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USS Whiteside (AKA-90)
Encyclopedia
USS Whiteside (AKA-90) was an named after Whiteside County, Illinois. She served as a commissioned ship for 13 years and 4 months.
Whiteside (AKA-90) was laid down on 22 April 1944 at Oakland, California, by the Moore Dry Dock Co. under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1190), launched on 12 June 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Miriam C. Becker, delivered to the Navy on 11 September 1944, and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
that same day, Comdr. C. P. Woodson in command.
Between 11 September and 7 November, the attack cargo ship fitted out, conducted shakedown training, and underwent post-shakedown availability. She then loaded her first cargo at San Francisco and got underway on the 18th for Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
. The ship arrived at Oahu
Oahu
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...
on 24 November and remained in 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...
until 6 December. On the latter day, she put to sea to participate in Army amphibious exercises at Maui
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
. During a night retirement exercise on the night of 13/14 December, rammed Whiteside on her starboard side near her number 2 hold. Whiteside returned to Pearl Harbor on 18 December to await repairs which began with drydocking on the 24th. She completed repairs on 12 January 1945 and resumed amphibious training with other ships of Transport Squadron (TransRon) 16 at Maui and Kahoolawe
Kahoolawe
Kahoolawe is the smallest of the eight main volcanic islands in the Hawaiian Islands. Kahoolawe is located about seven miles southwest of Maui and also southeast of Lanai, and it is long by wide, with a total land area of . The highest point on Kahoolawe is the crater of Lua Makika at the...
Islands. Those operations lasted until 18 January.
World War II campaigns
The next day, the ship began loading cargo and passengers in preparation for the Iwo Jima assaultBattle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima , or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. The U.S...
. She departed Pearl Harbor on 27 January in convoy, bound for 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...
. She stopped at Eniwetok and 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...
along the way and arrived off the objective early on the morning of 19 February. The attack cargo ship participated in the D-Day landings sending supplies and ammunition ashore to the troops struggling to wrest the island from a tenacious foe. She continued to fuel the offensive ashore until 5 March when — with 188 battle casualties embarked — she set a course for 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...
in the Marianas, where the casualties disembarked. She then moved on to the New Hebrides
New Hebrides
New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
.
She arrived at Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....
on 19 March and began loading cargo the next day for the Army's 27th Division in preparation for the Ryukyus campaign
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...
. Whiteside steamed out of Segond Channel on 25 March bound — via 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...
— for Okinawa. The attack cargo ship arrived in the Ryukyus on 9 April, eight days after the landings. She remained there a week conducting unloading operations that were frequently interrupted by enemy air raids. During her stay off Okinawa, Whiteside engaged two of the hordes of attacking aircraft, but claimed no kills.
On 16 April, she departed Okinawa in company with the other ships of TransRon 16. After stops at Saipan and Guam, the ship 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...
on 26 April. On 8 May, the ship stood out of the lagoon and set a course for the southern Solomons. She arrived off Lunga Point
Lunga Point
Lunga Point is a promontory on the northern coast of Guadalcanal, the site of a naval battle during World War II. It was also the name of a nearby airfield, later named Henderson Field....
, Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
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...
, on the 14th, loaded cargo, and got underway soon thereafter for Munda
Munda (Solomon Islands)
Munda is the largest settlement on the island of New Georgia in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands, and consists of a number of villages...
on New Georgia
New Georgia
New Georgia is the largest island of the Western Province of the Solomon Islands.-Geography:This island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most of the other larger islands in the province...
. From there, she headed for Finschhafen
Finschhafen
Finschhafen is a district on the northeast coast of the Morobe province of Papua New Guinea. It is named after the port of the same name.The port was discovered in 1884 by the German researcher Otto Finsch. In 1885 the German colony of German New Guinea created a town on the site and named it...
, 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...
, where she discharged one Army cargo and took on another, bound for 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...
.
Whiteside departed Finschhafen on 2 June and arrived at Leyte
Leyte Island
Leyte is an island in the Visayas group of the Philippines.The island measures about 180 km north-south and about 65 km at its widest point. In the north it nearly joins Samar, separated by the San Juanico Strait, which becomes as narrow as 2 km in some places...
on the 6th. There, she discharged a portion of her cargo and then moved to Guiuan Harbor on Samar
Samar Island
Samar is an island in the Visayas, within the central Philippines. The island is divided into three provinces: Samar province, Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar. These three provinces, along with the provinces on the nearby islands of Leyte and Biliran are part of the Eastern Visayas region...
to unload a Navy cargo. On 12 June, she set sail for Subic Bay
U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay
U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay was a major ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the United States Navy located in Zambales, Philippines. It was the largest U.S...
where she arrived two days later and unloaded her remaining cargo. She remained at Subic Bay until 25 June when she put to sea to participate in a month of amphibious exercises at 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...
with units of the Americal Division. She returned to Subic Bay on 26 July and began repairing her boilers, an operation which lasted until 7 August. On the latter day, she returned to sea for more amphibious training, this time at 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...
with units of the 1st Cavalry Division.
