USS Lafayette County ( LST - 859 ) USS " Lafayette County " ( LST - 859 ) was an built for the United States Navy during World War II . Named after counties in Arkansas , Florida , Mississippi , Missouri , and Wisconsin , and a parish in Louisiana , she was the only U . S . Naval vessel to bear the name . Originally laid down as " LST - 859 " by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company of Seneca , Illinois on 26 September 1944 ; launched on 15 December 1944 , sponsored by Mrs . Elsie M . Marcum ; and commissioned at Algiers , Louisiana on 6 January 1945 with Lieutenant Daniel D . Kipnis in command . Service history . World War II , 1945 . After shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico , " LST - 859 " departed New Orleans on 17 February for the Pacific . Steaming via San Diego and San Francisco , she reached Pearl Harbor on 31 March and during the next six weeks took part in amphibious training . Between 12 and 24 May she steamed to Seattle , Washington , where she embarked Army troops , thence returned to Pearl Harbor on 20 June . Three days later she sailed in convoy for the western Pacific . " LST - 859 " touched at American bases in the Marshalls and Marianas before arriving Okinawa on 28 July . After discharging troops and cargo , she sailed for Saipan on 5 August and remained in the Marianas during the closing days of the war in the Pacific . 1945 – 1949 . She departed for the Philippines on 3 September and , after embarking Army troops at Batangas Bay , Luzon she sailed on 20 September for Japan . " LST - 859 " arrived at Tokyo Bay on 29 September , and during the next two months she supported occupation operations along the Honshū coast from Yokohama to Shiogama . Between 24 October and 19 November she sailed to Subic Bay and back with additional troops . Departing Tokyo Bay on 29 November , she steamed via the Marianas and Pearl Harbor to Seattle where she arrived on 12 January 1946 . Following an extended overhaul , " LST - 895 " departed on 15 May for training along the California coast . On 31 July she departed San Diego for Pearl Harbor ; and after arriving on 11 August , she sailed the 18th on a cargo run to American bases in the Hawaiian Islands . During the next four years she carried men and supplies to far - flung American bases in the Pacific . Cargo and passenger runs sent her to the Marshalls , the Solomons , American Samoa , the Aleutians , and Midway , as well as to the nearby islands of the Hawaiian chain . Korean War , 1950 – 1954 . After the outbreak of Communist aggression against the Republic of Korea ( South Korea ) in June 1950 , " LST - 859 " departed Pearl Harbor on 18 August for the Far East . She arrived Kobe , Japan on 5 September and there embarked elements of the 1st Marine Division for the scheduled invasion at Inchon , South Korea , which was designed to spearhead the American counteroffensive against Communist troops from North Korea . Assigned to Task Element 90 . 32 , " LST - 859 " sortied in convoy on 10 September and arrived off Inchon on 15 September while a combined air - sea bombardment blasted enemy defenses . Late that afternoon , the LST closed " Red Beach ; " and , as lead ship , she came under heavy mortar and machine gun fire . Despite the concentrated fire , she debarked assault troops and unloaded vital support equipment . In addition her guns wiped out enemy batteries on the right flank of " Red Beach " . She completed unloading and cleared the beach at high tide early on 16 September . For daring bravery and heroic performance of duty on " Red Beach " , the gallant and aggressive landing ship tanks of Task Element 90 . 32 , including " LST - 859 " , received the Navy Unit Commendation . " LST - 859 " departed for Japan the 17th ; and , after reaching Sasebo on 20 September , she sailed six days later for Pearl Harbor , where she arrived on 13 October . After undergoing overhaul , she resumed cargo runs in the Pacific . Between 20 January and 21 June 1951 she shuttled cargo among bases in the Marshalls , the Gilberts , and the Carolines . During December she carried supplies to Guam and Iwo Jima ; thence , she sailed via the Philippines to Sasebo where she arrived on 22 January 1952 . For almost 2½ years " LST - 859 " served in the western Pacific in support of American peacekeeping efforts in the troubled Far East . Operating primarily out of Sasebo , she bolstered the seaborne supply line to U . S . forces in South Korea and carried vital military supplies to ports on both coasts , including Chuminjin , Ulsan Man , and Inchon . In addition , she shuttled cargo along the Japanese coast ; and , following the end of conflict on the Korean peninsula , she continued her important supply runs until departing Yokosuka on 18 May 1954 for Pearl Harbor where she arrived on 3 June . 1954 – 1957 . " LST - 859 " resumed her pattern of cargo runs to Pacific bases on 20 June , and during the remainder of the year steamed primarily between Pearl Harbor and Midway . On 24 March 1955 she again deployed to the Far East , arriving Yokosuka on 11 April . During the next four months supply runs out of Yokosuka and Sasebo sent her to ports in South Korea , Formosa , Hong Kong , and the Philippines . Named USS " Lafayette County " ( LST - 859 ) on 1 July 1955 , she returned to Pearl Harbor on 31 August to resume cargo shuttle runs among the Hawaiian Islands . " Lafayette County " served principally in the Hawaiian chain during the next three years , although from 3 March to 13 April 1957 she carried out cargo runs to bases in the Marshalls . Decommissioning and transfer . She decommissioned on 15 August 1958 at Pearl Harbor and was transferred to the custody of the Republic of China under the Military Assistance Program , where she served the Chinese Nationalist Navy as ROCS " Chung Cheng " ( LST - 224 ) . " Chung Cheng " ( ) is named after the formal name of President Chiang Kai - shek . Her final fate is unknown . Awards . " LST - 859 " received one battle star for World War II service and six battle stars for Korean War service .