USS Virgo ( AKA - 20 ) USS " Virgo " ( AKA - 20 ) was an " Andromeda " class attack cargo ship of the United States Navy , named after the constellation " Virgo . " She was later converted to an ammunition ship and redesignated as ( AE - 30 ) . She served as a commissioned ship for 22 years and 4 months . " Virgo " ( AKA - 20 ) was laid down on 9 March 1943 at Kearny , New Jersey , by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company , under a Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 204 ) ; launched on 4 June 1943 ; sponsored by Miss Sharman Douglas ; delivered to the Navy on 15 July 1943 ; and commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 16 July 1943 , Comdr . Clayton H . McLaughlin in command . Service history . World War II . 1943 . " Virgo " conducted her shakedown training in the Chesapeake Bay and off the Virginia Capes in July and August and then departed Norfolk on 24 August , bound for the Pacific . She transited the Panama Canal on 31 August and arrived in San Diego , California , on 9 September . On the 15th , she continued her voyage west . The attack cargo ship entered Pearl Harbor on 21 September and began cargo operations — unloading some and taking on more . " Virgo " stood out of Pearl Harbor on 24 September and set a course for New Zealand . She arrived in Wellington on 6 October and began a series of landing craft exercises . The ship remained at Wellington until 1 November at which time she got underway for the New Hebrides Islands . She arrived in Hayannah Harbor at the island of Efate to conduct training and make preparations for the forthcoming Gilberts and Marshalls invasions . " Virgo " departed the New Hebrides on 13 November in company with a convoy bound for the Gilbert Islands . She arrived off Tarawa Atoll early on the morning of the 20th . While preparing to land marines on Betio Island , " Virgo " was straddled by four shells from a Japanese shore battery . However , air strikes and counter battery fire quickly silenced the offender , and " Virgo " resumed landing operations . She remained offshore while the Marines carried out their bloody struggle — the bloodiest single day of combat in American military history — to wrest control of the atoll from a well - fortified enemy . During that struggle and while the other islands of the atoll were cleared , " Virgo " remained in the vicinity of Tarawa . On 28 November , she cleared the Gilberts on her way to Hawaii . The attack cargo ship arrived in Pearl Harbor on 7 December . During the following six weeks , she practiced amphibious operations in the Hawaiian Islands in preparation for " Operation Flintlock " , the assault and occupation of atolls in the Marshall Islands . 1944 . On 22 January 1944 , Virgo departed Oahu in company with Task Force ( TF ) 52 , bound for the Marshalls . She arrived off Kwajalein Atoll early on the morning of 31 January and began launching boats and discharging troops . No untoward events occurred during her five - day stay at Kwajalein , and she departed the atoll on 4 February . The attack cargo ship arrived at Funafuti in the Ellice Islands on 8 February and remained there until the 19th when she got underway for Guadalcanal . The ship anchored in Port Purvis , Florida Island , on 24 February and began a series of amphibious training exercises in the southern Solomons . That employment lasted until 27 March , on which day she got underway for Bougainville in the northern Solomons with elements of the Army ' s 25th Regimental Combat Team ( RCT ) . She discharged those troops and their attending equipment at Bougainville on 28 March and departed that same day for New Guinea . " Virgo " entered Milne Bay , New Guinea , on 31 March and remained there until 4 April when she headed for Cape Sudest . The ship stopped at Cape Sudest from 5 to 14 April and then headed for the Beli Beli Islands . She reached that destination on the 15th and began loading elements of the Army ' s 24th RCT . Underway again on the 16th , " Virgo " set a course for Tanahmerah Bay , New Guinea , where she arrived on 23 April . She unloaded the troops and their equipment and departed Tanahmerah Bay on the 24th . She stopped at Cape Sudest on the 27th and arrived at Saidor on the 29th . There , she loaded men and equipment of the Army ' s 32nd Infantry Division . On 1 May , the ship put to sea once again , bound for Aitape , New Guinea , where she arrived on the 3rd and unloaded troops and equipment . Departing Aitape that same day , Virgo set a course via Cape Sudest for Guadalcanal where she arrived on 10 May . At Guadalcanal , the attack cargo ship loaded troops of the 1st Marine Provisional Brigade and began amphibious training exercises which lasted until 31 May . On 4 June , she departed Guadalcanal with troops embarked for the invasion of the Mariana Islands . She stopped at Kwajalein from 9 to 11 June and then put to sea once again on the 12th . " Virgo ' s " troops were not committed to 15 