USS Cavalier (AP-82/APA-37) was a in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

. She was named for Cavalier County, North Dakota

Cavalier County, North Dakota

-Major highways:* North Dakota Highway 1* North Dakota Highway 5* North Dakota Highway 20* North Dakota Highway 66-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 4,831 people, 2,017 households, and 1,361 families residing in the county. The population density was 3 people per square mile...

.

Cavalier was reclassified APA-37, 1 February 1943; launched 15 March 1943 by the Western Pipe and Steel Company

Western Pipe and Steel Company

The Western Pipe and Steel Company was an American manufacturing company that is best remembered today for its construction of ships for the Maritime Commission in World War II. It also built ships for the U.S...

, San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

; sponsored by Mrs. M. W. Jackson; acquired 19 July 1943; fitted out as an attack transport by Bethlehem Steel

Bethlehem Steel

The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...

 Co., Hoboken, New Jersey

Hoboken, New Jersey

Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...

; and commissioned 15 January 1944, Captain R. T. Mc-Elliott, USCG, in command.

World War II

Cavalier cleared Davisville, Rhode Island

Davisville, Rhode Island

Davisville, Rhode Island was the former home of the U.S. Navy SeaBees. It was located at Quonset Point on Narragansett Bay, an area now included in the town of North Kingstown. The Navy acquired the property in 1939 and built Naval Air Station Quonset Point...

 on 17 February 1944 with men and equipment of two construction battalions, whom she disembarked at Honolulu 16 March.

Invasion of Saipan

After special amphibious training in the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...

, she sailed by way of Kwajalein

Kwajalein

Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...

 for the invasion beaches of Saipan

Battle of Saipan

The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June-9 July 1944. The Allied invasion fleet embarking the expeditionary forces left Pearl Harbor on 5 June 1944, the day before Operation Overlord in Europe was...

 in the Joint Expeditionary Force Reserve. When stiff Japanese resistance was encountered on D-Day

D-Day

D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...

, 15 June, Cavalier's group was summoned to unload reinforcements, and landings began at dusk on 16 June.

Working at top speed, since the Japanese fleet was known to be approaching, Cavalier landed her troops, but was ordered to retire before she could get off the artillery she carried. Leaving many of her boats behind for shuttle duty, she drew away to the east while the classic air Battle of the Philippine Sea

Battle of the Philippine Sea

The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II which effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War...

 was fought, then returned to the beachhead area on 25 June to complete offloading artillery and to embark casualties. Next day, Cavalier cleared for Eniwetok, where the wounded were put ashore, and cargo, including 37 tons of dynamite

Dynamite

Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...

 for use in underwater demolition

Underwater demolition

Underwater demolition refers to the deliberate destruction or neutralization of man-made or natural underwater obstacles, both for military and civilian purposes.-John G. Foster:...

, was loaded.

Invasion of Tinian

Returning to Saipan 13 July 1944, Cavalier delivered her cargo, and loaded troops and vehicles of the 2nd Marines for the assault on Tinian

Battle of Tinian

The Battle of Tinian was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July 1944 to 1 August 1944.-Background:...

. She arrived off Tinian

Tinian

Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....

's "White Beach" on 24 July, successfully landed troops and vehicles, loaded casualties, and sailed on 28 July for Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...

.

Invasion of Leyte

After brief repairs, Cavalier joined in rehearsal landings in the Hawaiians, and on 15 September 1944, sailed for Manus

Manus Island

Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...

, and final preparations for the Leyte landings

Battle of Leyte

The Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the invasion and conquest of the island of Leyte in the Philippines by American and Filipino guerrilla forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fought against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines led by...

, first step in the liberation of the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. With the Southern Attack Force, she sailed on 14 October, and after a quiet passage, arrived off Dulag

Dulag, Leyte

Dulag is a third-class municipality in the province of Leyte in Eastern Visayas in the Philippines. This coastal town covering 11,007 hectares of land is home to 44,143 residents...

, Leyte on 20 October. Thorough planning and training paid off. Cavalier's boats landed troops and equipment smoothly. She remained off the beach, completing her unloading and receiving casualties, until 23 October, when she cleared for Manus on the eve of the Battle for Leyte Gulf.

Invasion of Luzon

After disembarking casualties at Manus, Cavalier sailed to New Guinea

New Guinea

New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...

 to load reinforcements, with whom she returned to Leyte on 18 November 1944. Then she returned to New Guinea to train for the Lingayen

Invasion of Lingayen Gulf

The Liberation of Lingayen Gulf was an Allied amphibious operation in the Philippines during World War II. In the early morning of 9 January 1945, an Allied force commanded by Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf began approaching the shores of Lingayen. U.S...

 assault, for which she sailed 28 December in the San Fabian

San Fabián

San Fabián is one of 21 communes in the Ñuble Province of central Chile's Biobío Region. The capital is the town of San Fabián de Alico. The commune spans an area of .-Administration:...

 Attack Force. They suffered enemy air and surface attacks en route. On the night of 7 January 1945, Cavalier made the first radar

Radar

Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

 contact with the Japanese destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

 , later destroyed by the accompanying escorts of her group. Still later, other ships of her force were damaged by kamikaze

Kamikaze

The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....

s.

