- USS Nemasket (AOG-10)
USS "Nemasket" (AOG-10) was a "Patapsco"-class gasoline tanker acquired by the
U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of transporting gasoline to warships in the fleet, and to remote Navy stations."Nemasket" was laid down
6 October 1942 by Cargill, Inc.,Savage, Minnesota ; launched20 October 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. Rebecca Hanson of Savage, Minnesota; and commissioned16 June 1944 atNew Orleans, Louisiana , Lt. Comdr. Gillespie G. Boyd in command.World War II service
Shakedown commenced
3 July in theChesapeake Bay , after which "Nemasket" steamed toAruba ,Netherlands West Indies , to load gasoline. She departed Aruba31 July forPearl Harbor via thePanama Canal andSan Diego, California . Arriving Pearl Harbor24 August she commenced transporting petroleum products to numerous Pacific islands. ReachingUlithi 12 November , she commenced fueling operations -- receiving fuel from merchant tankers and Navy oilers, and then delivering it to various combatants, auxiliaries, and island bases.Supporting the Iwo Jima invasion
"Nemasket" carried
aviation gasoline toAnguar andPeleliu in thePalau Islands from12 December 1944 until18 January 1945 . She then steamed toEniwetok to fuel the invasion fleet preparing for theIwo Jima assault. Arriving off Iwo Jima20 February , she fueled over two hundred ships in twenty days. Thegasoline tanker then shifted toSaipan andUlithi 9 March , and4 April she steamed toKerama Retto , where she spent three months amidstkamikaze attacks and interminable hours atgeneral quarters . She splashed a “Val”13 May , 100 yards off her port bow.End-of-war activity
At
Leyte when hostilities ceased, "Nemasket" remained in continuous service with thePacific Service Force . She shifted toShanghai ,China 6 September and remained on China service until May1947 , spending only the late summer and early fall of1946 in theUnited States . In June of1947 she was assigned transportation and delivery duties throughout the Pacific islands as a unit ofService Division 51,Service Force, Pacific .Korean War service
"Nemasket" continued her transportation and delivery duties during the
Korean conflict and through the 1950s, out of her homeport ofPearl Harbor .Decommissioning
Placed out of commission, in reserve
22 September 1959 , she was stricken from theNaval Register 1 July 1960 and scrapped in1961 .Military awards and honors
Nemasket’s crew was eligible for the following medals and ribbons:
*Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive - April to June 1945 at Kerama Retto, Okinawa)
*China Service Medal
*American Campaign Medal
*Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
*World War II Victory Medal
*Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
*National Defense Service Medal
*Korean Service Medal
*United Nations Service Medal
*Philippines Liberation Medal
*Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)References
See also
*
List of United States Navy ships
*World War II
*Korean War External links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/#Anchor-Editoria-14954 Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/20/2010.htm NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - AOG-10 Nemasket]
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