USS Rankin ( AKA - 103 ) USS " Rankin " ( AKA - 103 / LKA - 103 ) was a ( later " Rankin " class amphibious cargo ship ) named after Rankin County , Mississippi . Like all AKAs , " Rankin " was designed to transport military cargo and landing craft , and use the latter to land weapons , supplies , soldiers and Marines on enemy shores during amphibious operations . She was the 103rd of 114 ships eventually constructed for this purpose . Her construction was part of the country ' s emergency program for replacing the hundreds of cargo ships lost to enemy attacks during World War II . The Maritime Commission administered the program and dozens of the ships it produced were acquired by the United States Navy and converted into warships . Many of these ships would be used for amphibious warfare . " Rankin ' s " keel was laid down on 31 October 1944 at North Carolina Shipbuilding Co . in Wilmington , North Carolina . She was launched 52 days later on 22 December , and commissioned in Charleston , South Carolina on 25 February 1945 . She served as a commissioned warship for a total of 21 years and five months . Service history . Commissioned during the final year of World War II , " Rankin " served briefly during that conflict , and for about two years during the postwar transition to peacetime . She was put in mothballs in 1947 , then recommissioned during the Korean War in 1952 . Based in Norfolk from her recommissioning until the end of her service life , she participated in many cold war naval activities . In 1969 , the Navy changed her hull classification symbol to LKA - 103 , and renamed Attack Cargo Ships as Amphibious Cargo Ships . ( Other amphibious ships were also redesignated at that time , so that all amphibious designators began with the letter " L " . ) The USS " Rankin " was decommissioned in 1971 , and was sunk in 1988 as a fishing and diving reef off the coast of Stuart , Florida . She was a very special ship during her time in commission , always characterized by high morale and outstanding performance . At one time , she held every award available to a ship of her type . She became the first Atlantic Fleet ship to wear the Gold E , signifying five straight victories in the annual battle efficiency competition . Her captains included a Medal of Honor recipient , a winner of the Navy Cross , and a member of the Navy ' s Blue Angels flight team . Many of her officers later earned flag rank as Navy Rear , Vice , and full Admiral s . World War II . " Rankin " ( AKA - 103 ) was laid down on 31 October 1944 as Maritime Commission hull 1702 by North Carolina Shipbuilding Company , Wilmington , North Carolina . " Rankin " was launched on 22 December 1944 , sponsored by Mrs . L . C . Freeman . The ship was acquired by the Navy on 25 January 1945 , and ferried to the Charleston Navy Yard for conversion to an AKA . She was commissioned on 25 February 1945 , less than four months after her keel was laid . Lieutenant Commander Thomas D . Price was her first commanding officer . Following an Atlantic shakedown , " Rankin " steamed on 26 March 1945 in company with for the Panama Canal Zone . Joining the Pacific Fleet on 1 April , she loaded Marine Corps replacement equipment at San Francisco and steamed independently for Hawaii on 17 April . Intensive training in shipboard procedures and amphibious techniques followed . She then took on 5 , 000 tons of Army ammunition at Honolulu and , in company with , steamed on 25 May for Ulithi . Escorted by , the two ships immediately went on to deliver their vital cargoes at Okinawa . During her 17 days at the Battle of Okinawa , the ship faced more than 100 air raids by kamikaze . All ammunition was offloaded between air raids . " Rankin " departed Okinawa on 28 June 1945 in convoy for Saipan . There she offloaded her boat group and then steamed independently for San Francisco , arriving on 20 July . After taking on her allowance of landing craft , she put in at Seattle for repairs . Hostilities ended during loading operations , her ammunition was offloaded , and the ship sailed for the Philippines , arriving Manila on 9 September . Assigned to TransRon 20 , " Rankin " steamed for Lingayen Gulf . En route , she touched at Subic Bay , contributed landing craft to the boat pool there , and then commenced taking on equipment of the 25th Army Division from the San Fabian beaches . The squadron got underway for Japan on 1 October . After riding at anchor for nearly three weeks while the approaches to Nagoya , southern Honshū , were cleared of mines , the squadron entered that port on 27 October . " Rankin " embarked Navy personnel there , took on inoperable landing craft at Samar in the Philippines , and sailed for home , arriving San Francisco on 25 November . That same day , Capt . William L . McDonald assumed command of the ship . On 20 May 1946 , Capt . Griswold T . Atkins took command . The ship visited China and Japan during 1946 and early 1947 . The ship returned home , and on 10 March 1947 , Cdr . George D . Arntz took command . " Rankin " was decommissioned on 21 May at San Francisco and entered the Maritime Commission ' s National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay , California . Leonard Roll was a Boat Officer aboard the Rankin from 1945 – 1946 1950s . USS " Rankin " was recommissioned on 22 March 1952 at the Todd Shipyard , Alameda , California , with Capt . Bernard H . Meyer in command . Following shakedown , the ship transited the Panama Canal to join the Amphibious Force , Atlantic Fleet . Operating out of Norfolk , she commenced a lengthy second career of support for amphibious training operations along the East Coast as well as in the Caribbean and Mediterranean . Medal of Honor recipient Capt . ( later V . Adm . ) Lawson P . Ramage took command of the ship on 11 April 1953 , serving until relieved by Capt . Malcolm T . Munger on 19 July 1954 . Capt . James D . Ferguson took command on 20 July 1955 . On 4 October 1956 , Capt . ( later Adm . ) W . F . A . Wendt took command . On 11 September 1957 , Capt . ( later R . Adm . ) John Harllee relieved Capt . Wendt . On 18 July 1958 , " Rankin " was among the amphibious forces which landed 5 , 000 U . S . Marines in Lebanon , in response to a request from the Lebanese Government for assistance in averting civil war . Capt . John S . C . Gabbert took command on 19 February 1959 , and two weeks later " Rankin " departed Norfolk for a six - month cruise to the Mediterranean as part of the United States Sixth Fleet . A cruise book was published to commemorate this trip . 1960s . From 1959 – 1968 , " Rankin " deployed periodically to the Caribbean with Amphibious Squadron 10 , a fast amphibious squadron with Vertical Envelopment capabilities . Operating regularly in the Caribbean , she repeatedly called at Puerto Rico , the Virgin Islands , Haiti , Jamaica , and Cuba . Capt . Leonard E . Harmon assumed command on 10 February 1960 , serving until relieved by Capt . Thomas F . Howe on 10 March 1961 . Capt . John S . Leidel took command on 29 May 1962 . During the Cuban Missile Crisis of October and November 1962 , occasioned by the discovery of Russian intermediate - range ballistic missiles in Cuba , " Rankin " operated in the force which was marshaled in Cuban waters , prepared for any eventuality . In January 1963 , " Rankin " departed Norfolk with PHIBRON 10 and various components of the 2nd Marine Battalion . In late February , she visited Santo Domingo , Dominican Republic , in company with for the inauguration of president Juan Bosch . For this service , the " Rankin " received commendations from vice - president Lyndon B . Johnson . She returned to Norfolk on 7 March . In April , as a result of the unstable political situation in Haiti , the ship proceeded directly to a position off that country and patrolled in the Gulf of Gonave for thirty - one days until tensions eased . Navy Cross winner George C . Cook took command of " Rankin " on 16 July 1963 . She subsequently had a yard period at Norfolk Naval Shipyard . Refresher training at Guantanamo Bay followed early in January 1964 . Capt . ( later V . Adm . ) William T . Rapp took command on 22 August 1964 . " Rankin " participated in exercise " Steel Pike I " off the Spanish coast 28 September through 3 December . Upon returning to Norfolk , she underwent a tender availability with , after which she resumed coastal training and readiness operations , and deployments with the Caribbean Amphibious Ready Squadron . During squadron exercises in April 1965 , " Rankin " participated