June landings on Saipan . Instead , they made up a part of the floating reserve and were scheduled to land on Guam later in the month . However , Saipan proved to be a tougher nut to crack than expected ; and , as a consequence , the Guam assault was delayed . After steaming around to the east of Saipan for several days — during which the 5th Fleet carriers destroyed the remnants of Japanese naval air power in the Battle of the Philippine Sea — she then put in at Eniwetok Atoll on 30 June to await reinforcements for the delayed invasion of Guam . The ship rode at anchor in Eniwetok until 17 July when she returned to sea and set a course back to the Marianas . On the 21st , she arrived off Guam , and her troops landed near Orote Peninsula . The attack cargo ship remained off Agat Bay until 27 July at which time she took leave of the Marianas on her way — via Eniwetok — to Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides . The ship arrived at Espiritu Santo on 6 August and , for the next month , conducted amphibious training there and at Guadalcanal . On 8 September , " Virgo " left Guadalcanal and shaped a course for the Palau Islands . She arrived off Peleliu Island early on the morning of 15 September , and her embarked troops stormed ashore at about 0830 . She remained in the Palaus for almost a month supporting the troops in their difficult battle to subdue the Peleliu garrison . On 3 October , she departed the Palau Islands to return to Guadalcanal via the Russell Islands . She arrived at her destination on 12 October . The following day , the ship received orders to return to the United States and got underway almost immediately . After a non - stop voyage , " Virgo " arrived in San Francisco , California , on 29 October and , soon thereafter , began a two - month overhaul at the Hunters Point Navy Yard . 1945 – 1946 . The attack cargo ship stood out of San Francisco on 4 January 1945 to return to the western Pacific . She stopped at Pearl Harbor from 10 to 28 January before continuing her voyage west . Along the way , " Virgo " also made a visit to Eniwetok before arriving in Ulithi on 13 February where she reported for duty with Service Squadron ( ServRon ) 10 . Her tour of duty with ServRon 10 brought a change in mission for the ship . No longer did she serve as an assault cargo carrier engaged in amphibious operations . From that point forward , the attack cargo ship served as a straight cargo carrier . In that role , she supported the Iwo Jima operation in February by replenishing warships at sea . In April and May , " Virgo " performed similar services in support of the Okinawa campaign . In May , she began a return voyage to the United States , departing Okinawa on 15 May . En route , she made stops at Ulithi and at Pearl Harbor before arriving in San Francisco on 20 June . After a month in overhaul at Moore ' s Shipyard , " Virgo " headed back to the western Pacific on 3 August . However , she did not resume warlike activities because hostilities ceased on 15 August , four days before she arrived in the lagoon at Ulithi . The next day , she returned to sea with Task Group ( TG ) 30 . 8 to provision the ships of the 3rd Fleet in Japanese waters . Finishing that mission early in September , " Virgo " arrived in Tokyo Bay on the 9th , a week after the formal surrender . She served as station store ship at Yokosuka for the occupation forces until 10 April 1946 at which time she headed back to the United States . The ship arrived in San Francisco on 14 May and began overhaul at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard . She completed repairs in August and , on the 21st , began a series of voyages from the west coast to American bases in the Far East . She carried provisions and stores to bases in the Philippines , in the Marianas , in Japan , and in China . She also made side trips to Okinawa , the Admiralty Islands , and Korea . That routine lasted until the latter half of 1949 . In October 1949 , she began an overhaul at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard which lasted until the beginning of 1950 . Korea . 1950 . Between 7 February and 31 March 1950 , the attack cargo ship made a round - trip voyage from Oakland to Guam and back to San Diego . On 25 April , she departed San Diego for a voyage to the east coast of the United States . During that voyage , she transited the Panama Canal and visited both Bayonne , New Jersey , and Norfolk , Virginia . She returned to the west coast via the Panama Canal once more and arrived back in San Diego on 17 July . While " Virgo " visited the east coast , conflict broke out in the Far East once again . On 25 June , troops of communist North Korea invaded the Republic of Korea ( ROK ) to the south . The United States , and later the United Nations , responded with support for South Korea against the aggressors . Thus , " Virgo " soon found herself supporting combat forces once more . On 19 August , she departed Port Chicago , California , with Navy passengers embarked and with a load of ammunition , bound ultimately for Korea . She stopped at Sasebo , Japan , from 6 to 15 September and then headed for Inchon , Korea . She arrived at Inchon on the 16th , the day following the amphibious landing carried out there . She remained in the Korean war zone , first at Inchon and later at Jinsen Ko , for about three weeks . During that time , the attack cargo ship provisioned minesweepers , a Canadian destroyer , an American destroyer and supplied ammunition to the troops ashore . She departed Korea on 7 October and returned to Japan where she visited Sasebo and Yokosuka before heading back to the United States on 1 November . After a stop at Pearl Harbor , the ship arrived in San Francisco on 19 November and began repairs at the Pacific Repair Co . 1951 . On 19 January 1951 , " Virgo " departed San Francisco for her second tour of duty in the Korean combat zone . She arrived in Sasebo on 6 February to disembark passengers and unload ammunition . From Sasebo , the ship moved to Yokosuka at mid - month ; and , from there , she headed for Korea . The attack cargo ship entered port at Pusan on 15 March but soon returned to sea to transfer ammunition to and to . Following that , she returned to Sasebo for several days on the 19th . At the end of the month , she resumed ammunition resupply duty along the Korean coast , visiting Songjin , Wonsan , Suyeong , and Pohang as well as replenishing ships at sea between port calls . She returned to Sasebo on 7 May and remained there until the 29th when she got underway to return to the United States . On 13 June , the attack cargo ship entered port at Long Beach California , and began overhaul at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard . She completed repairs in August and , after refresher training out of San Diego , loaded passengers and ammunition at Port Chicago , California in late September . On 5 October , she put to sea to return to the Far East . The ship arrived in Sasebo on 22 October , disembarked her passengers , and unloaded some ammunition before getting underway for the war zone once more . 1952 . During her tour of duty , her mission consisted entirely of replenishments at sea in support of United Nations naval forces operating off the Korean coast . That assignment lasted until 12 August 1952 at which time she departed Yokosuka for home . She stopped at Pearl Harbor along the way and arrived in San Francisco on the 25th . " Virgo " then began an availability at the Triple " A " Machine Shop in San Francisco . " Virgo " completed repairs in October and departed San Francisco on 1 November to resume duty in the Orient . She arrived in Sasebo on 19 November and remained there almost two months . 1953 . On 3 January 1953 , the ship stood out of Sasebo , bound for Korean waters . For the next five months , she resumed the familiar schedule of replenishments at sea punctuated by ammunition deliveries at Korean ports and return trips to Sasebo for the purpose of restocking her own supplies . She completed her last mission early in June and , on the 13th , headed back to the United States . She reentered San Francisco on 28 June and entered the Mare Island Naval Shipyard for a three - month overhaul . While she underwent repairs , hostilities in Korea effectively ceased with the signing of an armistice on 19 July 1953 . Thus , when she emerged from the shipyard late in September and prepared to resume voyages to the Far East , her missions lost their combat character . Pacific , 1953 – 1961 . Over the next five years , she continued to make voyages between the west coast and American bases in the Far East . Most frequently , she called at such ports as Sasebo and Yokosuka in Japan , Kaohsiung on the island of Taiwan , and Manila and Subic Bay in the Philippines . Less frequently , she stopped at the Japanese ports of Kure and Kobe , at Okinawa , Guam , and Hong Kong . At the end of that five years , on 3 April 1958 , " Virgo " was decommissioned and berthed with the Columbia River Group , Pacific Reserve Fleet , located at Astoria , Oregon On 1 July 1961 , her name was struck from the Navy list ; and she was transferred to the custody of the Maritime Administration . She was berthed with the National Defense Reserve Fleet located also at Astoria . Vietnam . 