USS Mahnomen County (LST-912) was a 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...

. Named after Mahnomen County, Minnesota

Mahnomen County, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,190 people, 1,969 households, and 1,366 families residing in the county. The population density was 9 people per square mile . There were 2,700 housing units at an average density of 5 per square mile...

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

Originally laid down as LST-912 by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc. of Hingham, Massachusetts

Hingham, Massachusetts

Hingham is a town in northern Plymouth County on the South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and suburb in Greater Boston. The United States Census Bureau 2008 estimated population was 22,561...

 on 5 February 1944; launched on 22 April 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Hazel B. Leppe; and commissioned on 21 May 1944 with Lieutenant Lloyd R. White in command.

World War II, 1944–1945

Assigned to the 7th Amphibious Fleet, LST-912 sailed in convoy on 25 June for the Admiralty Islands

Admiralty Islands

The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...

, via Bora Bora

Bora Bora

The commune of Bora-Bora is made up of the island of Bora Bora proper with its surrounding islets emerging from the coral reef, 29.3 km² in total, and of the atoll of Tupai , located north of Bora Bora...

, Societies, and Nouméa

Nouméa

Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...

, New Caledonia

New Caledonia

New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...

, arriving Seeadler Harbor

Seeadler Harbor

Seeadler Harbor, also known as Port Seeadler, is located on Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea and played an important role in World War II...

, 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...

 on 23 August to unload her cargo of one LCT

Landing craft tank

The Landing Craft, Tank was an amphibious assault ship for landing tanks on beachheads. They were initially developed by the British Royal Navy and later by the United States Navy during World War II in a series of versions. Initially known as the "Tank Landing Craft" by the British, they later...

 and sections of another. She steamed for 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...

 on 8 September, arriving Humboldt Bay, Hollandia

Jayapura

Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....

 two days later for exercises until 22 September, when she departed for Morotai Island. Following her arrival the 27th, LST-912s guns helped drive off an enemy bomber which raided the harbor area. On 29 September LST-912 proceeded to Soemoe Island to embark men and equipment of the 113th Naval Construction Battalion for transfer to Hollandia. Despite harassment of her task unit by three enemy aircraft the next day, she reached Hollandia on 5 October. Five days later she moved on to "Pie Beach" to take on Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 troops and equipment for the invasion 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...

. The landing ship joined a task group off Hollandia on 16 October, and, entering Leyte Gulf

Leyte Gulf

Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...

 on the 22nd, ran through the surf to land her soldiers at "White Beach." LST-912 then served as an emergency evacuation hospital

Hospital

A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....

, receiving six Army casualties the 23rd, before retiring to Hollandia six days later.

On 3 November the tank landing ship sailed to Wakde Airfield

Wakde Airfield

Wakde Airfield is a World War II airfield located on Located on Wakde Island, off the northern coast of New Guinea in West Papua Province, Indonesia. The airfield was abandoned after the war and today is almost totally returned to its natural state.-History:...

 on Wakde Island off the coast of New Guinea to embark troops of the 303rd Airdrome Squadron for passage to Leyte. Just as she finished debarking her troops at "Yellow Beach," a Japan

Japan

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...

ese A6M Zero

A6M Zero

The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long-range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the , and also designated as the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen and Mitsubishi Navy 12-shi Carrier Fighter. The A6M was usually referred to by the...

 roared in and began strafing the shore. Her guns quickly brought the plane down and LST-912 headed for New Guinea, arriving Hollandia six days later. After loading equipment and personnel of the 79th Army Engineer Construction Battalion on 23 December, LST-912 sortied with a task group for 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...

 the 26th, via Sansapor, New Guinea.

On the evening of 7 January 1945 a 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...

 closing the formation in the Surigao Straits was intercepted and sunk. At 02:55 Japanese planes attacked the task group and three hours later a "Val

Aichi D3A

The , Allied reporting name "Val") was a World War II carrier-borne dive bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy . It was the primary dive bomber in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and participated in almost all actions, including Pearl Harbor....

" careened into the LST killing four men, the vessel's only wartime casualties. Arriving off Lingayen Gulf on 9 January, LST-912 discharged her cargo and men on "White Beach" the next day. The next two days were spent under constant enemy fire until she steamed back to Leyte Gulf, arriving the 17th to repeat the cycle. Back in Leyte Gulf on 5 February, LST-912 took on units of the 13th AAF on the 17th; landed the group at Mindoro Island, Philippines, the 22nd; embarked parts of an Army Engineer Battalion of the 30th Quartermaster Company for the invasion of Palawan

Palawan

Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...

 Island on 28 February; and departed Mindoro the 26th. The ship received four Army casualties at Puerto Princesa

Puerto Princesa City

The City of Puerto Princesa is a city located on the western provincial island of Palawan, one of 80 provinces which make up the Philippines...

, Palawan for passage on 2 March to Mindoro. She continued transport trips between Mindoro and Palawan until the 12th when she departed for Manila

Manila

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,...

 with the 866th Engineer Aviation Battalion on board, arriving the following day.

Her next amphibious operation was Legaspi

Legazpi City

The City of Legazpi is a first class city and capital of the province of Albay, Philippines. With 179,481 inhabitants according to the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the Bicol Region in terms of population, though not in land area...

