USS ''Bexar'' (APA-237/LPA-237) was a in service with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

from 1945 to 1970. She was scrapped in 1982.

History

''Bexar'' was named after

Bexar County, Texas Bexar County ( or ; ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324, making it the st ...

. She was launched 25 July 1945 by Oregon Shipbuilding of

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, under a

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The c ...

contract, acquired by the Navy 9 October, and commissioned the same day. Upon completion of shakedown training, ''Bexar'' joined the

Operation Magic Carpet Operation Magic Carpet was the post–World War II operation by the U.S. War Shipping Administration (WSA) to repatriate over eight million American military personnel from the European (ETO), Pacific, and Asian theaters. Hundreds of Libert ...

fleet. She returned troops from the Pacific until February 1946. After a brief tour of duty around

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

during the early part of 1946, she was ordered to

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

to prepare for Operation Cross-roads.

Atomic bomb test

In June ''Bexar'' proceeded to

Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese language, Marshallese: , , ), known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 19th century and 1946, is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. The atoll is at the no ...

to participate in

Operation Crossroads Operation Crossroads was a pair of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. They were the first nuclear weapon tests since Trinity on July 16, 1945, and the first detonations of nuclear devices sinc ...

, the large-scale operation designed to test the effectiveness of

atomic bombs A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear explos ...

on warships. Over 200 warships participated in the operation, 75 of them as targets. ''Bexar'' served as an equipment supply center. In August she returned to the West Coast and underwent radioactivity tests.

Peacetime missions

In January 1947 she joined the Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet, based at

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

. ''Bexar'' operated along the Eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean until July 1950, making a Mediterranean cruise (January–February 1948) with

Marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

embarked. Between March 1948 and July 1950 she participated in several amphibious exercises and Naval Reserve cruises along the East Coast. In September 1949 she proceeded to the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

for a large scale amphibious exercise. Returning to Norfolk in December, she resumed her role in the Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet. On 31 July 1950 ''Bexar'' departed Norfolk for the Mediterranean. In August she was ordered to embark Marines and proceed via the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

to Japan.

Korean War

Upon arrival, she proceeded to

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

where she took part in the

Inchon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

(15 September) and

Wonsan Wonsan (), previously known as Wonsanjin (), is a port city and naval base located in Kangwon Province (North Korea), Kangwon Province, North Korea, along the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula, on the Sea of Japan and the provincial capital. ...

(25 October) landings and the evacuation of

Chinnampo Nampo (North Korean official spelling: Nampho; ), also spelled Namp'o, is a major city in North Korea which is the country's fourth-largest by population. The city is an important seaport in the country as it lies on the northern shore of the T ...

and Inchon. Departing the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

on 6 January 1951 she proceeded to San Diego, arriving later in the month. Between August 1951 and December 1953 ''Bexar'' made two more Far Eastern tours in support of Korean operations (August 1951 - May 1952 and July–December 1953). During the latter she served as

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

for

Operation Big Switch Operation Big Switch was the repatriation of all remaining prisoners of the Korean War. Ceasefire talks had been going on between the North Korean, Chinese and United Nations Command (UNC) forces since 1951, with the main point of contention bein ...

, the movement of prisoners from

Koje Do Geojedo (), or Geoje Island, is the principal island of Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is joined to land by two bridges from nearby Tongyeong. Gohyeon is the largest town on the island. Geojedo covers an area of , the second l ...

to Inchon, Korea.

Return to peacetime duties

''Bexar'' made another tour of the Far East (23 October 1954 – 22 April 1955) during which she participated in the Tachen Islands evacuation.

Vietnam War

US Amphibious Ready Group TG 76-5 underway 1965

''Bexar'' also saw extensive service in the Vietnam War, from 1965 to 1969. In 1965, she helped land the first US ground troops at Chu Lai. On 1 January 1969, ''Bexar'' along with the other surviving attack transports from World War II were redesignated amphibious transports, ''Bexar'' receiving the designation LPA-237.

Decommission

''Bexar'' was decommissioned on 7 August 1970 and struck from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) 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 t ...

on 1 September 1976. She was returned to the

Maritime Administration Maritime administrations, or flag state administrations, are the executive arms/state bodies of each government responsible for carrying out the shipping responsibilities of the state, and are tasked to administer national shipping and boating issu ...

on 1 July 1972, and laid up in the

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of Ship, ships of the United States, mostly Merchant ship, merchant vessels, that have been Reserve fleet, mothballed but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during nationa ...

Suisun Bay Suisun Bay ( ; Wintun for "where the west wind blows") is a shallow tidal estuary (a northeastern extension of the San Francisco Bay) in Northern California. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, forming the e ...

, California. On 16 June 1982, she was sold for scrapping to C. W. Enterprises & Investment Inc., and scrapped in either

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Decorations

''Bexar'' received three

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...

s for Korean War service and five campaign stars for Vietnam War service.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bexar (APA-237) Haskell-class attack transports Bexar County, Texas World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Ships built in Portland, Oregon 1945 ships