USS Meeker County ( LST - 980 ) USS " Meeker County " ( LST - 980 ) was an built for the United States Navy during World War II . Named after Meeker County , Minnesota , she was the only U . S . Naval vessel to bear the name . Originally laid down as " LST - 980 " on 22 December 1943 at the Boston Navy Yard ; the ship was launched on 10 February 1944 , sponsored by Mrs . Orrion R . Hewitt ; and commissioned on 19 March 1944 with Lieutenant W . F . Westfall in command . Service history . World War II , 1944 – 1945 . In April 1944 , after completing shakedown exercises in Chesapeake Bay , " LST - 980 " loaded equipment and got underway for England , where plans for the invasion of France had been stalled in debate over the need for shipping , a need and resultant disagreement so acute that Prime Minister Winston Churchill had quipped , " " The destinies of two great empires . . . seem to be tied up in some God - damned things called LSTs " . " Upon arriving in England , " LST - 980 " underwent further amphibious training and by early June stood ready for " D - Day . " On 5 June the ships of " Operation Overlord " sortied from the English coast and on 6 June the Allies landed on the Normandy beaches . Participating in the invasion , " LST - 980 " was bracketed by bombs , one of which , a 125 pound dud , penetrated the hull and two bulkheads , killing one man and causing minor damage . After the establishment of the beachhead , the landing ship remained in the area providing shuttle service between the United Kingdom and France . Carrying men and equipment to France , she returned to England with prisoners of war , transporting upwards of 900 at one time . " LST - 980 " returned to the United States in February 1945 and was assigned to training activities along the east coast for the remainder of the war . Post - war activities , 1945 – 1955 . Following the war she remained at Little Creek , Virginia and continued her training operations , extending them to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico . Those included participation in CAMID I , II , and III , joint Army - Navy operations to acquaint U . S . Naval Academy cadets and midshipmen with amphibious warfare . On 30 April 1949 " LST - 980 " departed Little Creek for the Mediterranean and five months ' duty with the 6th Fleet . Returning to her base on 4 October , she resumed east coast operations . With only three interruptions , two resupply missions to the Baffin Bay area in the summers of 1951 and 1952 , and a two - month tour as support LST for marines on Vieques Island in 1954 , she continued to provide amphibious training to Naval and Marine Corps personnel until July 1955 . Renamed USS " Meeker County " ( LST - 980 ) on 1 July 1955 , she steamed to New York in mid - July to begin inactivation . On 23 September she arrived at Green Cove Springs to complete the process . Decommissioning on 16 December 1955 she remained in the Florida Group , Atlantic Reserve Fleet , until transferred to Philadelphia in October 1961 . Vietnam War , 1966 – 1970 . In 1965 , an urgent need for amphibious types caused " Meeker County " to be reactivated . Modernized at Baltimore , she recommissioned on 23 September 1966 , underwent intensive training at Little Creek , and on 20 January 1967 departed for her new home port , Guam . She arrived at Apra Harbor , Guam , on 7 April and then sailed for Vietnam for a tour of duty as a unit of Landing Ship Squadron 3 . Operating from Da Nang , she provided almost continuous support to combat operations in Vietnam into 1969 . Decommissioning and sale . Decommissioned in December 1970 at Bremerton , Washington , " Meeker County " was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 April 1975 . Sold for scrapping by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service ( DRMS ) , on 1 December 1975 , she was in turn sold to Max Rouse & Sons of Beverly Hills , California and taken in hand by Marine Industries of Tacoma , Washington for conversion to commercial use . Sold in 1976 to Landing System Technology Pte . Ltd . of Singapore ( Lauritz Kloster , Norway ) and renamed LST - 3 , the ship arrived at Piraeus , Greece having been acquired by Maritime & Commercial Co . Argonaftis S . A . of Panama ( Greek flag ) on 30 June 1978 and renamed " Petrola " 143 . After nearly two decades she arrived in tow at Aliağa , Turkey for demolition by Seltas A . S . on 7 August 1996 . Awards . " LST - 980 " received one battle star for World War II service , as " Meeker County " ten campaign star s for service during the Vietnam War .