USS Sandoval ( APA - 194 ) USS " Sandoval " ( APA - 194 / LPA - 194 ) was a " Haskell " - class attack transport acquired by the U . S . Navy during World War II for the task of transporting troops to and from combat areas . World War II . The second ship to be named " Sandoval " by the Navy , " APA - 194 " was laid down under Maritime Commission contract ( MCV hull 662 ) on 16 May 1944 by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Co . , Vancouver , Washington ; launched on 2 September 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . Jack Crane ; acquired by the Navy on loan charter on 7 October 1944 ; and commissioned the same day , Comdr . R . C . Scherrer in command . Toward the end of October , " Sandoval " took on landing craft at San Francisco , California , then moved further south for shakedown training off southern California . In mid - November , she transported troops and cargo to Hawaii where she joined her squadron , Transport Squadron 16 . Amphibious training followed with the 3d Battalion , 27th Regiment , 5th Marine Division , embarked ; and , on 27 January 1945 , she continued west , via Saipan , to Iwo Jima . Iwo Jima . On the morning of 19 February , she arrived off the latter island and soon disembarked her troops . During the landings on “ Red Beach , ” mortar fire damaged several of her landing craft and caused minor injuries to boat crew members . But , despite heavy resistance , the 27th Regiment took the cliffs overlooking the western beaches by mid - afternoon ; and " Sandoval " moved in again to take on casualties and discharge critical cargo . Offloading continued until after 1800 when she retired for the night . At daybreak , she returned ; and , for the next few days , maintained that pattern of operations . On the 27th , she transferred her remaining provisions and stores to other ships in the area and joined task unit TU 51 . 16 . 7 to return to Saipan . Return to Guam . She arrived at Saipan on 2 March ; shifted to Guam on the 3d ; disembarked casualties ; and , on the 5th , sailed for Tulagi where her damaged landing craft were replaced . At mid - month , she loaded troops and cargo of the Army ' s 105th Regiment , U . S . 27th Division , at Espiritu Santo ; and , on the 25th , sailed for Ulithi and the Ryukyus . On 9 April , the transport anchored at Kerama Retto . On the 10th , she shifted to the Hagushi beaches of Okinawa to land her reinforcement troops ; and , on the 19th , she departed the area to return to the Marianas to take on more men and supplies for the Okinawa campaign . Hit by kamikaze . On 23 May , " Sandoval " sailed for the Ryukyus again , with naval construction battalion ( Seabee ) units and equipment embarked . On the 27th , she arrived in Nakagusuku Wan while an enemy air attack was in progress . After the raid , she commenced offloading and continued the work throughout the day despite interruptions by later raids . At daybreak on the 28th , she resumed offloading . Soon after 0730 , however , the operation was interrupted by another Japanese air raid ; and , at 0737 , the APA ' s guns opened fire on a Tony coming in low , about , range . The kamikaze crashed into the portside of the wheelhouse . Five , including the executive officer , were killed ; 29 , including the commanding officer , were wounded . Three of the latter died later . The navigator , Lt . K . V . Kerth , USNR , assumed command . Flames lit the bridge . Central fire control was lost . Radar and interior communications were knocked out . At 0755 , a second enemy plane came in firing ; crossed the bow at and crashed away . By 0800 , the bridge fire was under control . Fifteen minutes later , a third kamikaze came in , missed " Sandoval " and crashed the foredeck of " SS Joseph Snelling " , off the APA ' s starboard quarter . At 0830 , the fire on the bridge was extinguished . After 0900 , central fire control was regained , and repair parties began clearing the wreckage . At 1040 , the ship was secured from general quarters . Two days later , cargo operations were completed , and the remaining Seabee personnel were disembarked . On the 31st , " Sandoval " headed for Saipan , Pearl Harbor , and San Francisco , California . End - of - war and decommissioning . " Sandoval " arrived at Mare Island , California , on 22 June . Repairs were not completed until hostilities had ended . Late in August , the ship loaded replacement troops and sailed west . In late September , she discharged those troops at Leyte ; took on occupation troops at Luzon ; and , on 14 October , disembarked them at Yokohama . By the end of the month , she had completed a second Luzon - Honshū run in support of the occupation of Japan ; and , in November , she joined the " Operation Magic Carpet " fleet to carry veterans back to the United States . " Sandoval " completed her last " Magic Carpet " run at San Francisco on the 29th . Then , for a brief time , she provided services to small craft in the San Francisco Bay area . In March , she reported to the 19th ( Inactive ) Fleet ; and , on 19 July 1946 , she was decommissioned and berthed at Stockton , California . Reactivated during Korean War . Five years later , after war had again broken out in the Far East , " Sandoval " was ordered activated to support the United Nations effort in Korea . Recommissioned on 