USS Lenawee ( APA - 195 ) USS " Lenawee " ( APA - 195 ) was a built and used by the US Navy in World War II and saw further service during the Korean War and Vietnam War . She was a Victory ship design , VC2 - S - AP5 . She was named after Lenawee County , Michigan , USA . World War II service . " Lenawee " was laid down on 26 May 1944 by Kaiser Shipbuilding Company , Vancouver , Washington , under Maritime Commission contract ; launched on 11 September 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . Olaf Haugen ; and commissioned on 11 October 1944 , Commander Carson R . Miller in command . Built to transport assault troops to hostile shores , " Lenawee " picked up her complement of landing craft at San Francisco and departed 26 November 1944 for the Pacific theater . Following amphibious training in the Hawaiian Islands , she sailed 27 January 1945 for Saipan . In the Marianas the final rehearsals for her entrance into the battle zone were held , and 1 , 503 troops of the 5th Marines and the 67th Naval Construction Battalion embarked . After a 3 - day voyage , she arrived at Iwo Jima on D - Day , 19 February ; her boats helped place the first wave of Marines ashore before debarking her own troops 3 days later . Withdrawn on the 27th , she retired to Guam to discharge Marine casualties and prepare for the final large - scale amphibious operation of World War II . Sailing south to Espiritu Santo , she embarked over 1 , 000 troops of the Army 27th Division to reinforce the Okinawa invasion forces . Landing troops and cargo each day and retiring to open sea each night , she suffered no damage from kamikaze attacks during the stay in the area 9 to 14 April . As part of Commodore J . B . McGovern ' s Transport Squadron 16 , she transported troops from the Philippines to Japan and was present in Tokyo Bay with 1 , 135 troops of the 1st Cavalry when the Japanese surrendered 2 September . Returning to her home port , San Francisco , 31 October , " Lenawee " made two " Magic Carpet " voyages to the western Pacific before decommissioning at Stockton , California , 3 August 1946 , and entering the Reserve Fleet . Korean War . The outbreak of the Korean War caused her to recommission 30 September 1950 , Capt . E . M . Brown in command . With San Diego as her home port , she operated part of each year , except 1952 and 1956 , in the Far East . Her first voyage began 22 March 1951 when she departed for Yokosuka , Japan . Operating mainly among the Japanese Islands , she twice transported men and supplies to the Korean theater before returning home 27 November . Again in May 1953 " Lenawee " returned to transport duties in Korean waters and was at Inchon in July when the final truce was signed . The Chinese offshore islands and Vietnam proved to be the new crisis areas in the Far East . Following a period of amphibious training early in December 1954 with Korean marines , " Lenawee " joined in the evacuation of Chinese Nationalist civilians and troops from the Tachen Islands to Formosa , on her last trip carrying U . S . Ambassador to China Karl L . Ranking for a first hand observation . Even without such crises , the Navy never loses its alertness , continually training for any eventuality . Each year amphibious operations were held with marines either off the California coast , in the Hawaiians , or elsewhere in the Pacific . Joint exercises were also held with Philippine troops in 1957 , with British forces off Borneo in 1959 , with Korean marines in a cold weather operation in 1962 , and in 1965 with units of the Royal Thai Navy . Vietnam War . Beginning in 1963 the South China Sea became a regular scene of operations for " Lenawee " . Following the North Vietnamese PT boat attacks on and in August 1964 , she prepared for her 10th Far Eastern tour since recommissioning . The people - to - people project was not neglected as a result of this new crisis , for the ship carried 10 , 000 pounds of textbooks and medical supplies to the Philippines and Vietnam after she departed San Diego 7 November 1964 . With TF 76 , she stood - by laden with marines in the South China Sea from 12 December until 10 April 1965 , when 3rd Division Marines were landed at Da Nang . Five days later , her boats landed men of the 4th Marines at Hue . Reloading at Okinawa , " Lenawee " returned to debark additional troops of the 4th Marines in an assault landing at Chu Lai 7 May . On the 24th she brought 2 , 001 tons of ammunition to these same men . One month later she was en route for a short stay in her home port . On 9 August 1965 she departed California with Battalion Landing Team 1 / 1 on the first nonstop voyage made by an attack transport direct to Da Nang , arriving the 28th . Returning to San Diego 28 October , " Lenawee " spent the remainder of the year and the first 8 months of 1966 off the West Coast . She conducted type training and participated in various amphibious exercises until departing on her last deployment 4 September 1966 . " Lenawee " carried marines to Okinawa , successfully weathering typhoon " Ida " on the way ; then , after a stop in Japan , transported Republic of Korea troops from Pusan to Da Nang . She ferried U . S . servicemen from Okinawa to Vietnam and back in December , before returning to the West Coast , arriving at San Diego 8 January 1967 to begin preparations for inactivation . Fate . " Lenawee " decommissioned 20 June 1967 . She was berthed in the Maritime Administration ' s National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay , California , on 29 June 1967 . Title was transferred to the Maritime Administration on 23 April 1968 , and she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register 30 June 1968 . Ex - " Lenawee " was sold for US $ 129 , 089 . 78 to Nicolai Joffe Corp . for scrapping on 17 August 1975 . At 1337 PDT , on 28 July 1975 she was withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet and sent to the breaker ' s yard . Awards . " Lenawee " received two battle star s for World War II service and three for Korean service .