- USS Lenawee (APA-195)
USS "Lenawee" (APA-195) was a sclass|Haskell|attack transport built and used by the
US Navy in World War II and saw further service during theKorean War andVietnam War . She was aVictory ship design, VC2-S-AP5. She was named afterLenawee County, Michigan , USA.World War II service
"Lenawee" was laid down on 26 May 1944 by Kaiser Shipbuilding Company,
Vancouver, Washington , underMaritime Commission contract; launched on 11 September 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Olaf Haugen; and commissioned on 11 October 1944, Commander Carson R. Miller in command.Built to transport assault troops to hostile shores, "Lenawee" picked up her complement of
landing craft at San Francisco and departed 26 November 1944 for the Pacific theater. Following amphibious training in theHawaiian Islands , she sailed 27 January 1945 forSaipan . In the Marianas the final rehearsals for her entrance into the battle zone were held, and 1,503 troops of the5th Marines and the 67thNaval Construction Battalion embarked. After a 3-day voyage, she arrivedIwo Jima onD-Day , 19 February; her boats helped place the first wave of marines ashore before debarking her own troops 3 days later. Withdrawn on the 27th, she retired toGuam to discharge marine casualties and prepare for the final large-scale amphibious operation of World War II.Sailing south to
Espiritu Santo , she embarked over 1,000 troops of the Army 27th Division to reinforce the Okinawa invasion forces. Landing troops and cargo each day and retiring to open sea each night, she suffered no damage fromkamikaze attacks during the stay in the area 9 to 14 April.As part of Commodore J. B. McGovern's
Transport Squadron 16 , she transported troops from thePhilippines to Japan and was present inTokyo Bay with 1,135 troops of the 1st Cavalry when the Japanese surrendered 2 September. Returning to her home port, San Francisco, 31 October, "Lenawee" made two "Magic Carpet" voyages to the western Pacific before decommissioning atStockton, California , 3 August 1946, and entering theReserve Fleet .Korean War
The outbreak of the Korean War caused her to recommission 30 September 1950, Capt. E. M. Brown in command. With
San Diego as her home port, she has operated part of each year, except 1952 and 1956, in theFar East . Her first voyage began 22 March 1951 when she departed forYokosuka, Japan . Operating mainly among the Japanese Islands, she twice transported men and supplies to the Korean theater before returning home 27 November. Again in May 1953 "Lenawee" returned to transport duties in Korean waters and was atInchon in July when the finaltruce was signed.The Chinese offshore islands and
Vietnam proved to be the new crisis areas in the Far East. Following a period of amphibious training early in December 1954 with Korean marines, "Lenawee" joined in the evacuation ofChinese Nationalist civilians and troops from theTachen Islands to Formosa, on her last trip carrying U.S. Ambassador to ChinaKarl L. Ranking for a first hand observation.Even without such crises, the Navy never loses its alertness, continually training for any eventuality. Each year amphibious operations were held with marines either off the
California coast, in the Hawaiians, or elsewhere in the Pacific. Joint exercises were also held with Philippine troops in 1957, withBritish forces offBorneo in 1959, withKorean marines in a cold weather operation in 1962, and in 1965 with units of theRoyal Thai Navy .Vietnam War
Beginning in 1963 the
South China Sea became a regular scene of operations for "Lenawee". Following theNorth Vietnamese PT boat attacks on USS|Maddox|DD-731 and USS|Turner Joy|DD-951 in August 1964, she prepared for her 10th Far Eastern tour since recommissioning. The people-to-people project was not neglected as a result of this new crisis, for the ship carried 10,000 pounds of textbooks and medical supplies to the Philippines and Vietnam after she departed San Diego 7 November 1964. With TF 76, she stood-by laden with marines in the South China Sea from 12 December until 10 April 1965, when 3d Division Marines were landed atDa Nang . Five days later, her boats landed men of the4th Marines at Hue. Reloading at Okinawa, "Lenawee" returned to debark additional troops of the 4th Marines in an assault landing atChu Lai 7 May. On the 24th she brought 2,001 tons of ammunition to these same men. One month later she was en route for a short stay in her home port. On 9 August 1965 she departed California with Battalion Landing Team 1/1 on the first nonstop voyage made by an attack transport direct to Da Nang, arriving the 28th. Returning to San Diego 28 October, "Lenawee" spent the remainder of the year and the first 8 months of 1966 off the West Coast. She conducted type training and participated in various amphibious exercises until departing on her last deployment 4 September 1966."Lenawee" carried marines to Okinawa, successfully weathering typhoon "Ida" on the way; then, after a stop in Japan, transported
Republic of Korea troops fromPusan to Da Nang. She ferried U.S. servicemen from Okinawa to Vietnam and back in December, before returning to the West Coast, arriving at San Diego 8 January 1967 to begin preparations for inactivation.Fate
"Lenawee" decommissioned 20 June 1967. She was berthed in the
Maritime Administration 's .Awards
"Lenawee" received two
battle star s for World War II service and three for Korean service.References
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