in the Dominican Republic Intervention . Arriving off the coast of Santo Domingo , " Rankin " and other ships of PhibRon 10 commenced the mass embarkation and evacuation of over 1 , 000 refugees and U . S . civilian nationals . As a result of this operation , the " Rankin " and all her personnel were awarded the Navy Unit Commendation by the Secretary of the Navy . Capt . Lester B . Lampman assumed command on 8 August 1966 . In October , " Rankin " was called on to render relief to the disaster area of Cayes - Jacmel , Haiti , after Hurricane Inez caused massive damage to the island . The men of the " Rankin " unloaded tons of food , medical supplies , and building supplies to help the stricken people . After her regular overhaul period in 1967 , " Rankin " returned to operations in the Atlantic and Caribbean with Amphibious Squadron Ten . Capt . John D . Exum took command on 26 September 1967 . Deployed to the Caribbean from March to July 1968 , " Rankin " visited San Juan , Guantanamo Bay , Panama , St . Thomas , St . Croix , Aruba and Jamaica . In August 1968 , Rankin participated in exercise " Riverine 68 " , which was designed to demonstrate to Marine and Naval Forces the latest methods of combating jungle warfare . In November 1968 , Rankin was reassigned to Amphibious Squadron Four . In December , she participated in the Apollo 8 Moon Orbital Flight as a secondary recovery ship in the U . S . Navy Recovery Force south of Bermuda . Effective from 1 January 1969 , " Rankin " was redesignated LKA - 103 and reclassified Amphibious cargo ship . On 14 April , Former Blue Angels pilot Capt . C . Nello Pierozzi assumed command . In late July , she took on Marines and equipment and deployed to the Mediterranean , returning to Norfolk on 13 December . Another cruise book was produced to commemorate this trip . 1970s . The new year , 1970 , brought with it a period of operations off the eastern seaboard , and another July - to - December Mediterranean deployment , also memorialized in a cruise book , with the Sixth Fleet . Capt . Jerry T . Becker assumed command on 9 August . " Rankin " returned to Little Creek on 14 December 1970 . Lt . Cdr . Philip R . Given assumed command on 2 February 1971 , and , " Rankin " was decommissioned for the second and final time on 11 May at Little Creek . Final disposal . On 24 July 1988 , the ship was sunk as an artificial fishing and diving reef , six miles off the coast of Stuart , Florida . She rests on her starboard side at a depth of 130 feet . The site remains popular among fisherman and advanced SCUBA divers . A sink from the ship was salvaged and is currently installed in the training room at Scuba Dive Addiction in Kissimmee , Florida . Ship reunions . In February 2003 , The USS " Rankin " Association , a reunion and reconnection organization for all people ever associated with the ship , was established . The group has located over 1 , 500 former " Rankin " shipmates , including every one of the 437 officers who served aboard the ship . Honors and awards . As a result of her service during World War II , " Rankin " was entitled to wear the ribbons associated with the American Campaign Medal , the Asiatic - Pacific Campaign Medal with one star , the World War II Victory Medal , the Navy Occupation Service Medal with an Asian Clasp , the National Defense Service Medal , and the China Service Medal . During the eight years after her 1952 recommissioning , " Rankin " won the Battle Efficiency Award six times , including an unprecedented five straight from 1956 – 1960 . By special order of Commander in Chief , Atlantic Fleet , " Rankin " sailors were authorized to wear a Gold E on their arms , and the ship wore a Gold E on her stack . In 1958 , " Rankin " simultaneously held every award available to a ship of her class : the Battle Efficiency Award ( the White E ) , the Engineering Red E , the communications Green E , gunnery awards for both her 40 mm batteries and her 5 inch mount , the Assault Boat Coxswain Award , and the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award . She was awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for her service in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 . See also . List of United States Navy amphibious warfare ships