USS King County ( LST - 857 ) USS " King County " ( LST - 857 ) was an built for the United States Navy during World War II . Named after counties in Texas and Washington , she was the only U . S . Naval vessel to bear the name . USS " LST - 857 " was laid down on 19 September 1944 at Seneca , Illinois by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company ; launched on 6 December 1944 , sponsored by Mrs . Beatrice S . Major ; and commissioned at New Orleans , Louisiana , on 29 December 1944 with Lieutenant Roy C . Parlier in command . Service history . World War II , 1945 . After shakedown off the Florida coast , " LST - 857 " departed New Orleans for the Pacific on 1 February 1945 . Steaming via the Panama Canal , she touched the Hawaiian and Marshall Islands and reached Guam on 30 March . There she loaded bombs and ammunition and departed on 21 April for Iwo Jima . Steaming via Saipan , she reached Iwo Jima on 1 May , unloaded her cargo , then sailed on 18 May . Carrying 334 enemy prisoners , she returned to Guam the 21st . Between 23 and 30 May , " LST - 857 " carried a cargo of fog oil to Okinawa . She supplied ships at Hagushi until 24 June . Returning to Guam on 4 July , she loaded troops and Army construction equipment , then sailed for Okinawa on the 16th . She operated there from 28 July to 5 August ; and , after returning to Saipan on 11 August , she loaded cargo and departed for the Philippines on 3 September . Post - war activities , 1945 – 1948 . " LST - 857 " arrived San Pedro Bay , Leyte , on 10 September and was assigned to support occupation operations in Japan . After embarking ordnance and construction troops and loading equipment at Iloilo , Panay , and Batangas , Luzon , she sailed in convoy for Japan on 20 September . She reached Tokyo Bay on the 29th and , until 25 October , operated along the coast of Honshū shuttling occupation troops and cargo . She returned to the Philippines early in November ; and , after embarking additional troops , she returned to Japan on 18 November and resumed occupation operations . Departing Yokohama on 15 December , she steamed via Saipan and Pearl Harbor to the United States and arrived at San Francisco on 25 January 1946 . During the next six months " LST - 857 " operated along the California coast between San Francisco and San Diego . She departed San Diego on 31 July , reached Pearl Harbor on 11 August , and began supply runs under Service Force , Pacific Fleet . For more than three years she operated out of Pearl Harbor , carrying passengers and supplies to bases in the Hawaiian Islands and to Johnson and Canton Islands . Between 3 April and 6 August 1948 she deployed to the Marshall Islands where she conducted shuttle service among the atolls . Korean War , 1950 – 1953 . Departing Pearl Harbor on 3 January 1950 , " LST - 857 " returned to the West Coast on 14 January . After overhaul at Mare Island , she operated out of Astoria , Oregon , and San Diego until 1 July when she departed San Francisco for Hawaii . She arrived Pearl Harbor on 11 July ; and , after serving briefly as inter - island transport , she departed on 18 August to support the effort to repel Communist aggression in South Korea . She arrived Yokosuka , Japan , on 4 September , then shifted to Kobe , Japan , the next day . After embarking men and equipment of the 1st Marine Engineer Battalion , she sortied on 10 September as part of an amphibious attack convoy bound for Inchon , South Korea . Assigned to Task Element 90 . 32 , " LST - 857 " arrived off Inchon on 15 September while a heavy air - sea bombardment pounded enemy shore positions . Late that afternoon , she closed " Red Beach " under heavy mortar and machine gun fire to take part in landings which were designed to spearhead an Allied offensive northward . Despite concentrated enemy fire , she debarked assault troops and unloaded vital supplies and equipment . In addition she provided counter - battery fire and embarked battle casualties for emergency treatment . For daring bravery and heroic performance of duty on " Red Beach " , the aggressive and intrepid tank landing ships , including " LST - 857 " , received the Navy Unit Commendation . " LST - 857 " completed unloading and departed the beach early on 16 September . She returned to Sasebo , Japan , on 19 September . She again returned to Inchon on 2 October and delivered a cargo of ammunition to the battleship . On 14 October she departed Sasebo for Hawaii and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 3 November . Following shipyard repairs , she departed on 1 December on a cargo run to the Marshall Islands . During the next ten months she conducted passenger and cargo service out of Pearl Harbor to the Marshall , Samoa , and Palmyra Islands , as well as to ports in the Hawaiian Islands . Departing Pearl Harbor on 28 September 1951 , " LST - 857 " sailed for the Far East and arrived at Yokohama on 18 October . On the 22nd she sailed for Sasebo where she arrived on 26 October to prepare for shuttle duty along the vital water supply line between Japan and Korea . Operating primarily out of Sasebo , she transported men and supplies to ports along the western coast of Korea . In addition she supplied fleet activities along the coast of Japan . She sailed for the United States on 23 September 1954 , touched at Pearl Harbor on 9 October , and arrived at San Diego on 22 October . " LST - 857 " returned to Pearl Harbor from San Diego on 27 November ; and , after overhaul , she began passenger and cargo runs between Pearl Harbor and Midway Atoll on 2 February 1955 . Named USS " King County " on 1 July 1955 , she continued this duty until August 1956 . Between 17 August and 12 September she made a supply run to the Marshalls ; then she sailed for the West Coast on 1 October , arriving at Oakland , California , on the 11th . Guided missile test ship , 1957 – 1960 . She entered the Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 12 October 1957 and began conversion to an experimental guided missile test ship . Reclassified AG - 157 on 17 May 1958 , she completed conversion on 15 November , then departed for testing and evaluation operations out of San Diego and Port Hueneme . While undergoing conversion a mock - up submarine hull was installed on her deck for use in testing a prototype missile handling system . In addition she received launching , recording , and evaluation equipment for testing the launch and flight capabilities of Regulus II guided missiles . Capable of carrying four missiles in her hangar , she was designed as a mobile testing center for these surface - to - surface missile s . Assigned to Submarine Squadron 5 , " King County " conducted her first missile engine firing on 8 December while operating in the Pacific Missile Range . She fired her first Regulus II missile two days later . During the next six months she performed simulated missile launchings and served on telemetry and recovery stations in the Pacific Missile Range . Moreover , she supported the development of America ' s space program and participated in tracking and recovering missile nose cone s . Transferred to the 11th Naval District on 1 July 1959 , she continued operating as a missile tracking and recovery ship . During the next year she cruised the missile range off Southern California and Baja California supporting missile firing and recovery operations . Operating out of Port Hueneme , she participated in tracking Temco ASM - N - 8 Corvus missile firings in May and July 1960 . She also supported the telemetering and recovery of the data capsule from Discovery XII . Decommissioning and sale . After returning to Port Hueneme on 8 July 1960 , she steamed to Long Beach on 19 July and decommissioned the same day . She was sold for scrapping to Zidell Explorations , Inc . , on 25 April 1961 . Awards . " LST - 857 " received one battle star for World War II service and seven battle stars for Korean service .