- USS Ouachita County (LST-1071)
The USS "Ouachita County" (LST-1071) was an sclass|LST-542|tank landing ship built for the
United States Navy duringWorld War II . Named forOuachita County, Arkansas , she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.Originally laid down as LST-1071 on
13 February 1945 by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc. ofHingham, Massachusetts ; launched14 March 1945 ; and commissioned9 April 1945 with Lieutenant W. C. Scott in command. Following shakedown inChesapeake Bay , LST–1071 steamed north toNew York where she took on pontoon gear, LCT sections and LCT personnel. On27 May 1945 she departed the East Coast for thePanama Canal andPearl Harbor where she exchanged her LCT cargo and passengers for one complete LCT and Army troops bound forGuam . There, at that Marianas island when World War II ended, she took on 139th Construction Battalion personnel and sailed forSaipan andOkinawa . On14 September she steamed intoTokyo Bay , from the Ryūkyūs, with 5th Air Force units en route to occupation duty onHonshū . She completed another Okinawa/Japan run for the Air Force, then steamed toLeyte , whence she carried 9th Corps units toAomori, Japan . Army cargo shuttles in Japanese waters were followed in December by orders to Saipan. From there, on the 27th, she headed back to theUnited States . LST–1071 arrived atSan Diego 5 February 1946 . On the 10th she moved north toSan Francisco , and on the 25th toPortland, Oregon for inactivation. There the LST decommissioned10 June 1946 and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet. LST–1071 recommissioned3 January 1951 . Following shakedown and cargo runs along theCalifornia coast, she sailed for the East Coast, arriving atNorfolk, Virginia 15 June . The LST then commenced operations out ofLittle Creek, Virginia as a unit of LST Flotilla 2, Atlantic Fleet. For the next four years, she conducted amphibious exercises along the mid-Atlantic coast and atPuerto Rico , and carried Army personnel and supplies toLabrador and Newfoundland. Named USS "Ouachita County" (LST-1071)1 July 1955 , she returned from her last voyage in Canadian waters in September and, in November, steamed toBrooklyn for inactivation overhaul. With the new year, 1956, she steamed south toGreen Cove Springs, Florida , arriving31 January and decommissioning15 February . She remained there, berthed as a unit of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet until struck from theNaval Vessel Register 1 November 1959 . Her final fate is unknown.References
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List of United States Navy LSTs
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