USS ''DeKalb County'' (LST-715) was an built for 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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Named after counties in six states, it was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name. ''LST-715'' was laid down on 7 June 1944 at

Jeffersonville, Indiana Jeffersonville is a city and the county seat of Clark County, Indiana, Clark County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It lies directly across the Ohio Riv ...

by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Company; launched on 20 July 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Loudie S. Moffatt; and commissioned on 15 August 1944. Jack Greenberg (1924-2016), who was later to become the primary lawyer of the American civil rights movement, served as a lieutenant junior grade (USN) on the DeKalb County, fighting at both Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Service history

World War II

During World War II, ''LST-715'' was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater and participated in the following operations: assault and occupation of

Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...

(February and March, 1945) and the assault and occupation of

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

Gunto (May and June, 1945). Following the war, ''LST-715'' performed occupation duty in 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 ...

until mid-September 1945. ''LST-715'' was decommissioned on 17 April 1946 at Manicani Island,

Republic of the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...

United States Army

The ship was transferred to the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Transportation Corps on 28 June 1946. Commissioned USAT ''LST-715'' on 29 June 1946, the ship was 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 29 September 1947.

Korean War

Reacquired by the Navy on 25 July 1950, the ship was reinstated to the Naval Register on 10 August 1950. Recommissioned USS ''LST-715'' on 30 August 1950, it participated in the following

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

campaigns:

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

n Aggression (18 September to 2 November 1950), Communist China Aggression (3 November 1950 to 14 January 1951), Inchon Landing (13 to 17 September 1950), UN Counter Offensive (1 to 14 March 1951), Second Korean Winter (11 January to 30 April 1952), and Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 (1 May to 6 August 1952). ''LST-715'' was redesignated USS ''DeKalb County'' (LST-715) on 1 July 1955.

Military Sea Transportation Service

It was transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) in December 1965 where it served as USNS ''DeKalb County'' (T-LST-715). Placed out of service and again struck from the Naval Register on 1 November 1973, custody was transferred to the

United States Maritime Administration The United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) is an Government agency#United States, agency of the United States Department of Transportation. MARAD administers financial programs to develop, promote, and operate the United States Maritime ...

(MARAD) for lay 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 ...

at Suisun Bay, California. The ship was disposed of by MARAD on 30 April 1984 to Jon M. Associates, Suisun Bay,

Benicia, California Benicia ( , ) is a city in Solano County, California, located on the north bank of the Carquinez Strait in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It served as the List of capitals in the United S ...

for scrapping. ''LST-715'' earned two

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 World War II service, and six battle stars during the Korean War.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dekalb County 1944 ships Cold War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Korean War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States LST-542-class tank landing ships Ships built in Jeffersonville, Indiana World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Ships of the United States Army