Those exercises ended abruptly on 15 August when Japan capitulated
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...
. Whiteside returned to Subic Bay on 16 August and remained there until the 20th when she moved to Batangas
Batangas
Batangas is a first class province of the Philippines located on the southwestern part of Luzon in the CALABARZON region. Its capital is Batangas City and it is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and Laguna to the north and Quezon to the east. Across the Verde Island Passages to the south is the...
on Luzon to load elements of the 1st Cavalry Division for occupation duty in Japan. On 24 August, she departed Batangas
Batangas
Batangas is a first class province of the Philippines located on the southwestern part of Luzon in the CALABARZON region. Its capital is Batangas City and it is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and Laguna to the north and Quezon to the east. Across the Verde Island Passages to the south is the...
in company with Task Force (TF) 33, the Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
occupation force. After a 48-hour stopover in Subic Bay, occasioned by a typhoon, she arrived at 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...
, Japan, on 2 September, the day of the formal surrender ceremonies conducted on board in 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...
. Over the next two days, she unloaded her embarked troops and their attendant cargo and, on the 4th, shaped a course for Leyte.
Post-war
Whiteside arrived at Leyte on 11 September, fueled and provisioned, and then headed for MindanaoMindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
to load troops and cargo of the Army's 41st Infantry Division. She completed her mission at Mindanao on 19 September and departed the island on the 20th, returning to Tacloban on Leyte. On the 22nd, the attack cargo ship stood out of 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 her way to Kure
Kure, Hiroshima
is a city in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 240,820 and a population density of 681 persons per km². The total area is 353.74 km².- History :...
, Japan. Diverted to Buckner Bay, Okinawa, en route, the ship did not reach Japan until 5 October. She remained in Japan until 15 October at which time she got underway 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,...
in 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...
to load landing craft for duty in conjunction with the transfer of Nationalist Chinese
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
troops. She arrived in Manila on 21 October and departed again on the 23rd. On the 26th, she arrived in Hai Phong, French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
, and began loading troops and cargo of the 583rd Regiment of the Nationalist Chinese Army
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...
. The attack cargo ship stood out of Hai Phong on 30 October and set a course for Chinwangtao
Qinhuangdao
Qinhuangdao is a port city in northeastern Hebei province of North China. It is about 300 km east of Beijing, on the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea....
where she arrived on 7 November. She disembarked the Chinese troops on the 7th and departed Chinwangtao the following day, bound for Taku
Taku Forts
The Dagu Forts , also called the Peiho Forts are forts located by the Hai River estuary, in Tanggu District, Tianjin municipality, in northeastern China. They are located 60 km southeast of the Tianjin urban center.-History:The first fort was built during the reign of the Ming Jiajing...
. The ship remained at Taku until early December when she got underway for the United States. She arrived in San Francisco on 27 December.
Whiteside remained at San Francisco until the summer of 1946. On 5 June, she got underway for 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...
to provide support services for "Operation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945...
", the large-scale nuclear tests conducted at Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
that summer. She reached Kwajalein
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
Atoll on 17 June and remained in the Marshalls assisting the operation until the end of August when she embarked upon a voyage that took her to Okinawa, Guam, Eniwetok, and thence back to Pearl Harbor. The ship remained at Pearl Harbor from the end of October to the latter part of November.
On 23 November, she departed Oahu and set a course for the Marshalls. She arrived at Majuro
Majuro
Majuro , is a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. The atoll itself has a land area of and encloses a lagoon of...
on 30 November, visited Kwajalein during the first week in December, and Eniwetok in mid-month, before beginning a voyage that took her via Guam and Japan to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. She arrived in Yokosuka
United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka
U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, or Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka is a United States Navy base, in Yokosuka, Japan. Its mission is to maintain and operate base facilities for the logistic, recreational, administrative support and service of the U.S. Naval Forces Japan, U.S. 7th Fleet and...
, Japan, on 16 January 1947 and, for the next six weeks, made port visits to 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...
, Tsingtao and Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. On 5 March, she departed Tsingtao and shaped a course — via Okinawa and Oahu — for the California coast. She arrived at San Francisco on 28 April and remained there until 15 June when she headed back to the Far East. Whiteside reached Tsingtao on 3 July and stayed there until 27 July when she sailed for Shanghai. From there, she moved on to Sasebo and thence to Yokosuka where she lay in port from 10 August to 3 September. The ship visited Okinawa during the second week in September and then spent the rest of the month at Guam in the Marianas. She returned to Tsingtao on 7 October but departed again five days later headed — via Yokosuka — back to the west coast.
