USS Cavalier ( APA - 37 ) USS " Cavalier " ( AP - 82 / APA - 37 ) was a in the United States Navy . She was named for Cavalier County , North Dakota . " Cavalier " was reclassified APA - 37 , 1 February 1943 ; launched 15 March 1943 by the Western Pipe and Steel Company , San Francisco , California ; sponsored by Mrs . M . W . Jackson ; acquired 19 July 1943 ; fitted out as an attack transport by Bethlehem Steel Co . , Hoboken , New Jersey ; and commissioned 15 January 1944 , Captain R . T . Mc - Elliott , USCG , in command . World War II . " Cavalier " cleared Davisville , Rhode Island on 17 February 1944 with men and equipment of two construction battalions , whom she disembarked at Honolulu 16 March . Cesar Romero . In October , 1942 , film star Cesar Romero voluntarily enlisted in the U . S . Coast Guard and served in the Pacific Theatre . He reported aboard the Coast Guard - manned assault transport USS Cavalier ( APA - 37 ) in November , 1943 and saw action at Tinian and Saipan . He preferred to be a regular part of the crew and was eventually promoted to the rank of chief Boatswain ' s Mate . Invasion of Saipan . After special amphibious training in the Hawaiian Islands , she sailed by way of Kwajalein for the invasion beaches of Saipan in the Joint Expeditionary Force Reserve . When stiff Japanese resistance was encountered on D - Day , 15 June , " Cavalier ' s " group was summoned to unload reinforcements , and landings began at dusk on 16 June . Working at top speed , since the Japanese fleet was known to be approaching , " Cavalier " landed her troops , but was ordered to retire before she could get off the artillery she carried . Leaving many of her boats behind for shuttle duty , she drew away to the east while the classic air Battle of the Philippine Sea was fought , then returned to the beachhead area on 25 June to complete offloading artillery and to embark casualties . Next day , " Cavalier " cleared for Eniwetok , where the wounded were put ashore , and cargo , including 37 tons of dynamite for use in underwater demolition , was loaded . Invasion of Tinian . Returning to Saipan 13 July 1944 , " Cavalier " delivered her cargo , and loaded troops and vehicles of the 2nd Marines for the assault on Tinian . She arrived off Tinian ' s " White Beach " on 24 July , successfully landed troops and vehicles , loaded casualties , and sailed on 28 July for Pearl Harbor . Invasion of Leyte . After brief repairs , " Cavalier " joined in rehearsal landings in the Hawaiians , and on 15 September 1944 , sailed for Manus , and final preparations for the Leyte landings , first step in the liberation of the Philippines . With the Southern Attack Force , she sailed on 14 October , and after a quiet passage , arrived off Dulag , Leyte on 20 October . Thorough planning and training paid off . " Cavalier ' s " boats landed troops and equipment smoothly . She remained off the beach , completing her unloading and receiving casualties , until 23 October , when she cleared for Manus on the eve of the Battle for Leyte Gulf . Invasion of Luzon . After disembarking casualties at Manus , " Cavalier " sailed to New Guinea to load reinforcements , with whom she returned to Leyte on 18 November 1944 . Then she returned to New Guinea to train for the Lingayen assault , for which she sailed 28 December in the San Fabian Attack Force . They suffered enemy air and surface attacks en route . On the night of 7 January 1945 , " Cavalier " made the first radar contact with the Japanese destroyer , later destroyed by the accompanying escorts of her group . Still later , other ships of her force were damaged by kamikaze s . On 9 January , " Cavalier " took position to launch her boats on White Beach where Japanese mortar fire damaged many of her barges . Unhesitatingly her men carried out assigned duties , although six were injured during the day . Three more were injured , one mortally , by exploding shrapnel during the dusk attack by suicide planes . As she retired from Lingayen Gulf next day , her gunners took a suicide plane under fire , only to see it crash into . Invasion of Northern Luzon . " Cavalier " loaded troops at Leyte , and on 26 January 1945 