USS Lafayette County (LST-859) was an built for the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 during World War II

World 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...

. Named after counties in Arkansas, Florida

Lafayette County, Florida

Lafayette County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 7,022. It is the second least populated county in the state, having one more resident, according to the 2000 census, than Liberty County, Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is...

, Mississippi

Lafayette County, Mississippi

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,744 people, 14,373 households, and 8,321 families residing in the county. The population density was 61 people per square mile . There were 16,587 housing units at an average density of 26 per square mile...

, Missouri, and Wisconsin

Lafayette County, Wisconsin

Lafayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 16,137. Its county seat is Darlington.-Geography:According to the U.S...

, and a parish in Louisiana

Lafayette Parish, Louisiana

Lafayette Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Lafayette. According to the 2010 Census, its population was recorded as 221,578....

, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

Originally laid down as LST-859 by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company

Chicago Bridge & Iron Company

Chicago Bridge & Iron Company , , known commonly as CB&I, is a large multinational conglomerate engineering, procurement and construction company. CB&I specializes in projects for oil and gas companies...

 of Seneca, Illinois

Seneca, Illinois

Seneca is a village in LaSalle and Grundy counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 2,371 at the 2010 census.The LaSalle County portion of Seneca is part of the Ottawa–Streator Micropolitan Statistical Area, while the small portion that lies in Grundy County is part of the...

 on 26 September 1944; launched on 15 December 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Elsie M. Marcum; and commissioned at Algiers, Louisiana

Algiers, Louisiana

Algiers is a neighborhood within the city of New Orleans. It is the portion of Orleans Parish on the West Bank of the Mississippi River.Algiers is also known as the 15th Ward, one of the 17 Wards of New Orleans.-History:...

 on 6 January 1945 with Lieutenant Daniel D. Kipnis in command.

World War II, 1945

After shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

, LST-859 departed New Orleans on 17 February for the Pacific. Steaming via San Diego and San Francisco, she reached 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...

 on 31 March and during the next six weeks took part in amphibious training. Between 12 and 24 May she steamed to Seattle, Washington, where she embarked Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 troops, thence returned to Pearl Harbor on 20 June. Three days later she sailed in convoy for the western Pacific. LST-859 touched at American bases in the Marshalls

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...

 and Marianas

Mariana Islands

The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...

 before arriving Okinawa on 28 July. After discharging troops and cargo, she sailed for 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...

 on 5 August and remained in the Marianas during the closing days of the war in the Pacific.

1945–1949

She departed 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...

 on 3 September and, after embarking Army troops at Batangas Bay

Batangas Bay

Batangas Bay is a semi-enclosed body of water located in the Philippines. The municipalities of Mabini, Bauan, San Pascual, Tingloy on Maribacan Island and Batangas City are located on the coast of the bay. The water surface area of the bay is about 220 km² , and the coastline has an...

, 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...

 she sailed on 20 September for Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. LST-859 arrived at 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...

 on 29 September, and during the next two months she supported occupation operations along the Honshū

Honshu

is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...

 coast from 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...

 to Shiogama. Between 24 October and 19 November she sailed to 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...

 and back with additional troops. Departing Tokyo Bay on 29 November, she steamed via the Marianas and Pearl Harbor to Seattle where she arrived on 12 January 1946.

Following an extended overhaul, LST-895 departed on 15 May for training along the California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 coast. On 31 July she departed San Diego for Pearl Harbor; and after arriving on 11 August, she sailed the 18th on a cargo run to American bases in the Hawaiian Islands

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...

. During the next four years she carried men and supplies to far-flung American bases in the Pacific. Cargo and passenger runs sent her to the Marshalls, the Solomons

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

, American Samoa

American Samoa

American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...

, the Aleutians, and Midway

Midway Atoll

Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...

, as well as to the nearby islands of the Hawaiian chain.

Korean War, 1950–1954

After the outbreak of Communist aggression against the Republic of Korea (South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

) in June 1950, LST-859 departed Pearl Harbor on 18 August for 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,...

. She arrived Kobe, Japan on 5 September and there embarked elements of the 1st Marine Division for the scheduled invasion at Inchon, South Korea, which was designed to spearhead the American counteroffensive against Communist troops from North Korea

North 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...

. Assigned to Task Element 90.32, LST-859 sortied in convoy on 10 September and arrived off Inchon on 15 September while a combined air-sea bombardment blasted enemy defenses. Late that afternoon, the LST closed "Red Beach;" and, as lead ship, she came under heavy mortar and machine gun fire. Despite the concentrated fire, she debarked assault troops and unloaded vital support equipment. In addition her guns wiped out enemy batteries on the right flank of "Red Beach". She completed unloading and cleared the beach at high tide early on 16 September. For daring bravery and heroic performance of duty on "Red Beach", the gallant and aggressive landing ship tanks of Task Element 90.32, including LST-859, received the Navy Unit Commendation

Navy Unit Commendation

The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...

. LST-859 departed for Japan the 17th; and, after reaching Sasebo on 20 September, she sailed six days later for Pearl Harbor, where she arrived on 13 October.

After undergoing overhaul, she resumed cargo runs in the Pacific. Between 20 January and 21 June 1951 she shuttled cargo among bases in the Marshalls, the Gilberts

Gilbert Islands

The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are the main part of Republic of Kiribati and include Tarawa, the site of the country's capital and residence of almost half of the population.-Geography:The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands...

, and the Carolines

Caroline Islands

The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...

. During December she carried supplies to 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...

 and 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...

; thence, she sailed via the Philippines to Sasebo where she arrived on 22 January 1952.

For almost 2½ years LST-859 served in the western Pacific in support of American peacekeeping efforts in the troubled 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,...

. Operating primarily out of Sasebo, she bolstered the seaborne supply line to U.S. forces in South Korea and carried vital military supplies to ports on both coasts, including Chuminjin, Ulsan Man, and Inchon. In addition, she shuttled cargo along the Japanese coast; and, following the end of conflict on the Korean peninsula, she continued her important supply runs until departing Yokosuka on 18 May 1954 for Pearl Harbor where she arrived on 3 June.

1954–1957

LST-859 resumed her pattern of cargo runs to Pacific bases on 20 June, and during the remainder of the year steamed primarily between Pearl Harbor and Midway. On 24 March 1955 she again deployed to the Far East, arriving Yokosuka on 11 April. During the next four months supply runs out of Yokosuka and Sasebo sent her to ports in South Korea, Formosa

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...

, 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...

, and the Philippines. Named USS Lafayette County (LST-859) on 1 July 1955, she returned to Pearl Harbor on 31 August to resume cargo shuttle runs among the Hawaiian Islands. Lafayette County served principally in the Hawaiian chain during the next three years, although from 3 March to 13 April 1957 she carried out cargo runs to bases in the Marshalls.

Decommissioning and transfer

She decommissioned on 15 August 1958 at Pearl Harbor and was transferred to the custody of the Republic of China

Republic of China

The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

 under the Military Assistance Program, where she served the Chinese Nationalist Navy

Republic of China Navy

The Republic of China Navy is the maritime branch of the Armed forces of the Republic of China . The ROC Navy's primary mission is to defend ROC territories and the sea lanes that surround Taiwan against a blockade, attack, or possible invasion by forces of the People's Republic of China...

 as ROCS Chung Cheng (LST-224). Her final fate is unknown.

Awards

LST-859 received one battle star for World War II service and six battle stars for 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...

service.