USS Renville (APA-227)
Encyclopedia
USS Renville (APA-227) was a that saw service with the US Navy in World War II, the Korean War
and the Vietnam War
.
Renville was named after counties in Minnesota
and North Dakota
. She was laid down 19 August 1944 as MCV hull 673 by Kaiser Shipbuilding of Vancouver, Washington
, launched 25 October 1944, and commissioned 15 November 1944, Capt. William W. Ball in command.
, where in March she embarked 1,620 combat-ready troops for the invasion of Okinawa.
and Pearl Harbor
to San Francisco. During the remainder of the war, she transported troops and supplies between various Pacific Islands and the United States.
. In 1946 she returned additional troops to the United States, and then operated along the Pacific coast.
, Indonesia
, in December 1947. Renville became Headquarters ship for the U.N. Truce Commission that negotiated settlement terms between Dutch military forces and Indonesian nationalists. This resulted in the Renville agreement
. After operating off the West Coast from May 1948 to January 1949, she voyaged to China later in January, and returned 8 February.
n ports such as Pusan and Inchon. After June 1953, she steamed to San Diego.
, Japan, and conducted amphibious training in Korea, before returning to San Diego 17 March 1955. Departing San Diego in August, she participated in a landing exercise at Iwo Jima
in February 1956, and returned to San Diego in March. In January 1957, she joined a landing exercise at Camp Pendleton. On WestPac tour from February to September, she joined a major landing exercise on eastern Luzon
in March and another in the Pohang
-Dong
area of Korea in June.
After duty at Eniwetok from January to June 1958, she operated in the western Pacific from October 1958 to March 1959. In May 1959 she joined a landing exercise at Camp Pendleton. On WestPac tour from October 1959 to April 1960, she was station ship at Hong Kong
in January and February, and participated in a joint landing exercise at Taiwan
in March. Again in the Far East
from April to 5 December 1961, she sailed to Okinawa, Subic Bay
, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Yokosuka.
, Hawaii
, of Otto Preminger
's movie In Harm's Way
in July.
in August, she ranged the coast of Vietnam from Da Nang to Saigon with 1,350 marines on alert status for 67 consecutive days. Replenished at Yokosuka, she performed similar duty off Vietnam
in November, before returning to San Diego 18 December.
After a landing exercise at Camp Pendleton, California, in March 1965, her WestPac tour of May to August took her to Hawaii, Okinawa, Da Nang
, Qui Nhon
, Sasebo
, and Yokosuka. After local duty, she began her WestPac tour of March 1966 to October, carrying marines to Okinawa and Chu Lai
, Vietnam, before serving as station ship at Da Nang in August and September.
, Suisun Bay
, California. She was redesignated an amphibious transport (LPA-227) on 1 January 1969. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
on 1 September 1976 and disposed of by MARAD on 19 February 1982. Her final disposition is unknown.
On the disposition of the USS Renville, APA-227.
A letter from Mr. Shawn Ireland, MARAD, Ship Disposal Program, dated March 19, 2007.
"I was able to locate some additional information regarding the subject vessel and the transaction (it's disposal). The Trade-in Exchange Program was enacted by Congress to allow MARAD to add vessels to the National Defense Reserve Fleet that, according to their owners, had become economically obsolete, but were still operable and could suit the NDRF sea lift purpose. The trade in vessels had to be constructed in the United States and must not have been documented under a foreign flag. This program allowed US Flag vessel owners to trade in there economically obsolete ships in exchange for older vessels in the NDRF that were scheduled for scrapping. The vessels removed from the NDRF had to be scrapped and could not be used for operations.
MARAD, Farrell Lines Inc., and C.W. Enterprises and Investments Inc. entered into agreements on February 19, 1982, which consisted of the following.
1. Farrell Lines would trade in the vessel AMBASSADOR and receive (4) obsolete NDRF vessels, the BEXAR (LPA-237), the RENVILLE (APA-227), the NAVARRO (LPA-215), and the BOLLINGER (LPA-234).
