USS Appling ( APA - 58 ) USS " Appling " ( APA - 58 ) was a " Gilliam " - class attack transport that served with the US Navy during World War II . " Appling " was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 1851 ) at Wilmington , California , by the Consolidated Steel Corporation ; launched on 9 April 1944 ; sponsored by famed moving picture actress , Claudette Colbert ; and simultaneously acquired by the Navy and placed in commission on 22 August 1944 , Lieutenant Commander Alexander Lunde Stuart in command . Operational history . World War II . Following shakedown training off the California coast , " Appling " sailed for Finschhafen , New Guinea , on 17 October . She was forced to stop at Purvis Bay , Florida Island , for engine repairs , but finally reached Finschhafen on 14 November . The ship then carried out training exercises in $ 3 . Invasion of Luzon . On 25 December , the ship embarked troops of the 6th Army at Hollandia . " Appling " sortied for the Philippines on 3 January 1945 with Task Group 77 . 9 , a part of the Luzon invasion force . She anchored in the Lingayen Gulf transport area on 11 January and began discharging troops east of San Fabian . Later that evening , the transport joined other ships in splashing an enemy aircraft 2 , 000 yards off her starboard quarter . The next day , she retired to Leyte Gulf . Invasion of Okinawa . During the next two months , the ship remained in the waters of Leyte Gulf carrying out training exercises . Late in March , she took on cargo and personnel earmarked for Operation " Iceberg , " the assault on the Ryukyus . On 27 March , the ship left with Transport Squadron ( TransRon ) 13 of the Southern Assault Force , bound for Okinawa . " Appling " arrived off that island early on 1 April and , at 0605 , began lowering her boats , which were used by troops from other vessels . " Appling " debarked her own troops from 3 to 7 April and then retired to Kerama Retto . She served as a receiving ship there until the 12th , when she returned to Okinawa . On the 14th , the ship got underway for Hawaii . Following a brief stop at Saipan , " Appling " reached Pearl Harbor on 2 May and , the next day , sailed for the United States . The ship arrived at San Pedro , California , on the 10th , and began voyage repairs . On 7 June , she proceeded to San Diego , California , for refresher training . The ship set sail on 16 June for Majuro Atoll , Marshall Islands , and continued on to Guam in mid - July . She then reversed her course and returned to the west coast . " Appling " reached San Francisco on 29 July . After hostilities . After almost a month of repairs - during which hostilities ended - " Appling " got underway on 28 August and headed , via Eniwetok , for the Marianas . Following a stop at Guam , she moved to Saipan where she took on elements of the 2nd Marine Division scheduled for occupation duties in Japan . On 23 September , " Appling " arrived at Nagasaki in company with other units of TransRon 12 . Five days later , the ship sailed to the Philippines and carried troops from Subic Bay and Manila to Sasebo , Japan . " Appling " left Sasebo on 19 October and set a course back to the United States carrying homecoming veterans . The transport arrived at Portland , Oreg . , on 27 November for upkeep . " Appling " sailed back to the Philippines in early January 1946 to carry more troops home to the United States . The ship left Philippine waters on 4 February and transited to Pearl Harbor . Operation Crossroads . " Appling " was next assigned to the target fleet for Operation Crossroads , tests at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands to determine the effects of atomic bomb explosions upon ships . " Appling " arrived at Bikini on 2 June and operated in the area of that atoll through 15 August , but was never utilized as a target . After touching at Pearl Harbor on the 15th , the ship continued on to the west coast for a series of radiological clearance tests held at San Francisco and San Pedro , California . She touched at Port Hueneme , California , on 26 September , to take on cargo for transportation to Pearl Harbor . However , before the ship was loaded , she was ordered to proceed to the east coast for deactivation . Decommission . " Appling " transited the Panama Canal on 22 November and arrived in Norfolk , Virginia , on 30 November . She was decommissioned on 20 December 1946 at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard , Portsmouth , Virginia . Her name was struck from the Navy list on 4 April 1947 , and the ship was transferred to the Maritime Commission on 31 March 1948 . The ship was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet until 9 September 1954 , when she was consigned to the Arrow Steamship Company . She was returned to the National Defense Reserve Fleet on 12 December 1954 and was berthed in the James River . The ship was ultimately sold for scrapping . Decorations . " Appling " earned two battle star s for her World War II service .