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USS Garrard (APA-84)
Encyclopedia
USS Garrard (APA-84) was a Gilliam-class
attack transport
that served with the US Navy during World War II
. Like numerous other ships in her class, she had an active service life of less than two years.
Garrard was named after Garrard County, Kentucky
. She was laid down under Maritime Commission contract by Consolidated Steel at Wilmington, California on 28 October 1944; launched 13 January 1945; acquired by the Navy 2 March 1945; and commissioned at San Pedro
3 March 1945, Lieutenant Commander Walter Barnett, Jr., in command.
Coast, Garrard embarked sailors and Army Aviation Engineers and departed Seattle 3 May for the Western Pacific. Steaming via Pearl Harbor
, Eniwetok, and Guam
, she arrived Ulithi
, Carolines, 28 May.
Beach the 24th. As her gunners helped repel Japanese air attacks, she landed men and cargo of the 854th Aviation Engineers before departing for Leyte
, Philippine Islands, 28 June.
Garrard embarked fleet replacements, loaded cargo and mail, and departed 8 July as a logistics
support ship to supply the 3d Fleet off the Japanese coast. She rendezvoused 17 July; and, after completing transfer of men and cargo by highline, she sailed 22 July for Eniwetok, where she arrived the 26th.
, then steamed for Japan 20 August with Task Force 31. Arriving Tokyo Bay
27 August, she debarked her troops at Yokosuka 30 August. Between 10 and 15 September she steamed to Sendai, Japan, and back to transport liberated prisoners of war. After embarking 726 veterans, she departed Yokosuka 13 October and sailed to the United States
, where she arrived Portland, Oregon
, 25 October.
11 December, she embarked 905 homebound troops and sailed for San Francisco 14 December. Arriving 3 January 1946, she entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard
before sailing for Seattle 6 February.
, she decommissioned at Bellingham, Washington
, 21 May 1946. Transferred to the War Shipping Administration
on 29 June, she entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet
at Olympia, Washington
. She was sold to Zidell Exploration Company Inc. of Portland, Oregon
, for scrapping 3 June 1963. The ship was de-constructed and the metal was used to build several large barges for exploration uses by Zidell Exploration Company. The remainder of the ships metal and other materials were sold to several private corporations.
Gilliam class attack transport
The Gilliam-class attack transport was a class of attack transport built for service with the US Navy in World War II.Like all attack transports, the purpose of the Gilliams was to transport troops and their equipment to foreign shores in order to execute amphibious invasions using an array of...
attack transport
Attack transport
Attack Transport is a United States Navy ship classification.-History:In the early 1940s, as the United States Navy expanded in response to the threat of involvement in World War II, a number of civilian passenger ships and some freighters were acquired, converted to transports and given hull...
that served with the US Navy during 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...
. Like numerous other ships in her class, she had an active service life of less than two years.
Garrard was named after Garrard County, Kentucky
Garrard County, Kentucky
Garrard County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is pronounced 'Gair-ad' with the third "r" silent. It was formed in 1797 and was named for James Garrard, Governor of Kentucky from 1796 to 1804. Its county seat is Lancaster. The population was 16,912 in the 2010 Census...
. She was laid down under Maritime Commission contract by Consolidated Steel at Wilmington, California on 28 October 1944; launched 13 January 1945; acquired by the Navy 2 March 1945; and commissioned at San Pedro
San Pedro, Los Angeles, California
San Pedro is a port district of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was annexed in 1909 and is a major seaport of the area...
3 March 1945, Lieutenant Commander Walter Barnett, Jr., in command.
World War II
After shakedown and amphibious training along the CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
Coast, Garrard embarked sailors and Army Aviation Engineers and departed Seattle 3 May for the Western Pacific. Steaming via 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 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...
, she arrived 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...
, Carolines, 28 May.
Invasion of Okinawa
She sailed 20 June for Okinawa and reached HagushiHagushi
Hagushi bay was the primary unloading point for American supplies during the invasion of Okinawa during World War II. The bay, at the mouth of the Bishi River , was the dividing line between the First and Sixth US Marine divisions, which landed on the Hagushi beaches to the north, and the Seventh...
Beach the 24th. As her gunners helped repel Japanese air attacks, she landed men and cargo of the 854th Aviation Engineers before departing for 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...
, Philippine Islands, 28 June.
Garrard embarked fleet replacements, loaded cargo and mail, and departed 8 July as a logistics
Logistics
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
support ship to supply the 3d Fleet off the Japanese coast. She rendezvoused 17 July; and, after completing transfer of men and cargo by highline, she sailed 22 July for Eniwetok, where she arrived the 26th.
After hostilities
After serving as a receiving ship, Garrard departed 13 August to once more carry men and cargo to the 3rd Fleet. She rendezvoused 17 August, embarked sailors and marines at sea for occupation duty in JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, then steamed for Japan 20 August with Task Force 31. Arriving Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
27 August, she debarked her troops at Yokosuka 30 August. Between 10 and 15 September she steamed to Sendai, Japan, and back to transport liberated prisoners of war. After embarking 726 veterans, she departed Yokosuka 13 October and sailed to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where she arrived Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, 25 October.
Operation Magic Carpet
Assigned to Operation Magic Carpet, the massive sealift to take demobilizing soldiers home, Garrard departed San Francisco for the Philippines 19 November. Reaching ManilaManila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
11 December, she embarked 905 homebound troops and sailed for San Francisco 14 December. Arriving 3 January 1946, she entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
before sailing for Seattle 6 February.
Decommission
After completing an inactivation overhaul at Puget Sound Naval ShipyardPuget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington...
, she decommissioned at Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
, 21 May 1946. Transferred to the War Shipping Administration
War Shipping Administration
The War Shipping Administration was a World War II emergency war agency of the US Government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the US needed for fighting the war....
on 29 June, she entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet
National Defense Reserve Fleet
The National Defense Reserve Fleet consists of "mothballed" ships, mostly merchant vessels, that can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping for the United States of America during national emergencies, either military or non-military, such as commercial shipping crises.The NDRF is...
at Olympia, Washington
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
. She was sold to Zidell Exploration Company Inc. of Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, for scrapping 3 June 1963. The ship was de-constructed and the metal was used to build several large barges for exploration uses by Zidell Exploration Company. The remainder of the ships metal and other materials were sold to several private corporations.