USS Diachenko (APD-123), ex-USS Alex Diachenko, ex-DE-690, later LPR-123, was a in commission from 1944 to 1959 and from 1961 to 1969. She served 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...

 during World War II, the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

, 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...

, and 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...

.

Construction and commissioning

Diachenko was laid down as Rudderow class destroyer escort

Destroyer escort

A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...

 Alex Diachenko (DE-690) by the Bethlehem Steel Company in Quincy, Massachusetts

Quincy, Massachusetts

Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...

. She was redesignated as a Crosley-class

Crosley class high speed transport

Crosley class high speed transports were transport ships that served in the United States Navy during World War II. Some stayed in commission long enough to serve in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. All of them were converted from s during construction except for , which was converted a year...

 high-speed transport while under construction. She was launched on 15 August 1944, and commissioned as USS Alex Diachenko (APD-123) on 8 December 1944.

World War II

Alex Diachenko entered service in the final year of World War II, and was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. She sailed from Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, on 31 January 1945, stopping at San Diego, 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...

, Eniwetok, and Ulithi

Ulithi

Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...

 -- being renamed USS Diachenko on 1 March 1945 while on her voyage—before arriving at Leyte

Leyte

Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...

 on 21 March. She transported troops during the reoccupation of the Philippines. She landed soldiers at Legaspi, 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...

 on 1 April and Police Harbor on 17 April. She arrived at Morotai

Morotai

Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

 on 7 May and transported Australian soldiers for the upcoming invasion

Borneo campaign (1945)

The Borneo Campaign of 1945 was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area, during World War II. In a series of amphibious assaults between 1 May and 21 July, the Australian I Corps, under General Leslie Morshead, attacked Japanese forces occupying the island. Allied naval and...

 at Brunei Bay

Brunei Bay

Brunei Bay is the gateway to Brunei and Borneo. It is located 4°45'-5°02'N, 114°58'-115°10'E; east of Bandar Seri Begawan. The Brunei portion of the bay is in two sections separated by a finger of Sarawak about 6km wide at the coast...

, Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

. She returned to Morotai, and on 26 June she set sail to land troops in the assault of Balikpapan

Balikpapan

Balikpapan is a seaport city on the eastern coast of the island of Borneo, Indonesia, in the East Kalimantan province, a resource-rich region well known for its timber, mining, and petroleum export products. Two harbors, Semayang and Kariangau , and the Sepinggan International Airport are the main...

, Indonesia on 1 July.

With the end of the war the following month, Diachenko spent the next several months transporting soldiers throughout the region until 17 March 1946 when she set sail for the United States. She arrived at San Pedro, California on 25 April 1946. She carried out operations across the North Pacific Ocean from her homeport in San Diego for the next few years until hostilities broke out in Korea.

Korean War

Diachenko set sail for the United States naval base at Sasebo

United States Fleet Activities Sasebo

U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo is a United States Navy naval base, in Sasebo, Japan, on the island of Kyūshū. It provides facilities for the logistic support of forward-deployed units and visiting operating forces of the United States Pacific Fleet and designated tenant activities.- History :Sasebo...

, Japan, on 30 June 1950, five days after the North Koreans crossed the 38th parallel

38th parallel north

The 38th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 38 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean...

. She supported the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 forces

United Nations Command (Korea)

The United Nations Command is the unified command structure for the multinational military forces supporting the Republic of Korea during and after the Korean War...

 from her base in Sasebo, often transporting an underwater demolition team making beach surveys and conducting reconnaissance. She returned to the United States on 9 May 1951 for an overhaul. During her second tour of duty, from 10 March to 5 December 1952, Diachenko carried an underwater demolition team on reconnaissance missions and raids at 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...

, North Korea

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

. She participated in the bombardment and blockade of the Korean coast from Wonsan to Chongjin

Chongjin

Ch'ŏngjin is the capital of North Korea's North Hamgyŏng Province and the country's third largest city. From 1960 to 1967 and again from 1977 to 1985, Ch'ŏngjin was administered separately from North Hamgyŏng as a Directly Governed City...

, North Korea. She set sail for the United States on 5 December 1952 for an overhaul.

Between wars

After hostilities ended, Diachenko returned to Japan on 22 August 1953 with the 2nd Marine Reconnaissance Unit, delivering them to Nagoya. She spent the remainder of the year participating in amphibious exercises in Japanese waters. She served as a station ship in 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...

 from 27 February to 6 March 1954 before returning to San Diego on 7 May. Diachenko sailed from San Diego on 31 March 1955, arriving at Yokosuka, Japan, on 19 April. On 3 May, she reported to Hai Phong, French Indochina

French Indochina

French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....

, where she served as flagship for the Evacuation Unit Commander during Operation Passage to Freedom

Operation Passage to Freedom

Operation Passage to Freedom was the term used by the United States Navy to describe its transportation in 1954–55 of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam...

, carrying refugees out of Communist North Vietnam and into South Vietnam

South Vietnam

South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...

. She returned to San Diego on 30 September 1955.

Diachenko left San Diego on 28 August 1956, and headed to Yokosuka, Japan, where she picked up an underwater demolition team. She then picked up a Marine reconnaissance company at Okinawa and sailed them to Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, where they trained their Thai counterparts. She also participated in amphibious exercises and landings at 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...

, Okinawa, and 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...

. She returned to San Diego on 26 August 1957 to train reserves and operate with underwater demolition teams.

Diachenko returned to the West Pacific on 12 June 1958 and operated out of Okinawa and Subic Bay

Subic Bay

Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...

, Luzon, and in Japanese waters. On 23 August, she dropped off 6 LCVP

LCVP

The Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel or Higgins boat was a landing craft used extensively in amphibious landings in World War II. The craft was designed by Andrew Higgins of Louisiana, United States, based on boats made for operating in swamps and marshes...

s at Djakarta, Java

Java

Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...

. She conducted exercises with Chinese Nationalist forces at Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

 from 1 to 10 September. Upon her return to San Diego, Diachenko resumed local operations until she was placed into the reserve fleet

Reserve fleet

A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....

 on 1 April 1959. She was decommissioned on 30 June 1959.

Vietnam War

Diachenko was recommissioned in 1961. She served in Vietnam for three years, from 18 July 1965 to 12 August 1968. She played a role in the defense of South Vietnam and phases two, four, and five of the American counteroffensive. She also participated in the Tet Offensive in 1968. With the war winding down, Diachenko returned to San Diego where she was reclassified as an amphibious transport, small, (LPR-123) on 1 January 1969. She was decommissioned on 30 July 1969 and transferred to the reserve feet.

Final period in commission

Diachenko was recommissioned on 1 November 1971.

[1971-1974]

Final decommissioning and disposal

Diachenko was stricken 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 15 September 1974, and sold for scrapping on 1 June 1975.