On 9 January, Cavalier took position to launch her boats on White Beach where Japanese mortar fire damaged many of her barges. Unhesitatingly her men carried out assigned duties, although six were injured during the day. Three more were injured, one mortally, by exploding shrapnel during the dusk attack by suicide planes. As she retired from Lingayen Gulf

Lingayen Gulf

The Lingayen Gulf is an extension of the South China Sea on Luzon in the Philippines stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central...

 next day, her gunners took a suicide plane under fire, only to see it crash into .

Invasion of Northern Luzon

Cavalier loaded troops at Leyte, and on 26 January 1945 stood out for the northern Luzon

Luzon

Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...

 landings on 29 January. Since Philippine guerillas had secured the assault area 2 days previously, no opposition was met, and Cavalier set sail for Leyte the same day.

Struck by torpedo

On 30 January, while off Manila Bay

Manila Bay

Manila Bay is a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila , in the Philippines.The bay is considered to be one of the best natural harbors in Southeast Asia and one of the finest in the world...

, she was suddenly shaken by a violent underwater explosion, presumably a torpedo

Torpedo

The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...

 fired from the . Hit port side aft, Cavalier suffered 50 men injured, some flooding, and buckled decks. Engines stopped and steerageway was lost. Flooding and damage were quickly controlled, but since her propeller was jammed, she had to be towed by to Leyte, arriving 4 February. Repairs there and at Pearl Harbor continued through 12 September.

Postwar service

Sailing from Pearl Harbor to the Philippines, Cavalier embarked military passengers for transportation to San Francisco, where she arrived on 1 November 1945.

Tours of duty to China

From 1 January to 22 February 1946, she voyaged to Samar

Samar

Samar, formerly and also known as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located to the west of the mainland...

, Guam

Guam

Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

, Eniwetok, and Kwajalein, again to load passengers for San Francisco. Repairs there preceded a tour of duty off China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 from 5 May 1946 to 30 April 1947, from which she returned to San Diego.

A second tour of China duty from 25 March to 9 December 1948 found Cavalierpicking up refugees, taking them to Shanghai and transporting rice furnished by American relief agencies for Chinese refugees at Tsingtao. Three short cruises to mid-Pacific islands preceded a deployment to the Far East

Far East

The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...

 for which she sailed 3 April 1950.

Korean War

Thus Cavalier was in Japanese waters upon the outbreak of the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

. She quickly prepared for the first amphibious landing of the conflict, and on 15 July 1950, sailed from Yokosuka with troops of the 1st Cavalry. They landed at Pohang

Pohang

Pohang is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, and a main seaport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. The built-up area of Pohang is located on the alluvium of the mouth of the Hyeongsan River...

 on 18 July, and Cavalier returned to Yokosuka on 23 July.

Assigned to the daring Inchon invasion, Cavalier next cleared Yokosuka on 3 September, paused at newly secured Pusan from 5 to 12 September, and in the early evening of 15 September, came into position to begin the arduous landings over the seawalls of Inchon, against enemy resistance which stiffened with each assault wave. Cavalier remained off Inchon, receiving casualties, until 20 September, when she cleared for Yokosuka. In October, she carried men and ammunition to both Inchon and Wonsan

Wonsan

Wŏnsan is a port city and naval base in southeastern North Korea. It is the capital of Kangwŏn Province. The population of the city is estimated to have been 331,000 in 2000. Notable people from Wŏnsan include Kim Ki Nam, diplomat and Secretary of the Workers' Party.- History :The original name of...

, and on 1 November, cleared for San Diego, overhaul, and local training.

On 14 July 1951, laden with Marines, Cavalier once more departed San Diego for the Far East. Arriving at Kobe

Kobe

, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...

, Japan on 29 July, she replenished, and loaded additional small arms ammunition and provisions. On 5 August, she put into Pusan to offload men and cargo, returning to Japan for training operations through the fall. From 27 November to 7 December, she carried men and vehicles of the 45th Infantry to Inchon, and after operations in Japanese waters and a visit to Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, made a similar voyage to Inchon late in January 1952.

Cavalier returned to the West Coast on 23 April 1952, and took part in intensive training along the California coast and in Hawaii until 3 July 1953, when she again sailed for Yokosuka. From 1 to 27 August, she was at Inchon, aiding in the transfer of prisoners of war under the Korean Armistice Agreement, and after amphibious landing exercises off Japan, Okinawa, and Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...

, returned to Long Beach, California

Long Beach, California

Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...

 on 23 April 1954.

Peacetime service

From the close of the Korean War through 1960, Cavalier completed three tours of duty in the Far East, from 11 January to 4 October 1956; from 10 February through 12 December 1959; and from 16 February to 25 July 1960. Cavalier completed further tours in the Far East in the 1960's.

Vietnam war

Cavalier took part in a number of operations during the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

, from early 1966 until May 1968.

Decommission

Shortly after her final Vietnam tour of duty, Cavalier was decommissioned. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

 on 1 October 1968, and sold for scrap in 1969.

Awards

Cavalier received five battle stars for World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

service, four for Korean War service, and five for the Vietnam War.