stood out for the northern Luzon landings on 29 January . Since Philippine guerillas had secured the assault area 2 days previously , no opposition was met , and " Cavalier " set sail for Leyte the same day . Struck by torpedo . On 30 January , while off Manila Bay , she was suddenly shaken by a violent underwater explosion , presumably a torpedo fired from the . Hit port side aft , " Cavalier " suffered 50 men injured , some flooding , and buckled decks . Engines stopped and steerageway was lost . Flooding and damage were quickly controlled , but since her propeller was jammed , she had to be towed by to Leyte , arriving 4 February . Repairs there and at Pearl Harbor continued through 12 September . Postwar service . Sailing from Pearl Harbor to the Philippines , " Cavalier " embarked military passengers for transportation to San Francisco , where she arrived on 1 November 1945 . Tours of duty to China . From 1 January to 22 February 1946 , she voyaged to Samar , Guam , Eniwetok , and Kwajalein , again to load passengers for San Francisco . Repairs there preceded a tour of duty off China from 5 May 1946 to 30 April 1947 , from which she returned to San Diego . A second tour of China duty from 25 March to 9 December 1948 found " Cavalier " picking up refugees , taking them to Shanghai and transporting rice furnished by American relief agencies for Chinese refugees at Tsingtao . Three short cruises to mid - Pacific islands preceded a deployment to the Far East for which she sailed 3 April 1950 . Korean War . Thus " Cavalier " was in Japanese waters upon the outbreak of the Korean War . She quickly prepared for the first amphibious landing of the conflict , and on 15 July 1950 , sailed from Yokosuka with troops of the 1st Cavalry . They landed at Pohang on 18 July , and " Cavalier " returned to Yokosuka on 23 July . Assigned to the daring Inchon invasion , " Cavalier " next cleared Yokosuka on 3 September , paused at newly secured Pusan from 5 to 12 September , and in the early evening of 15 September , came into position to begin the arduous landings over the seawalls of Inchon , against enemy resistance which stiffened with each assault wave . " Cavalier " remained off Inchon , receiving casualties , until 20 September , when she cleared for Yokosuka . In October , she carried men and ammunition to both Inchon and Wonsan , and on 1 November , cleared for San Diego , overhaul , and local training . On 14 July 1951 , laden with Marines , " Cavalier " once more departed San Diego for the Far East . Arriving at Kobe , Japan on 29 July , she replenished , and loaded additional small arms ammunition and provisions . On 5 August , she put into Pusan to offload men and cargo , returning to Japan for training operations through the fall . From 27 November to 7 December , she carried men and vehicles of the 45th Infantry to Inchon , and after operations in Japanese waters and a visit to Hong Kong , made a similar voyage to Inchon late in January 1952 . " Cavalier " returned to the West Coast on 23 April 1952 , and took part in intensive training along the California coast and in Hawaii until 3 July 1953 , when she again sailed for Yokosuka . From 1 to 27 August , she was at Inchon , aiding in the transfer of prisoners of war under the Korean Armistice Agreement , and after amphibious landing exercises off Japan , Okinawa , and Iwo Jima , returned to Long Beach , California on 23 April 1954 . Peacetime service . From the close of the Korean War through 1960 , " Cavalier " completed three tours of duty in the Far East , from 11 January to 4 October 1956 ; from 10 February through 12 December 1959 ; and from 16 February to 25 July 1960 . Cavalier completed further tours in the Far East in the 1960s . Vietnam war . " Cavalier " took part in a number of operations during the Vietnam War , from early 1966 until May 1968 . Decommission . Shortly after her final Vietnam tour of duty , " Cavalier " was decommissioned . She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 October 1968 , and sold for scrap in 1969 . Awards . " Cavalier " received five battle star s for World War II service , four for Korean War service , and five for the Vietnam War .