USS Serpens ( AK - 97 ) USS " Serpens " ( AK - 97 ) was a United States Coast Guard - manned in the service of the United States Navy in World War II . It was the first ship of the Navy to have this name . It is named after Serpens , a constellation in the northern hemisphere . " Serpens " was laid down on 10 March 1943 as the liberty ship SS " Benjamin N . Cardozo " ( MCE hull 739 ) by California Shipbuilding Corporation , Wilmington , California , under a Maritime Commission contract ; launched on 5 April 1943 , sponsored by Mrs . H . P . Needham ; transferred to the Navy on 19 April 1943 , renamed " Serpens " and designated AK - 97 ; and commissioned at San Diego on 28 May 1943 , Lt . Comdr . M . J . Johnson , USCGR , in command . Service history . World War II , 1943 – 1944 . Following shakedown off Florida , " Serpens " loaded general cargo at Alameda and , on 24 June , sailed west to assume provision ship duties in support of operations in the Solomons . By mid - July , she was in the Tonga Islands . At the end of the month , she was en route from New Caledonia to New Zealand ; and , by mid - August , she had emptied her holds at Wellington . She then took on more cargo ; returned to New Caledonia ; and commenced a series of short hauls to Vitu Levu , Tutuila , Penrhyn , Bora Bora , Aitutaki , and Tongatapu . On 9 November , " Serpens " returned to New Caledonia . In early December , she moved into the southern Solomons ; and , after completing a Florida Island - Banika Island run , she stood off Lunga Point , Guadalcanal , to load cargo for Bougainville . During January 1944 , she completed two runs into Empress Augusta Bay . In February , she was ordered back to New Zealand for dry - docking before loading dry provisions . For the next four months , " Serpens " delivered consignments to bases in the New Hebrides and the Solomons , returning to New Zealand to reload only once . In July , she was at Purvis Bay for the installation of SF - 1 radar . She then resumed operations and , through October , carried general cargo and rolling stock between ports and anchorages in the Solomons . In mid - November , she loaded repairable vehicles from the Russells and from Guadalcanal and sailed for New Zealand where , after offloading , three of her holds were converted for ammunition stowage . Destruction , 29 January 1945 . Late in December 1944 , the Liberty ship commenced loading at Wellington , finished it at Auckland , and returned to the Solomons in mid - January 1945 . Late in the evening on 29 January 1945 , " Serpens " was anchored off Lunga Beach . The commanding officer and seven others , one officer and six enlisted men , were ashore . The remaining 198 members of " Serpens " crew and 57 members of an Army stevedore unit were on board the ship , loading depth charge s into her holds . During the loading , " Serpens " exploded . The force of the explosion was so great that it killed an Army soldier who was ashore . After the explosion , only the bow of the ship was visible . The rest had disintegrated , and the bow sank soon afterward . Only two sailors aboard survived the incident . The cause of the explosion was never completely determined . The loss of the " Serpens " remains the largest single disaster ever suffered by the U . S . Coast Guard . Awards . " Serpens " earned one battle star for her World War II service . A mass grave for 250 of her dead was dedicated at Arlington National Cemetery in 1950 .