USS Hennepin (AK-187) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship

Cargo ship

A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...

 that served the U.S. Navy during the final months of 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...

. Post-war she served briefly with the U.S. Army as USAT Hennepin, and then as USNS Hennepin (T-AK-187) with the Military Sea Transportation Service where she was awarded a battle star. She was declared excess-to-needs on 27 March 1959.

Built at Superior, Wisconsin

Hennepin (AK-187) was laid down under U.S. Maritime Commission contract by Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Superior

Superior, Wisconsin

Superior is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 26,960 at the 2010 census. Located at the junction of U.S. Highways 2 and 53, it is north of and adjacent to both the Village of Superior and the Town of Superior.Superior is at the western...

, Wisconsin, 29 December 1943; launched 27 June 1944; sponsored by Mrs. F. P. Heffelflnger; acquired by the Navy 7 June 1945; and commissioned 3 July 1945 at Galveston

Galveston, Texas

Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...

, Texas, Lt. Comdr. Gavin L. Field in command.

World War II-related service

After shakedown

Shakedown (testing)

A shakedown is a period of testing or a trial journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other craft and its crew before being declared operational. Statistically, a proportion of the components will fail after a relatively short period of use, and those that survive this period can be expected to...

 in the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

, Hennepin departed Galveston 22 July to load cargo at Gulfport

Gulfport, Mississippi

Gulfport is the second largest city in Mississippi after the state capital Jackson. It is the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. As of the...

, Mississippi, and New Orleans

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

, Louisiana. She departed New Orleans 6 August, steamed via the Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

 and the Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands

The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...

, and arrived Cebu

Cebu

Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...

, Philippines, 23 September. Assigned to Service Squadron 8, she operated in the Philippines until 19 November when she departed Tacloban, 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...

, for Australia.

During the next month she loaded cargo at Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane before sailing 17 December with provisions for occupation troops in Korea. Steaming via Okinawa, she reached Jinsen 7 January 1946; then sailed for Japan 25 January. She arrived Yokosuka on 30 January, was decommissioned 16 February, and transferred to the U.S. Army.

Reacquired from the U.S. Army

Hennepin was operated by the U.S. Army for the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Japan

Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers

Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following World War II...

 until 1 July 1950 when she was reacquired by the Navy. After refitting at Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi

The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...

 Shipyard, 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, she was assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) 28 February 1951 and designated T-AK 187.

Korean War support

Manned by a civilian crew, she participated in the Korean supply run during the American effort to repel Communist aggression in South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

. Operating primarily out of Moji

Moji

Moji may refer to:* Hyōon moji or onji, phonic characters used in counting beats in Japanese poetry* Moji-ku, Kitakyūshū, Japanese ward or district* ...Moji, musical album...

 and Sasebo, Japan, she transported vital military cargo to American-held Korean ports during the remainder 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...

.

Post-Korean War support

Following the 1953 Armistice in Korea, Hennepin continued supply runs between Japan and South Korea. In response to the scheduled transfer of North Vietnam

North Vietnam

The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...

 to Communist control, she departed Yokohama

Yokohama

is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...

 30 August 1954 to provide support for 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...

. She arrived Haiphong

Haiphong

, also Haiphong, is the third most populous city in Vietnam. The name means, "coastal defence".-History:Hai Phong was originally founded by Lê Chân, the female general of a Vietnamese revolution against the Chinese led by the Trưng Sisters in the year 43 C.E.The area which is now known as Duong...

, North Vietnam, 7 September, and for more than 3 months she transported cargo southward to St. Jacques and Saigon. After completing three runs to Saigon, she departed St. Jacques for Japan 22 December and arrived Sasebo 3 January 1955.

Between 1955 and 1958 Hennepin remained in the Far East, supporting America's determination to keep the peace and contain Communism in Asia. She continued to operate primarily between Japanese and South Korean ports, but cargo runs in 1957 and 1958 again sent her to Southeast Asia.

Between 13 May and 3 July 1957 she operated out of Saigon and Bangkok

Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

, Thailand, and in addition steamed to Karachi, Pakistan, and Bahrain Island

Bahrain Island

Bahrain Island is the largest island within the archipelago of Bahrain, and forms the bulk of the country's land mass while hosting the majority of its population. Around most of the Island of Bahrain is a relatively shallow inlet of the Persian Gulf known as the Gulf of Bahrain...

 in the Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

. During September 1957 and April 1958 she steamed out of Yokohama, carrying cargo to Saigon.

Final deactivation

After returning to Yokohama from Busan, Korea, 21 June 1958, she was inactivated by the Navy 16 July. She transferred to the Maritime Administration 27 March 1959.