- USS Hickman County (LST-825)
The USS "Hickman County" (LST-825) was an sclass|LST-542|tank landing ship built for the
United States Navy duringWorld War II . Named after counties inKentucky andTennessee , she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.Originally laid down as LST-825 on
2 October 1944 by the Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company,Evansville, Indiana ; launched11 November ; sponsored by Mrs. John Spindler; commissioned atNew Orleans 8 December with Lieutenant Henry V. Hartsell in command. After shakedown in theGulf of Mexico , LST-825 loaded oil and cargo at New Orleans and sailed for the West Coast. She arrived atSan Diego 30 January 1945 , discharged her cargo and continued on toSeattle , arriving4 February . Loading oil, ammunition and embarking troops, LST-825 sailed for thePacific 26 February 1945 . The momentous Pacific campaign was in full swing atOkinawa when LST-825 reached that rockyJapan ese fortress viaPearl Harbor ,Guam ,Eniwetok , andUlithi on21 April to discharge troop reinforcements and cargo. L8T-825 retired toSaipan , where she loaded cargo and supplies for the famedSeabees and returned to Okinawa26 June . A late July convoy took the LST toIwo Jima with cargo and supplies; and she returned to Okinawa4 September . Hostilities having ended on15 August , LST-825 embarked troops and equipment of the 5th Army Air Force destined to participate in the occupation of Japan. EnteringTokyo Bay 25 September , she disembarked the occupation forces and their equipment and set course for Okinawa. During November, 1945 LST-825 completed a second Okinawa-Japan trip. On the 16th the landing ship embarked 514 enlisted men at Guam and sailed for theUnited States via Pearl Harbor as part of the "Operation Magic Carpet" fleet bringing home veterans, arrivingSan Francisco 22 December . After a few months of tactical operations along the West Coast, LST-825 decommissioned atSwan Island, Portland, Oregon and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet22 May 1946 . With the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, LST-825 recommissioned3 November 1950 with Lieutenant Thomas R. Ashton in command. After training out ofSan Diego , LST-825 entered Pearl Harbor8 April 1951 where she transported passengers and cargo among theHawaiian Islands until returning stateside1 July . On17 September she returned to Hawaii and operated there until her return16 December to San Diego. Departing San Diego26 April 1952 , the LST arrived atYokosuka 11 June via Pearl Harbor andMidway Island . She made several cruises to the Korean coast to participate in tactical amphibious exercises and maneuvers of U.S. andRepublic of South Korea n troops. LST-825 also carriedCommunist prisoners-of-war from Korea to Japan. She returned to San Diego5 March 1953 for scheduled amphibious landing exercises and fleet tactics along the western seaboard. Her second Western Pacific cruise began on her departure fromCalifornia 20 January 1954 . Spring and early summer were spent in operations along the Japanese and Korean coast as well as cargo duty between Eniwetok andBikini Atoll . On11 August 1954 LST-825 departed Yokosuka forFrench Indochina , where She assisted the humanitarian "Operation Passage to Freedom ." When the French began to pull out of Indochina following their defeat by Communist rebels, over 800,000North Vietnam ese chose to forsake their homes and cast their lot with the southern half of their country rather than to live under communism. Nearly 100 ships of the U.S. Navy under Rear Admiral Lorenzo S. Sajjin helped transport the refugees in a mass exodus to freedom. In all, the U.S. Navy evacuated 310,848 North Vietnamese as well as 68,757 tons of cargo and over 8,000 vehicles. Hard-pressed and cramped sailors were rewarded when many of the 184 children born on the "Passage to Freedom" were named after U.S. ships and officers. Part of this humanitarian task force from26 August to5 October 1954 , LST-825 made five trips from the Northern capital,Haiphong , to Southern ports with Vietnamese refugees and French troops and equipment. For an outstanding job done during this worthy cause, the ship was awarded the Vietnam Presidential Unit Citation. L8T-825 returned to San Diego27 November 1954 and operated out of there until decommissioned20 September 1955 , having been renamed USS "Hickman County" (LST-825) on1 July . "Hickman County" recommissioned in service at San Diego22 March 1963 with Lieutenant Edward F. Powers in command. Assigned to LST Reserve Squadron 2, she reported to the U.S. Naval Amphibious Base atLittle Creek, Virginia 19 June 1963 to conduct amphibious warfare training. For the next 2 years she underwent various phases of training in amphibious warfare. In May 1965 theDominican Republic crisis erupted and "Hickman County" sailed fromNorfolk, Virginia 8 May laden with supplies for the logistical support of the U.S. Armed Forces keeping the peace in that country. "Hickman County" remained in theCaribbean area as a standby ship supplying theUnited States contingency at the Dominican Republic until15 July when it called atPuerto de Haina , Dominican Republic to embark Army troops and sailed forSunny Point, North Carolina , debarking them22 July 1965 . From26 August until9 December , the busy ship transferred military personnel and cargo between the United States and the Dominican Republic and acted as host to foreign ships atSan Juan, Puerto Rico . On10 December she arrived at Little Creek, departing forBrooklyn, New York 4 days later for overhaul. On23 February 1966 the ship transited thePanama Canal , arriving at Pearl Harbor19 March and departedKaneohe Bay ,Oahu 4 April 1966 for the Western Pacific. Decommissioned (date unknown), she was transferred to thePhilippines 26 November 1969 , and the ship was renamed as RPS "Cagayan" (LT-97). Struck from theNaval Vessel Register 15 September 1979 , her final fate is unknown."Hickman County" earned two
battle star s for service in Korea and the Vietnam and KoreanPresidential Unit Citation s.References
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* cite web|title=LST-825 "Hickman County"|work=Amphibious Photo Archive
url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/16/160803.htm|accessdate=July 28|accessyear=2007External links
* [http://www.hullnumber.com/commands1.php?ct=OG&st=LST&hn=825&n1=USS&n2=HICKMAN&n3=COUNTY&n4=&n5= LST-825 Personnel Roster at HullNumber.com]
ee also
*
List of United States Navy LSTs
*Hickman County, Kentucky
*Hickman County, Tennessee
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