Whiteside arrived in San Francisco on 29 October to begin a seven-month tour of duty plying the waters along the west coast of North America. She visited ports ranging south to San Diego and north to Adak
Adak, Alaska
Adak , formerly Adak Station, is a city in the Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 326. It is the westernmost municipality in the United States and the southernmost city in Alaska. The city is the former location of the Adak Army Base and Adak...
and Kodiak
Kodiak, Alaska
Kodiak is one of 7 communities and the main city on Kodiak Island, Kodiak Island Borough, in the U.S. state of Alaska. All commercial transportation between the entire island and the outside world goes through this city either via ferryboat or airline...
in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, though for the most part she remained in Californian waters. On 10 June 1948, she departed San Francisco to return to the western Pacific. She stopped at Pearl Harbor in mid-June and then continued on to Tsingtao where she arrived on 7 July. She visited Shanghai, Sasebo, and Yokosuka in July and August. Early in September, she stopped at Subic Bay in the Philippines before continuing on to the Marianas where she made port calls at Guam and Saipan. From Saipan, she set a course for Pearl Harbor on 21 September. Following a seven-day stop at Oahu, the attack cargo ship continued her voyage east on 7 October and arrived in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, on the 12th. She remained there until 26 November when she got underway to return to the Far East. The ship made Yokosuka late in December and visited Kogo Saki, Sasebo, and Tsingtao before beginning the return voyage late in January 1949.
On her way home, Whiteside made a 16-day stopover at Pearl Harbor before continuing on to San Francisco, where she arrived on 27 February. The ship remained there until 7 May when she moved to San Diego. After a pause at the latter port from 8 May to 11 May, she departed there on the llth and steamed, via Pearl Harbor, back to Yokosuka, which port she entered on 9 June. Over the following five weeks, she stopped at Sasebo, Okinawa, 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...
, and Subic Bay before departing the latter place on 18 July to return home. Following the customary stop at Pearl Harbor from 30 July to 6 August, she resumed her voyage and entered San Francisco Bay on 11 August. In late August and early September, she made a round-trip voyage from the west coast to Pearl Harbor and back before entering the 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...
for a three-month overhaul. She completed repairs on 4 January 1950 and departed Mare Island that same day, bound for the Orient
Orient
The Orient means "the East." It is a traditional designation for anything that belongs to the Eastern world or the Far East, in relation to Europe. In English it is a metonym that means various parts of Asia.- Derivation :...
. She enjoyed a month at Oahu, from 10 January to 11 February, and then continued on to 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,...
where she arrived on 24 February. During March, she visited Subic Bay, Guam, and Saipan before heading home on 6 April. On the night of 25 April and 26 April, Whiteside shifted to San Francisco where she remained for a month before embarking upon a voyage to the Marshall Islands. That voyage, which lasted from 26 May to 10 July, included both outbound and return voyage stops at Pearl Harbor in addition to visits to Eniwetok and Kwajalein Atolls.
Korean War service
While Whiteside completed the return voyage to the west coast, events in the Far East ordained her return to that theater of operations. On 25 June, the armed forces of communist North KoreaNorth Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
invaded the Republic of Korea (ROK), and the United States moved rapidly to bolster South Korea. With elements of the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade
1st Provisional Marine Brigade
The 1st Provisional Marine Brigade was a Marine infantry brigade of the United States Marine Corps that existed periodically from 1912 to 1950. It was an ad hoc unit formed for specific operations and therefore not considered a "permanent" USMC unit....
(Reinforced) embarked, Whiteside stood out of San Diego on 14 July, bound for Japan. She made port at Yokosuka on the 30th and, by 2 August, was at Pusan, South Korea, the major port through which United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
men and materiel were being funneled into the conflict, and landed her marines. She departed Pusan on 5 August and reentered Yokosuka two days later. On the night of 1/2 September, she moved to 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...
and, on the 10th, from there to Inchon carrying troops and supplies to assault Inchon
Battle of Inchon
The Battle of Inchon was an amphibious invasion and battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations . The operation involved some 75,000 troops and 261 naval vessels, and led to the recapture of the South Korean capital Seoul two...
and begin the drive on Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
. She remained at Inchon from the day of the initial landings, 15 September, until D plus 6 at which time she headed back to Japan. She arrived in Sasebo on the 22nd but departed there again the next day to return to the United States. The attack cargo ship arrived at San Francisco on 8 October and remained there for three weeks before getting underway to return to the Far East. After a non-stop voyage, she arrived in Sasebo on 17 November. On the 23rd, she weighed anchor for Yokosuka where she entered port on the 25th. After a 10-day stay at Yokosuka and a brief stop at Sasebo, Whiteside arrived at Inchon on 10 December to participate in the evacuation of United Nations forces on the heels of the massive communist Chinese intervention. The ship returned to Yokosuka on 17 December and headed for home on the 20th. She arrived in San Francisco on 5 January 1951.
Two round-trip voyages between San Francisco and Sasebo occupied her time between February and August 1951. From August to early December, she operated on the west coast and then headed back to the western Pacific. After stops at Sasebo and Yokosuka, Whiteside returned to San Francisco on 7 February 1952. The routine, voyages between San Francisco and Japan, occupied her for the remainder of her active career. She completed her last round-trip to the Orient on 28 February 1957 and, after almost a year of west coast operations, was decommissioned at Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
, on 30 January 1958. Whiteside remained in reserve with the Pacific Reserve Fleet until the spring of 1971 at which time she was sunk as a target.
Awards
Whiteside earned two battle stars for World War IIWorld 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...
service and four battle stars for service in 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...
.