USS Mathews ( AKA - 96 ) USS " Mathews " ( AKA - 96 ) was an named after Mathews County , Virginia . She served as a commissioned ship for 18 years and 8 months . " Mathews " ( AKA – 96 ) was laid down on 15 September 1944 under Maritime Commission contract by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co . , Kearny , N . J . , launched on 22 December 1944 , sponsored by Miss Mary Margaret McBride , acquired by the Navy on 3 March 1945 , and commissioned on 15 March 1945 , Comdr . C . A . Thorwall , in command . Service history . 1945 – 1947 . With less than a month ' s training behind her , " Mathews " departed Norfolk on 8 April 1945 for the Pacific with military cargo and passengers . Stopping briefly in Hawaii for further training , she steamed on to Eniwetok and Ulithi , arriving at the latter on 21 June . On 10 July , with Army passengers and equipment on board , she sailed for Okinawa , which had recently been secured after 82 days of fighting . " Mathews " entered Hagushi Bay on 14 July , remaining until the 22nd when she departed for Ulithi . From there she carried cargo to Guadalcanal and Guam . While en route to the latter , she received word of Japan ' s unconditional surrender . Proceeding to the Philippines from Guam , she began ferrying occupation troops to the American zone of Korea ; and for the next 2½ months she operated between Lingayen Gulf and Jinsen , Korea . On 19 November , her passenger accommodations filled with returning veterans , she departed Korea for the United States , arriving Norfolk on 23 December . She remained on the east coast until 2 October 1946 , when she sailed for San Francisco and deactivation . Arriving on 26 October , she decommissioned there on 4 April 1947 and was turned over to the Maritime Commission at Suisun Bay . 1951 – 1967 . Reacquired by the Navy in 1951 , " Mathews " recommissioned on 16 February 1952 and reported for duty with the Amphibious Force , Pacific Fleet , on 17 March . After training at Long Beach she sailed for the Pribilof Islands , on a resupply assignment on 1 July returning with a cargo of seal products . A year later , on 1 July 1953 , the attack cargo ship got underway for Korea where she transported prisoners – of – war , primarily Chinese , from Koje - do to Inchon , the port of exchange . Returning to Long Beach on 23 April 1954 , " Mathews " trained along the west coast through 1955 . These operations were interrupted only by another resupply mission to Pribilof , from which she again returned with a cargo of valuable seal products . In 1966 , " Mathews " again deployed with the 7th Fleet . Assigned to that fleet ' s amphibious force 12 January – 4 October , she participated in squadron and fleet exercises from Japan to the Philippines , joining in the Black Ship Festival at Shimoda on 17 to 21 May . During 1957 , " Mathews " was involved for the most part in amphibious training operations along the coast of Southern California . She made WestPac deployments in 1958 , 1959 , and 1960 , again resupplying Pribiloff after her 1958 cruise . 1961 saw " Mathews " operating off the west coast . On 22 January 1962 , Mathews once again departed for duty with the 7th Fleet . Towards the end of her tour , as Communist insurgency in Laos continued to threaten Thailand , she was called on to transport Marines and cargo support elements of the 3rd Marine Division from Okinawa to Bangkok . Arriving on 9 June , her passengers and cargo added strength to the 1 , 800 marines landed on 16 May , at the request of the Thai government , and positioned defensively in the north . " Mathews " returned to Long Beach on 30 July , but within three months was again called on to aid in the thwarting of Communist military plans . In late October , as the crisis over the USSR ' s establishment of missile bases on Cuba mounted , " Mathews " was attached to the Atlantic Fleet and throughout the quarantine period operated with amphibious groups in the Caribbean , returning to California on 16 December . Her annual deployments to WestPac since 1962 further involved the ship in anti – Communist activities . In 1963 – 64 , she served a month , mid – December to mid – January , as a unit of the Amphibious Ready Group at Subic Bay . During June , July , and August , 1965 , she shuttled troops and cargo from Okinawa to Da Nang and Chu Lai , South Vietnam , and in October , Republic of Korea Army units from Pusan , Korea , to Qui Nhơn . She arrived back at Long Beach on 2 December only to depart again on 10 January 1966 for Okinawa with Marine artillery elements embarked , returning to California in March . On 2 May , " Mathews " got underway for her third western Pacific deployment in 370 days , with Marine engineers on board en route to Chu Lai . She then shuttled between Subic Bay , Da Nang , and Huế , before departing for Yokosuka and Long Beach , arriving there on 23 July and engaging in amphibious , tactical and engineering exercises for the remainder of the year . After operations on the west coast through the first half of 1967 . " Mathews " sailed for the Far East on 21 July 1967 to resume her role in the struggle against Communist aggression in Vietnam . She remained in the western Pacific into 1968 , sailing for the west coast on 4 February with calls at Okinawa , Yokosuka , and Pearl Harbor before reaching Long Beach on 19 March . After operating off the California coast for the next seven months , " Mathews " put into San Diego on 14 October . Decommissioning and sale . She decommissioned at San Diego on 31 October 1968 , and was struck from the Navy List on 1 November 1968 . She was sold for scrap in 1969 .