USS Hunterdon County (LST-838) was an built for 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

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...

, and later reconfigured and recommissioned for riverine warfare 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...

. Named after Hunterdon County, New Jersey

Hunterdon County, New Jersey

Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 128,349. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Flemington....

, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

USS LST-838 was laid down on 20 September 1944 at Ambridge, Pennsylvania

Ambridge, Pennsylvania

Ambridge is a borough in Beaver County in Western Pennsylvania, incorporated in 1905 and named after the American Bridge Company. Ambridge is located 16 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, alongside the Ohio River. In 1910, 5,205 people lived in Ambridge; in 1920, 12,730 people lived there, and in...

 by the American Bridge Company

American Bridge Company

The American Bridge Company is a privately held civil engineering firm specializing in the construction and renovation of bridges and other large civil engineering projects, founded in 1900, and headquartered in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh.-Products and industry positioning:The...

; launched on 8 November 1944; sponsored by Miss Margaret Foster; and commissioned on 4 December 1944 with Lieutenant Allan T. Larkins, Jr., in command.

World War II, 1944–1946

After shakedown off Florida, LST-838 loaded heavy construction equipment at New Orleans and departed on 5 January 1945. Loading troops and additional cargo at 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...

, the landing ship sailed to the Mariana Islands

Mariana Islands

The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...

, arriving at 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...

 on 4 March. She unloaded her cargo, then steamed to Saipan

Saipan

Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...

 where she loaded equipment and embarked units of the 130th Naval Construction Battalion for the invasion of Okinawa

Battle of Okinawa

The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...

, sailing on 25 March.

LST-838 arrived off the southern Okinawa beaches on 1 April. Despite determined efforts by the enemy, Allied forces succeeded in securing a beachhead. On D-Day, after was struck by a suicide plane

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....

, LST-838 recovered 79 survivors from the heavily damaged ship. The landing ship stood off the coast of Okinawa until 13 April when she approached Green Beach to discharge Seabees and construction equipment. The following day during one of the many raids she shot down a Japanese aircraft. Departing Okinawa on the 16th, LST-838 arrived at 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...

 six days later. For the rest of the war she transported men and equipment throughout the South and Western Pacific Islands.

Following the end of the war, LST-838 moved men and equipment to Japan for occupation duties. She remained in the Far East until 7 November, when 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...

 for Guam; then embarked 544 Army veterans and steamed to the United States, arriving at San Francisco on 23 December.

She was decommissioned on 7 August 1946 and assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet. On 1 July 1955 she was redesignated USS Hunterdon County (LST-838).

Vietnam War, 1966–1974

Recommissioned on 10 September 1966 at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California

Vallejo, California

Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...

, Hunterdon County saw extensive service during the Vietnam War, operating as part of Operation Game Warden

Operation Game Warden

Operation Game Warden, Task force 116, was an operation to deny Viet Cong access to the resources in the Mekong Delta which was conceived of in December 1965. U.S. naval forces, backed by Marine artillery on the ground, launching a rapid surprise attack on the dozens of small Viet Cong ports which...

, a brown-water navy

Brown-water navy

Brown-water navy is a term that originated in the United States Navy, referring to the small gunboats and patrol boats used in rivers, along with some of the larger ships that supported them as "mother ships," from which they operated...

 effort to keep the rivers free of Viet Cong infiltrators. On 12 May 1970, it was the first U.S. Navy commissioned vessel to enter Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

, rearming and refueling helicopters that belonged to the U.S. Army and Navy, as well as the Air Force of the Republic of Vietnam

Vietnam Air Force

The Vietnam Air Force began with a few hand-picked men chosen to fly alongside French pilots during the State of Vietnam era. It eventually grew into the world’s sixth largest air force at the height of its power, in 1974...

. According to "The Jackstaff News," the official Navy paper for "U.S. Naval Forces II, III, and IV Corps Vietnam":

The Hunterdon County was the first U.S. ship to cross the Cambodian border, May 12 [1970], after President Nixon's decision to enter that country. It remained there and continued to provide support to the Vietnamese armed forces and their U.S. Army and Navy advisors longer than any other ship of its type, according to Navy officials.

The ship's credits in Vietnam include capturing one of the largest Viet Cong caches in the Delta on March 29, 1969, and establishing the record for the furthest transit of the Bassac River by a U.S. commissioned vessel in August of that same year.
The ship was subsequently reclassified as Patrol Craft Tender USS Hunterdon County (AGP-838).

Transfer to Malaysia, 1974

Transferred to Malaysia on 1 August 1974 under the Security Assistance Program, she was renamed KD Sri Langkawi (A1500) for service in the Royal Malaysian Navy

Royal Malaysian Navy

The Royal Malaysian Navy is the naval arm of Malaysian Armed Forces. All commissioned ships of the RMN have the prefix KD , which means Royal Ship.-Straits Settlement Naval Volunteer Reserve:...

, and 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...

 the same day. Her final fate is unknown.

Awards

LST-838 earned one battle star for World War II service. Additionally, Hunterdon County earned seven battle stars, two awards of the Presidential Unit Citation, and four awards of the Navy Unit Commendation

Navy Unit Commendation

The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...

for the Vietnam War.