list1 November 1968 . She was sold for scrap in 1969.References
External links
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/02096.htm NavSource Online: AKA-96 "Mathews"]
* [http://ussrankin.org/id352.htm 51 Years of AKAs]
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