USS ''Oglethorpe'' (AKA-100) was an 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 1968. She was scrapped in 1969.

History

''Oglethorpe'' (AKA-100) was named after a county in Georgia, which in turn was named in honor of

James Oglethorpe Lieutenant-General James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British Army officer, Tory politician and colonial administrator best known for founding the Province of Georgia in British North America. As a social refo ...

, the founder of the state. She was laid down on 26 December 1944 by the

Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company was a United States shipyard in New Jersey active from 1917 to 1948. It was founded during World War I to build ships for the United States Shipping Board. Unlike many shipyards, it remained active duri ...

Kearny, New Jersey Kearny ( ) is a town in the western part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and a suburb of Newark. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 41,999, an increase of 1,315 (+3.2%) from the 2010 census cou ...

, under contract for the

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 ...

. Transferred to the Navy while still on the ways, she was launched on 15 April 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Ellsworth Buck, wife of the New York Congressman; and commissioned at the

Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a se ...

, New York, on 6 June 1945.

1945–1950

Following shakedown in

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

, she served as a training vessel at Little Creek, Virginia, and

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

. On 1 August 1945, the ship sailed for

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 ...

via the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

. Receiving news of

Japan's surrender The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, ending the war. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was incapable of conduc ...

en route, the ship continued on to the Western Pacific. After carrying general cargo between Pearl Harbor, Kwajalein,

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

, and

Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French Sui generis collectivity, special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest Francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main i ...

, in December 1945 she returned to the United States and was assigned to the

Naval Transportation Service The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all U ...

and, later,

Military Sea Transportation Service The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all U ...

. Remaining a commissioned ship, she carried cargo in the Western Pacific until 25 June 1950.

1950–1959

When the Communists invaded the Republic of Korea, she joined amphibious forces in

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...

, Japan on 9 July. Quickly converted in Japan for wartime operation, ''Oglethorpe'' carried equipment for the 1st Cavalry Division to Po Hung Dong, Korea, where the troops landed on 18 July. Returning to

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 ...

in August, she embarked men and equipment of the

1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine (military), Marine Division (military), division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine E ...

. Arriving off

Inchon, Korea 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, ...

on 15 September, for six days she supported the amphibious assault which briefly reversed the course of the war, sending Communist troops scurrying back to

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 ...

. After a round trip to Japan, she reloaded equipment of the 1st Marine Division for the assault at

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. ...

. Arriving off Wonsan on 25 October she supported the operation until the 30th and then returned to the West Coast. Transferred to the Atlantic Fleet in January 1951 and anchored in Norfolk, VA, ''Oglethorpe'' participated in amphibious training along the East Coast and in the Caribbean and Mediterranean. During this period her chief medical officer was LT. Rene A. Fontaine. In October 1955, she made two trips to aid flood-stricken

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fif ...

, Mexico. Crewmen in six LCMs distributed food, clothing, and medicine to flood victims far up the swollen and treacherous

Panuco River Panuco may refer to: ;Places *Pánuco (disambiguation) Pánuco may refer to the following places in Mexico: *Pánuco (province) *Pánuco, Veracruz **Pánuco Municipality, Veracruz *Pánuco, Zacatecas *Pánuco de Coronado Municipality, Durango *Pá ...

. Resuming her pattern of operations alternating East Coast training and Mediterranean deployments, the ship was part of the fleet that brought the Marines to Lebanon in July 1958.

1960–1968

In October 1962, ''Oglethorpe'' stood ready off Cuba when President Kennedy demanded the removal of Soviet missiles. The prompt and firm employment of U.S. Naval power forced the rapid withdrawal of the offensive missiles and maintained peace in the Western Hemisphere. Once again in the Mediterranean, the ship joined the ready forces as hostilities heightened between Greek and Turkish factions on

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

in early 1964. Returning from the Mediterranean in August 1966, the ship entered Boston Naval Shipyard in early January 1967. Following overhaul she continued her pattern of East Coast training and Mediterranean deployments until struck from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

on 1 November 1968.

Awards

''Oglethorpe'' received 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 Korean service.

References

External links

*
USS ''Oglethorpe'' Reunion Group

S.S. James Oglethorpe and the Battle of the Atlantic
historical marker {{DEFAULTSORT:Oglethorpe (AKA-100) Andromeda-class attack cargo ships Oglethorpe County, Georgia Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey 1945 ships World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Cold War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Korean War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States