USS Iron County ( LST - 840 ) USS " Iron County " ( LST - 840 ) was an built for the United States Navy during World War II . Named after counties in Michigan , Missouri , Utah , and Wisconsin , she was the only U . S . Naval vessel to bear the name . Originally laid down as " LST - 840 " by the American Bridge Company of Ambridge , Pennsylvania on 28 September 1944 ; launched on 15 November , sponsored by Mrs . C . W . Doerr ; and commissioned on 11 December with Lieutenant David McC . Bon in command . Service history . World War II , 1944 – 1946 . Following shakedown off Florida , " LST - 840 " loaded cargo at Gulfport , Mississippi , then sailed on 14 January 1945 for the Pacific . Additional cargo stops were made at San Francisco and Seattle before departing for the Marshall Islands ; she arrived at Eniwetok on 24 March . After preparations in the Marshall and Caroline Islands , the landing ship departed Ulithi on 12 April for Okinawa . The battle for this strategic island , which lay at the gateway to the Japanese homeland , was well underway when " LST - 840 " arrived on the 18th . She unloaded combat engineers and equipment , then returned Ulithi on 5 May . 5 August the ship dropped off 500 tons of bombs at Iwo Jima and secured 25 Japanese pow ' s from the U . S . Marines and delivered them to Guam . For the remainder of World War II , she shuttled troops and cargo throughout the American staging areas in the Pacific . After V - J Day , " LST - 840 " operated with U . S . occupation forces in Japan and Okinawa for the next three months . Embarking 500 marines at Guam , she departed on 11 November en route to Pearl Harbor and the United States . Arriving at San Diego on 15 December , she remained on the West Coast until she decommissioned at Vancouver , Washington on 1 June 1946 , joining the Columbia River Group , Pacific Reserve Fleet . Korean War , 1950 – 1953 . In the effort to stop Communist aggression in South Korea , veteran ships were called out of reserve to provide support for the U . N . forces in Asia . " LST - 840 " recommissioned on 3 November 1950 with Lieutenant Merle A . Coe in command . Following training off the West Coast and Hawaii , she loaded trucks and equipment , then departed Honolulu on 1 May 1951 for the Pacific staging areas . From June to November , the loading ship operated between Korea and Japan , shuttling cargo and prisoners of war along the war - torn peninsula . She returned to the United States on 27 November and , following overhaul , she departed Oakland , California on 16 May 1952 for duty in Alaska . " LST - 840 " performed cargo operations there for six months before returning to San Diego . On 13 March 1953 she sailed on her second Korean tour , arriving at Yokosuka on 1 May . For the duration of the conflict , she remained in the Inchon vicinity and after the July truce continued peacekeeping operations in the Far East until late November . Post - war activities , 1954 – 1958 . After a stay in the United States , " LST - 840 " was back in the Far East , arriving at Henrietta Pass , French Indochina on 28 October 1954 . In the aftermath of the Indochina War , she loaded French troops and equipment and shuttled them along the coast of southeast Asia . Arriving Subic Bay on 22 November , she operated in the Far East until April , 1955 then steamed for San Diego . " LST - 840 " was named USS " Iron County " ( LST - 840 ) on 1 July 1955 , and on 10 January 1956 she was en route to Pearl Harbor , her new home port . From January 1956 to November 1957 she performed amphibious exercises out of Hawaii , returning to the West Coast on 23 November . Decommissioning and transfer . " Iron County " remained at San Francisco until 1 July 1958 , when she decommissioned , struck from the Naval Vessel Register , and transferred to the Republic of China under the Military Assistance Program , where she served the Chinese Nationalist Navy as ROCS " Chung Fu " ( LST - 223 ) . Struck from the Republic of China Navy on 8 November 1997 , her final fate is unknown . Awards . " LST - 840 " earned three battle star s for Korean War service .