22 September 1951 , she joined the Pacific Fleet ' s Amphibious Force in mid - October ; and , after operations off the U . S . West Coast , she sailed west on 3 March 1952 . Korean and other Far East operations . On the 24th , she arrived in Japan ; and , in mid - April , she carried cargo to Inchon , whence she moved troops to Koje Do to assist in stemming the prisoner of war ( POW ) riots on that island . In May and early June , she conducted amphibious training exercises ; and , at mid - month , she headed south to the Philippines and Hong Kong . In July , she returned to Japan , where she resumed cargo and amphibious training operations . In August , she sailed for home , arriving at Long Beach , California , on the 24th . She then shifted to San Francisco , California ; and , after voyage repairs , returned to San Diego , California , whence she conducted exercises until December . Overhaul took her into February 1953 ; and , in the spring , she resumed training duties off southern California . Post - Korean War operations and decommissioning . On 3 July , " Sandoval " again headed west . She arrived in Japan the day after the truce went into effect ; and , in early August , she assisted in transporting POW ' s from the off - shore islands to the Korean mainland for exchange . She then returned to Japan and , for the remainder of her extended tour in the western Pacific Ocean , carried cargo and conducted training exercises in Japanese , Korean , and Okinawan waters . In April 1954 , she returned to California and , after local exercises , prepared for inactivation . She completed inactivation overhaul and was decommissioned at Mare Island , California , on 22 June 1955 . Four and one - half years later , on 10 December 1959 , she was transferred to the Maritime Administration ' s National Defense Reserve Fleet ; and , on 1 July 1960 , her name was struck from the Navy list . Third recommissioning in 1961 . A little over a year later , however , she was recalled , reinstated on the Navy list on 1 September 1961 , and recommissioned on 20 November 1961 . Assigned to the U . S . Atlantic Fleet , she transited the Panama Canal ; joined that fleet ' s amphibious force on 17 January 1962 ; and , soon thereafter , commenced operations out of Norfolk , Virginia . Supporting movement of troops during Cuban missile crisis . Into the summer , " Sandoval " conducted training exercises , primarily with U . S . Marine Corps units , off the Virginia and Carolina coasts , and in Puerto Rico . In August , she conducted gunnery exercises ; then carried Army personnel and vehicles from Norfolk to the Panama Canal Zone ; and transported Marine Corps vehicles from Puerto Rico to Norfolk . Local landing exercises and an availability took her into October , when the Cuban missile crisis erupted . " Sandoval " moved to Morehead City , North Carolina ; embarked marines ; and steamed south to stand by in case of need . At the end of November , as international tension eased , she returned to Norfolk where she remained into the new year , 1963 . She then resumed local exercises , transportation operations , and training exercises along the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean . Deployment with the Sixth Fleet . With the end of summer , she prepared for her first deployment with the U . S . 6th Fleet ; and , on 21 September , she departed Morehead City . She operated in the Mediterranean for five months ; returned to Norfolk in February ; resumed duty with Amphibious Squadron 10 ( PhibRon 10 ) ; and , in the fall , headed back across the Atlantic Ocean to the coast of Spain where she participated in Operation Steel Pike , the largest landing exercise in the Atlantic since World War II . Effective 14 August 1964 , the ship was redesignated " LPA - 194 " . Apollo 8 recovery . During the next several years , " Sandoval " rotated between duty with PHIBRON 10 in the western Atlantic and operations in the Mediterranean as a unit of PhibRon 6 . She stood by on alert with the 6th Fleet during the 1967 Arab - Israeli war , and turned to scientific tasks the following year . During February 1968 , she assisted test and evaluation forces off Florida ; and , in December , she operated some west of the Canary Islands as a unit of the Manned Spacecraft Recovery Force for Apollo 8 . With 1969 , she resumed training exercises ; and , on 19 March , she sailed east for her last deployment with the 6th Fleet . Well into the summer , she participated in fleet , bi - national , and NATO exercises ; and , on 5 August , she got underway for Morehead City and Norfolk , Virginia . She arrived at Norfolk on the 19th and , a week later , received orders to prepare for inactivation . Final decommissioning . On 3 March 1970 , Sandoval was decommissioned and turned over to the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility , Norfolk . On 20 August 1970 , she was transferred to the custody of the Maritime Administration and laid up with the James River , Virginia , Group , National Defense Reserve Fleet , where she remained into July 1974 . On 1 December 1976 , she was struck from the Navy list , and , in 1983 , was disposed of by the MARAD . Her fate is not known . Military awards and honors . " Sandoval " received two battle stars during World War II and two for her Korean War service .