USS Zaniah ( AK - 120 ) USS Zaniah ( AK - 120 ) was an " Basilan " - class cargo ship commissioned by the United States Navy for service in World War II . She was responsible for delivering troops , goods and equipment to locations in the war zone . " SS Anthony F . Lucas " — a Liberty ship — was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract ( MCE hull 2422 ) on 29 October 1943 at Houston , Texas , by the Todd - Houston Shipbuilding Corp . ; acquired by the Navy under a bareboat charter on 2 November 1943 ; renamed " Zaniah " and classified as a cargo ship , AK - 120 , on 13 November ; launched on 12 December ; sponsored by Mrs . LeRoy Bembry ; and accepted by the Navy and commissioned on 22 December 1943 , for ferrying to the Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company ' s yard at Mobile , Alabama , for conversion . Conversion to stores - barracks - distilling ship . Arriving at Mobile on the day after Christmas , " Zaniah " soon entered dockyard hands and was decommissioned on 28 December . Meanwhile , during the conversion , the Navy broadened " Zaniah ' s " mission to that of a special stores - barracks - distilling ship and redesignated her AG - 70 on 14 March 1944 . Before she was completed , a distilling plant capable of producing 80 , 000 gallons of fresh water was installed in the ship ; and she was commissioned on 2 September 1944 , Lt . Comdr . Henry Mayfield , USNR , in command . World War II service . " Zaniah " departed Mobile on 17 September , bound — via Key West , Florida — for Hampton Roads . Arriving at Key West on the 20th , the auxiliary vessel joined a coastwise convoy — KN - 339 — passing up the eastern seaboard from the 21st to the 24th , before steaming independently for Hampton Roads . " Zaniah " conducted her shakedown training in the Chesapeake Bay before shifting to New York City . Transfer to the Pacific Fleet . Getting underway again on 23 October , " Zaniah " sailed southward , transited the Panama Canal on 4 November , and arrived at Pearl Harbor on the 22d . " Zaniah " underwent further conversion at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard — receiving additional office spaces and living quarters to accommodate the staff of a fleet service division . In addition , the ship ' s force joined yard workmen in installing a large electronics repair and supply department and additional water condensers to enable the ship to furnish fresh water to ships in forward areas of the South Pacific Ocean . Repairing battle - damaged ships . " Zaniah " , thus outfitted for her special operations - departed Pearl Harbor on 10 January 1945 bound for Manus , in the Admiralties . Arriving on the 26th at Seeadler Harbor , she operated for a time with " Sierra " ( AD - 18 ) in repairing battle - damaged ships which put into Manus . " Houston " ( CL - 81 ) was among the warships which benefited from her services . Supporting invasion forces at Philippine Islands . " Zaniah " soon shifted to the Solomons , providing water and repair services at Purvis Bay , Florida Island , from the day of her arrival , Washington ' s Birthday 1945 . She returned to Manus on 19 March before sailing for Hollandia , New Guinea , to join a Philippine - bound convoy , GI - 18 , on the 29th . " Zaniah " arrived at San Pedro Bay , off Leyte , on 4 April and discharged her much - needed electronics and machinery parts before sailing for the Carolines . Supporting repair efforts at Okinawa . The auxiliary ship operated at Ulithi from 13 to 24 April , providing repair services to ships damaged . during the conquest of the Ryukyus . " Zaniah " , herself , sailed for Okinawa on the 24th and arrived on 1 May — one month after the first landings on the embattled island . The first ship of her type in the area , she arrived at a critical time , as her commanding officer wrote : " when damage was at its height and repair facilities and personnel were scarce . " Performing repair work under dangerous conditions . " Zaniah ' s " boats soon began a 24 - hour schedule of transporting repairmen , in shifts , to damaged vessels . Initially , many men found themselves working 18 - hour stints ; and , despite daily air attacks and alerts , repair work progressed well . Salvage units from " Zaniah " cleared debris and made damaged hulls seaworthy until more permanent repairs could be made ; others restored electrical plants and propulsion machinery ; still others performed repairs on the vital and delicate radars and electronics installations on ships . " Zaniah " bore a charmed life — she was never attacked by Japanese planes during her sojourn off Okinawa . On 22 June , two ships were struck nearby " LST - 534 " and " Ellyson " ( DMS - 10 ) - - the closest that the vital auxiliary came to being attacked . Rough weather . " Zaniah " shifted to Buckner Bay on 10 July and performed her services as a repair and water - distilling ship through the end of the war with Japan in mid - August . She suffered some damage in a typhoon which struck the Fleet ' s anchorage on 16 September , when " Ocelot " ( IX - 110 ) dragged her anchor in the tempest and brushed heavily against " Zaniah " , smashing a motor whaleboat and demolishing some bulwark s and stanchion s on board the repair vessel . End - of - war activity . That autumn , " Zaniah " later operated out of Tokyo Bay until sailing on 1 December for the United States . Arriving at Seattle , Washington , on Christmas Day , 1945 , " Zaniah " shifted to Hawaii , arriving at Pearl Harbor on 11 March 1946 . Records are unclear at this point but suggest that the ship may have participated in explosive tests in the 14th Naval District . Post - war decommissioning . Decommissioned at Pearl Harbor on 29 April 1946 , " Zaniah " was towed to the west coast ; reached Suisun Bay , California , on 14 May 1947 ; and was turned over to the Maritime Commission the following day . She was struck from the Navy list on 22 May 1947 and was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet through the 1960s . In November 1972 , " Zaniah " was towed to Seattle - Tacoma , Washington , and broken up for scrap . Military awards and honors . " Zaniah " received one battle star for her World War II service . Her crew was eligible for the following medals :