2. Contract MA-10708, between MARAD, Farrell Lines Inc., and C.W. Enterprises and Investments Inc., transferred title to the vessel to Farrell and then immediately to C.W. Enterprises for the sole purpose of
scrapping the vessels in either Taiwan or South Korea. The contract is explicit, in that the vessels must be scrapped.
C.W. Enterprise and Investments sounds like a broker, who in turn would sell the vessels for scrap to the highest bidder in either Taiwan or South Korea.
I am positive that the RENVILLE, along with the three other ships, were scrapped in Taiwan or South Korea."
Submitted by R.R.Bradshaw
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...
.
Renville was named after counties in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
. She was laid down 19 August 1944 as MCV hull 673 by Kaiser Shipbuilding of Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
, launched 25 October 1944, and commissioned 15 November 1944, Capt. William W. Ball in command.
World War II
Following shakedown out of San Diego, Renville sailed in January 1945 for GuadalcanalGuadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
, where in March she embarked 1,620 combat-ready troops for the invasion of Okinawa.
Invasion of Okinawa
Renvilles assault boats transported the troops to the beach at Okinawa 1 April. Departing on the 5th, she steamed via SaipanSaipan
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...
and 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...
to San Francisco. During the remainder of the war, she transported troops and supplies between various Pacific Islands and the United States.
After hostilities
In September, she carried 1,436 Allied prisoners of war from Japan to 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,...
. In 1946 she returned additional troops to the United States, and then operated along the Pacific coast.
Peacetime missions
Operating in the western Pacific, Renville was ordered to JakartaJakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, 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...
, in December 1947. Renville became Headquarters ship for the U.N. Truce Commission that negotiated settlement terms between Dutch military forces and Indonesian nationalists. This resulted in the Renville agreement
Renville Agreement
The Renville Agreement was a United Nations Security Council brokered political accord between the Netherlands who were seeking to re-establish their colony in South East Asia, and Indonesian Republicans seeking to secure Indonesian independence during the Indonesian National Revolution...
. After operating off the West Coast from May 1948 to January 1949, she voyaged to China later in January, and returned 8 February.
Korean War
Decommissioned 30 June 1949 at Mare Island, California, Renville recommissioned 5 January 1952 for service in the Korean War. Departing San Francisco for the western Pacific 13 November 1952, she shuttled troops between Japan and KoreaKorea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n ports such as Pusan and Inchon. After June 1953, she steamed to San Diego.
Peacetime missions
Sailing for the western Pacific in September 1954, she carried marines to KobeKobe
, 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, and conducted amphibious training in Korea, before returning to San Diego 17 March 1955. Departing San Diego in August, she participated in a landing exercise 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...
in February 1956, and returned to San Diego in March. In January 1957, she joined a landing exercise at Camp Pendleton. On WestPac tour from February to September, she joined a major landing exercise on eastern 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...
in March and another in the Pohang
Pohang
Pohang is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, and a main seaport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. The built-up area of Pohang is located on the alluvium of the mouth of the Hyeongsan River...
-Dong
Dong
Dong may refer to:Asian languages* Vietnamese đồng , the currency unit of Vietnam* Dong people , an ethnic minority group in China* Dong language* Dong Lake, a lake in the Hunan Province of China* Dong quai, a medicinal herb...
area of Korea in June.
After duty at Eniwetok from January to June 1958, she operated in the western Pacific from October 1958 to March 1959. In May 1959 she joined a landing exercise at Camp Pendleton. On WestPac tour from October 1959 to April 1960, she was station ship at 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...
in January and February, and participated in a joint landing exercise 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...
in March. Again in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
from April to 5 December 1961, she sailed to Okinawa, 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...
, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Yokosuka.
Cuban missile crisis
Following West Coast duties in early 1962, she headed for the Caribbean 27 October 1962 in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis, returning to San Diego 13 December. Deployed to WestPac from December 1962 to May 1963, she ended 1963 in West Coast operations.Role in Hollywood film
Sailing for WestPac in June 1964, she participated in the filming on OahuOahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, of Otto Preminger
Otto Preminger
Otto Ludwig Preminger was an Austro–Hungarian-American theatre and film director.After moving from the theatre to Hollywood, he directed over 35 feature films in a five-decade career. He rose to prominence for stylish film noir mysteries such as Laura and Fallen Angel...