, Philippines, when she took LCM-468

Landing Craft Mechanized

The Landing Craft Mechanized or Landing Craft Mechanical was a landing craft designed for carrying vehicles. They came to prominence during the Second World War when they were used to land troops or tanks during Allied amphibious assaults....

 in tow on 28 March at Subic Bay, and arrived off Lemery, Luzon

Lemery, Batangas

Lemery is a 1st class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 76,090 people in 12,709 households.-Barangays:Lemery is politically subdivided into 46 barangays...

 the 30th to embark the 158th Regimental Combat Team

Regimental combat team

A regimental combat team was a provisional major infantry unit of the United States Army during the World War II and the Korean War, and of the U.S. Marine Corps to the present day...

 for the invasion of Legaspi on 1 April, the last amphibious operation in the Philippines. LST-912 moved troop units in Legaspi through 8 April; then steamed for Mindoro, arriving Marguin Bay on 11 April. After the landing ship debarked equipment at Zamboanga

Zamboanga City

The City of Zamboanga : is a highly urbanized, independent and a chartered city located in Mindanao, Philippines....

 on 19 April, she departed for Pollac Harbor on 21 April to disembark supply troops seven days later for the continuing effort to liberate the Philippines.

On the 29th LST-912 moved on to the next naval objective, the Borneo landings

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...

. Following her arrival at Biak

Biak

Biak features a tropical rainforest climate with nearly identical temperatures throughout the course of the year. The average annual temperature in the city is 27 degrees celsius, which is also generally the average temperature of each day in Biak...

 Island on 7 May, units of an RAAF

Royal Australian Air Force

The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...

 airfield construction squadron came onboard for an assault 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 on 10 June. While remaining off the beaches receiving casualties, she received orders on 18 July to transport Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n service personnel to the Kuala Belait

Kuala Belait

This article refers to the town of Kuala Belait. For the mukim of the same name, please refer to Kuala Belait, Belait. For district, please see Belait district.Kuala Belait |Jawi]]: )is a town located in South-West of Brunei...

 area. She returned to Leyte Gulf on the 26th and was there when the Japanese surrender

Surrender of Japan

The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...

 was declared on 15 August.

Post-war activities, 1945–1955

The LST was involved in occupation duties until December, visiting 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:...

 and Luzon, Philippines; Sendai and Yokosuka, Japan; and Guam before arriving 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...

 on 20 December to load Army supplies for the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. LST-912 reached San Diego on 21 January 1946. Reassigned to the Atlantic Fleet, she sailed 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...

 for 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...

 on the 30th, arriving New Orleans on 20 February to continue in commission with the 16th Reserve Fleet. On 30 October 1946 she was returned to active status and departed the Washington Navy Yard

Washington Navy Yard

The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...

 for two years of duty with the Amphibious Force at Little Creek, Virginia.

Assigned to the 6th Fleet in July 1948 LST-912 departed Morehead City, North Carolina

Morehead City, North Carolina

Morehead City is a port city in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census. Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007...

 on 5 September for Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, arriving Tangiers the 23rd. She cruised the Mediterranean into 1949, visiting Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

; Tripoli

Tripoli

Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...

, Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

; Bizerte

Bizerte

Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...

, Tunisia

Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

; Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

; and Marseille

Marseille

Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, before returning to Morehead City on 6 February 1949. From 8 to 16 March the landing ship participated in the annual Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 amphibious exercises of "Operation Springboard." LST-912 continued to conduct amphibious training out of Little Creek with occasional trips to the West Indies until 1955. From 28 July to 13 August 1952 she was anchored off Thule, Greenland resupplying an American airfield as part of "Operation Bluejay."

LST-912 was placed in reserve in January 1955. On 1 July she was renamed USS Mahnomen County (LST-912). On 25 August she decommissioned and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Green Cove Springs, Florida

Green Cove Springs, Florida

Green Cove Springs is a city in Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,908. It is the county seat of Clay County....

.

Vietnam, 1963–1966

Mahnomen County recommissioned at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 on 27 March 1963 with Lieutenant (j.g.) John H. Withers in command. Assigned to Reserve LST Squadron 2, she served for the next three years in the 5th Naval District, operating along the Atlantic coast from New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 to the Bahamas.

On 21 December 1965 Mahnomen County was again placed in the active fleet; and on 27 January 1966 departed Little Creek for Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

, arriving the 29th to embark Army supplies. The next day she sailed for Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

 with the and , stopping at Pearl Harbor from 4 March to 21 April before continuing on to Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 via Okinawa, arriving Vung Tau

Vung Tàu

Vũng Tàu is a city in southern Vietnam. Its population in 2005 was 240,000. The city area is including 13 urban wards and one village. It is the capital of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, and is the crude oil extraction center of Vietnam. It is also known as one of the most beautiful cities of tourism...

 on 27 May. She operated as a military transport and supply ship between Sasebo, Japan; Subic Bay, Philippine Islands; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; and Phan Rang, Vietnam through the next seven months, supporting the effort to curb Communist aggression in 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...

.

On 3 December Mahnomen County departed Kaohsiung for Vietnam, docking at Chu Lai

Chu Lai

Chu Lai is a sea port, urban and industrial area in Dung Quat Bay, Núi Thành district, Quang Nam province of Vietnam. The city is served by Chu Lai Airport.-Vietnam War:...

 on the 18th. On 30 December she was driven ashore by the 18-foot surf and high wind of a typhoon. Attempts to refloat the wrecked LST during January 1967 were unsuccessful. Mahnomen County 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 31 July 1967, and, stripped of any salvageable materials, her hull was demolished by the Navy Support Detachment at Chu Lai.

Awards

Mahnomen County earned four battle stars for World War II service and two campaign stars for 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...

service.