1965 – 1968 . In September 1965 , the Navy took custody of her once again , and her name was reinstated on the Navy list . On 1 November 1965 , she was reclassified as an ammunition ship and redesignated AE - 30 . After almost a year of reactivation and rehabilitation work on the ship , " Virgo " ( AE - 30 ) was recommissioned at Seattle , Washington , on 19 August 1966 , Capt . Harold R . MacMillan in command . She spent the remainder of 1966 engaged in shakedown training and independent ship ' s exercises along the west coast . In January 1967 , she loaded ammunition at Concord , California , in preparation for her first deployment to the western Pacific in support of the American effort in the Vietnam War . She departed Concord on 12 January and arrived in Subic Bay on 6 February . There , she unloaded a part of her cargo before departing the Philippines on the 12th for replenishment missions in the Gulf of Tonkin . During the following six months , the ship made an equal number of replenishment voyages from Subic Bay to the warships operating in the Gulf of Tonkin to keep them supplied with ammunition . She punctuated those assignments with liberty calls at Subic Bay and at Hong Kong . " Virgo " headed back to the United States on 22 August . Almost a month later , on 21 September , she moored at the naval weapons station at Concord , California . She spent the remainder of the year engaged in normal operations out of her base at Concord . During the first six weeks of 1968 , " Virgo " loaded ammunition in preparation for and participation in the 1st Fleet exercise , Operation " Bead Stringer . " In mid - February , she loaded ammunition for her second deployment to the western Pacific during the Vietnam War . On 26 February , she began her voyage west . The ship changed operational control to the 7th Fleet on 7 March and arrived in Subic Bay 12 days later . Once again , her assignment fell into a pattern of replenishment voyages to the ships operating in the Gulf of Tonkin . In six months ' time , she made eight line swings from Subic Bay to the Gulf bringing in new stocks of ammunition to refill the depleted magazines of American warships along the Vietnamese coast . She finished her last such mission early in October and returned to Subic Bay on the 10th . From there , she moved to Sasebo , Japan , for a four - day liberty call before getting underway for the United States on 23 October . The ammunition ship arrived back in Concord on 11 November , offloaded ammunition , and entered the Mare Island Naval Shipyard to begin post - deployment standdown . On 19 December , she moved to the Triple " A " shipyard to begin a six - week restricted availability . 1969 – 1973 . Her repair period continued until the end of January 1969 . On the 31st , she loaded ammunition at Concord in preparation for operations at sea with units of the 1st Fleet . Those missions — primarily to train new crew members — lasted until the beginning of April . After final loadout at Concord , she got underway for the Far East on 19 April . She arrived in Subic Bay on 14 May and , after two weeks of voyage repairs , began the familiar series of voyages between Subic Bay and Vietnamese waters to resupply 7th Fleet ships with ammunition . However , the increasing use of the fast combat support ship ( AOE ) , which combined the features of both ammunition ship and oiler , relegated her to a reduced role . During most of her eight line swings , " Virgo " either served as a backup for the AOE ' s or concentrated on replenishing the cruisers and destroyers operating close to the coast . The ammunition ship completed her eighth and final line period on 12 November and returned to Subic Bay on the 14th . On the 19th , " Virgo " got underway for Sasebo where she remained from the 23rd to the 26th . On the latter day , she departed Sasebo and shaped a course for home . The ship arrived back in Concord on 13 December and began post - deployment leave and upkeep . Standdown continued into January 1970 . On 21 January , she began a restricted availability at the Bethlehem Steel shipyard located in San Francisco . Repairs complete on 16 February , " Virgo " moved back to Concord to load ammunition in preparation for operations at sea along the west coast . Refresher and type training occupied her time until 7 May at which time she departed San Francisco for the last western Pacific deployment of her Navy career . " Virgo " arrived in Subic Bay on 29 May and embarked upon the first of six line periods supplying ammunition to the warships off Vietnam . She completed her final line swing early in November and , after a stop at Sasebo , she got underway for home on 27 November . She arrived back at Concord on 12 December and began preparations for decommissioning . " Virgo " ( AE - 30 ) was decommissioned at Vallejo , California , on 18 February 1971 , and her name was struck from the Navy list simultaneously . Subsequently transferred to the Maritime Administration for disposal , she was sold on 19 November 1973 to Taipei Hsieh , of Taiwan , for scrapping . Awards . " Virgo " earned seven battle stars during World War II , nine battle stars for Korean War service , and 10 battle stars for service during the Vietnam War . Popular culture . Thomas Heggen served on board the " Virgo " and wrote the novel " Mister Roberts " . Heggen based his novel on his experiences aboard the and the in the South Pacific during World War II , and began the book as a collection of short stories . It was subsequently adapted as a play , a feature film , a television series , and a television movie .