's movie In Harm's Way
In Harm's Way
In Harm's Way is a 1965 American epic war film produced and directed by Otto Preminger and starring John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal, Tom Tryon, Paula Prentiss, Stanley Holloway, Burgess Meredith, Brandon De Wilde, Jill Haworth, Dana Andrews, and Henry Fonda.It was the last black-and-white...
in July.
Vietnam War
In response to the Gulf of Tonkin IncidentGulf of Tonkin Incident
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident, or the USS Maddox Incident, are the names given to two incidents, one fabricated, involving North Vietnam and the United States in the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin...
in August, she ranged the coast of Vietnam from Da Nang to Saigon with 1,350 marines on alert status for 67 consecutive days. Replenished at Yokosuka, she performed similar duty off 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 –...
in November, before returning to San Diego 18 December.
After a landing exercise at Camp Pendleton, California, in March 1965, her WestPac tour of May to August took her to Hawaii, Okinawa, Da Nang
Da Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
, Qui Nhon
Qui Nhon
Qui Nhơn , also Quy Nhơn, is a coastal city in Binh Dinh province in central Vietnam. It is composed of 16 wards and five communes with a total of 286 km². Quy Nhon is the capital of Bình Định province. As of 2009 its population was 280,900. Historically, the commercial activities of the city...
, Sasebo
Sasebo, Nagasaki
is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...
, and Yokosuka. After local duty, she began her WestPac tour of March 1966 to October, carrying marines to Okinawa and 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:...
, Vietnam, before serving as station ship at Da Nang in August and September.
Decommission
In 1967 she prepared for deactivation. Transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) 23 April 1968, she joined the National Defense Reserve FleetNational 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...
, Suisun Bay
Suisun Bay
Suisun Bay is a shallow tidal estuary at in northern California, USA. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, forming the entrance to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an inverted river delta...
, California. She was redesignated an amphibious transport (LPA-227) on 1 January 1969. She 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 1 September 1976 and disposed of by MARAD on 19 February 1982. Her final disposition is unknown.
On the disposition of the USS Renville, APA-227.
A letter from Mr. Shawn Ireland, MARAD, Ship Disposal Program, dated March 19, 2007.
"I was able to locate some additional information regarding the subject vessel and the transaction (it's disposal). The Trade-in Exchange Program was enacted by Congress to allow MARAD to add vessels to the National Defense Reserve Fleet that, according to their owners, had become economically obsolete, but were still operable and could suit the NDRF sea lift purpose. The trade in vessels had to be constructed in the United States and must not have been documented under a foreign flag. This program allowed US Flag vessel owners to trade in there economically obsolete ships in exchange for older vessels in the NDRF that were scheduled for scrapping. The vessels removed from the NDRF had to be scrapped and could not be used for operations.
MARAD, Farrell Lines Inc., and C.W. Enterprises and Investments Inc. entered into agreements on February 19, 1982, which consisted of the following.
1. Farrell Lines would trade in the vessel AMBASSADOR and receive (4) obsolete NDRF vessels, the BEXAR (LPA-237), the RENVILLE (APA-227), the NAVARRO (LPA-215), and the BOLLINGER (LPA-234).
2. Contract MA-10708, between MARAD, Farrell Lines Inc., and C.W. Enterprises and Investments Inc., transferred title to the vessel to Farrell and then immediately to C.W. Enterprises for the sole purpose of
scrapping the vessels in either Taiwan or South Korea. The contract is explicit, in that the vessels must be scrapped.
C.W. Enterprise and Investments sounds like a broker, who in turn would sell the vessels for scrap to the highest bidder in either Taiwan or South Korea.
I am positive that the RENVILLE, along with the three other ships, were scrapped in Taiwan or South Korea."
Submitted by R.R.Bradshaw