- USS Burleson (APA-67)
USS "Burleson" (APA-67), a "Gilliam"-class attack transport, was the only ship of the
United States Navy to be named forBurleson, Texas . Her keel was laid down on22 April 1944 atWilmington, California , by theConsolidated Steel Corporation under aMaritime Commission contract (MC hull 1860). She was launched on11 July 1944 sponsored by Mrs. Darryl F. Zanuck, delivered to the Navy on7 November 1944 , and commissioned on8 November 1944 with Lieutenant Commander B. Hartley, USNR, in command. The ship was named after a county in east centralTexas about 60 miles due east of Austin.Following shakedown training out of
San Diego, California , and post-shakedown repairs at Terminal Island, the attack transport got underway for the southwestern Pacific on17 January 1945 . She stopped atTillotson Cove in theRussell Islands from3 February to11 February . On the latter day, she moved over toGuadalcanal . "Burleson" operated at various locations in theGuadalcanal –Tulagi area conducting amphibious training until mid-March. On15 March , the ship set a course forUlithi Atoll . She spent the period21 March to27 March at anchor in Ulithi lagoon and, on the latter day, got underway in convoy bound for theRyukyu Islands ."Burleson" entered the transport area off
Okinawa on the morning of1 April 1945 , the day of the initial assault, but she did not begin unloading until the following day. Those operations continued until7 April when she put to sea bound forGuam . The attack transport spent the night of11 April and12 April atApra Harbor , Guam, and then resumed her voyage. She arrived inPearl Harbor on23 April . "Burleson" remained in theHawaiian Islands for two months. She conducted several amphibious training exercises at Maui and underwent repairs at thePearl Harbor Navy Yard . On25 June , the ship got underway from Pearl Harbor on her way back to the western Pacific.After stops at
Eniwetok andUlithi , the attack transport arrived back at Okinawa on5 August . She unloaded her cargo and disembarked her passengers at Buckner Bay. "Burleson" stayed at Okinawa beyond the end of hostilities on15 August and through the end of August. On5 September , she got underway for the Asian mainland. "Burleson" arrived atJinsen ,Korea , on8 September and began disembarking troops assigned to military government units. On13 September , she returned to Okinawa and operated in the Ryukyu Islands until26 September . On that day, she departed Okinawa with elements of the First Marine Division embarked. The attack transport reachedTaku ,China , on30 September and spent the next five days disembarking troops and unloading cargo.She continued to perform duty in support of occupation forces until November when she returned to Pearl Harbor with a complement of troops returning home. In December, she was assigned to the 14th Naval District temporarily to undergo modifications preparatory to her participation in
Operation Crossroads , nuclear tests scheduled for the following summer atBikini Atoll . In June of1946 , "Burleson" moved from Pearl Harbor to Bikini carrying animals to be used in the two nuclear tests. She observed both tests and moved into the test area after each to remove the animals for study.At the end of the summer of
1946 , "Burleson" sailed to the East Coast of the United States. She reported for duty at the Naval Amphibious Base,Little Creek, Virginia , where she was decommissioned on9 November 1946 . That event, however, did not end her service. She was retained in an "in reserve, in service" status as a cargo-handling training ship atLittle Creek, Virginia . On5 October 1956 "Burleson" was redesignated anunclassified miscellaneous vessel IX-67. She continued to serve as a training ship at Little Creek until her name was struck from theNaval Vessel Register on1 September 1968 . On20 November 1968 , she was sold to the North American Smelting Company for scrapping."Burleson" received one
battle star for herWorld War II service.References
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