USS St . Mary ' s ( APA - 126 ) USS " St . Mary ' s " ( APA - 126 ) was a " Haskell " - class attack transport of the US Navy . She was built and used during World War II . She was of the VC2 - S - AP5 Victory ship design type . " St . Mary ' s " was named for St . Mary ' s County , Maryland . She is the fourth of four US Navy ships to bear that name . World War II service . The fourth " St . Mary ' s " was laid down under Maritime Commission contract ( MCV hull 40 ) on 29 June 1944 by the California Shipbuilding Corporation , Wilmington , California ; launched on 4 September 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . Arthur S . Tode ; acquired by the Navy on loan charter and delivered on 14 November 1944 ; and commissioned on 15 November 1944 , Capt . Edward R . Glosten , USNR , in command . Assigned to Transport Squadron 17 ( TransRon 17 ) following shakedown , " St . Mary ' s " departed Los Angeles on 1 January 1945 ; loaded bulldozers , airplane engines , bomb service trucks , and other equipment at San Diego ; and , on the 4th , sailed for Manus , Admiralty Islands . Arriving in Seeadler Harbor on the 21st , she offloaded her cargo and steamed to Humboldt Bay , New Guinea , whence she carried troops to Leyte , 31 January to 6 February . During the remainder of February and most of March , she trained with units of the 77th Division for Operation " Iceberg , " the assault on Okinawa . On 21 March , she cleared Leyte Gulf with TG 51 . 1 and headed north . Five days later , she landed some of her troops on Kerama Retto , then stood by to take on casualties . On 13 April , she shifted to the Hagushi anchorage area ; and , on the 16th , sent troops ashore on Ie Shima . on the 19th , she moved around to Okinawa ' s southern coast for a diversionary landing ; then returned to Hagushi to discharge the remainder of her cargo and troops . On 26 April , " St . Mary ' s " departed the kamikaze target area . Three weeks at Ulithi followed . On 24 May , she steamed for Guam ; exchanged landing boats ; and got underway to return to the Philippines . From 31 May to 26 June , she remained in the Subic Bay - Manila Bay areas . In July , she trained with units of the 81st Infantry Division at Leyte ; and , in early August , trained with other troops off Iloilo . In mid - August , hostilities ended . " St . Mary ' s " embarked occupation troops and sailed for Japan , arriving in Tokyo Bay on 2 September , just prior to the signing of the official surrender documents . Two days later , she disembarked troops of the 1st Cavalry Division at Yokohama , then returned to the Philippines . From Mindanao , she lifted troops to Kure , then steamed to Okinawa ; whence , as a unit of the “ Magic Carpet ” fleet , she carried veterans back to the United States . In December , the APA returned to Okinawa for a second group of returning servicemen . Departing Buckner Bay on the 19th , she developed engine trouble on 3 January 1946 , 450 miles from her destination . " Nashville " , however , took her in tow , and she reached San Francisco on 6 January 1946 . Six days later , " St . Mary ' s " reported for inactivation . On 15 February , she was decommissioned and returned to the Maritime Commission . She was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay the same day . Her name was struck from the Navy list on 21 February . Fate . In 1956 " St . Mary ' s " was withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet as part of a Repair Program , GAA - Pacific Far East Lines , and then returned . On 18 April 1975 she was sold to Nicolai Joffe Corp . , for US $ 219 , 489 . 78 , to be scrapped . At 1235 PDT , on 3 June 1975 she was withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet and sent to the breaker ' s yard . Award . " St . Mary ' s " earned one battle star for World War II service .