USS Tom Green County ( LST - 1159 ) USS " Tom Green County " ( LST - 1159 ) was a built for the United States Navy at the tail end of the Korean War . Named for Tom Green County , Texas , she is the only U . S . Naval vessel to have born that name . She was subsequently transferred to Spain , where she served in the Spanish Navy as " Conde de Venadito " ( L - 13 ) . Operational history . Pacific . Originally laid down as LST - 1159 , the ship was launched on 2 July 1953 ; sponsored by Mrs . R . T . Cowdrey ; and commissioned on 12 September 1953 with Lieutenant Commander Stephen J . Nemeth in command . Initially attached to Amphibious Forces , Atlantic Fleet , " LST - 1159 " conducted shakedown in Guantánamo Bay and the Caribbean before commencing local operations out of Norfolk and Little Creek , Virginia . She departed Norfolk on 24 February 1954 for duty with Amphibious Forces , Pacific Fleet , and , after a transit of the Panama Canal , reached the west coast on 20 March . The tank landing ship operated out of her new home port , San Diego , until 20 September , including calls at San Francisco , San Pedro , California , and Esquimalt , British Columbia . " LST - 1159 " stopped briefly at Pearl Harbor before proceeding on toward Japan . While on the voyage across the Pacific , the ship was diverted to join Task Force ( TF ) 98 in Southeast Asian waters and arrived at Henriette Pass , near the port of Haiphong , French Indochina on 29 October . Taking part in " Operation Passage to Freedom , " " LST - 1159 " transported refugees from the northern part of what became a divided Vietnam , to the southern ports of Tourane ( Danang ) and Saigon . On 29 November 1954 , her job in the massive humanitarian effort completed , the tank landing ship proceeded toward her original destination via Subic Bay , Philippine Islands and Hong Kong , British Crown Colony , and arrived at Yokosuka , Japan on 22 December . The tank landing ship paid calls on the Japanese ports of Moji , Sasebo , and Kobe before a deteriorating international situation resulted in the ship ' s call to duty with TF 76 at Buckner Bay , Okinawa on 3 February 1955 . She sortied from Okinawa soon thereafter and took part in the evacuation of the Tachen Islands from 8 to 13 February , moving 2 , 144 civilians , 1 , 100 troops , 600 tons of ammunition , and 37 vehicles to Formosa in two round trips . Soon after completing these operations , " LST - 1159 " was named USS " Tom Green County " ( LST - 1159 ) . Returning via Sasebo and Inchon , Korea to the United States , " Tom Green County " made port at San Diego on 2 April to begin a period of local operations out of that port . On 14 October the tank landing ship entered the Mare Island Naval Shipyard at Vallejo , California for four months . Moving back to San Diego following the overhaul , " Tom Green County " departed the west coast for her second Far East deployment on 24 April and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 4 May . Underway on 7 May , the ship made port at Yokosuka on the 24th and operated in the Far East for the remainder of 1956 , touching at her normal ports of call , such as Sasebo , Iwakuni , Nagasaki , and Yokosuka , Japan ; Buckner Bay and Naha , Okinawa ; as well as Hong Kong and Iwo Jima , before returning to Yokosuka on 22 November . On 23 January 1957 the tank landing ship departed Japanese waters for Hawaii and reached Pearl Harbor on 9 February . " Tom Green County " conducted local operations between the Hawaiian Islands and the west coast for the remainder of the year , with calls at San Diego , Monterey , Oakland , San Francisco , and Camp Pendleton , before she headed for Pearl Harbor . Deployed again to the Far East , " Tom Green County " made port at Yokosuka on 4 July 1958 to commence amphibious support exercises and training cruises to familiar places : Buckner Bay , Naha , Subic Bay , and a new port on the itinerary , the Nationalist Chinese base at Kaohsiung , Taiwan . She remained engaged in these activities through the fall of 1958 , before returning , via Pearl Harbor , to San Diego to round out the year . Local operations between the west coast and Pearl Harbor occupied the ship through 1959 . In July 1960 new orders dictated the tank landing ship ' s change of home port from San Diego to Yokosuka and assigned " Tom Green County " as flagship of Landing Ship Division 92 . She continued her operations much as before , but maintenance work was now conducted in Japanese yards , obviating returns to United States for overhauls . Local operations , interspersed yard periods , and training exercises kept the tank landing ship engaged through 1962 . Cuban missile crisis . Following the ship ' s participation in Operations " Tulungan " ( 9 March to 9 April 1962 ) and " Lone Eagle " ( 14 to 23 October ) , at Subic Bay and Okinawa , respectively , " Tom Green County " went on alert as the presence of Russia n ICBM s in Cuba brought on a confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States . Ready for any eventuality , the Navy prepared itself , world - wide . " Tom Green County " sailed for Naha on 24 October , moored at the LST ramp , and took on board marines and their equipment . After the crisis passed , the ship returned to her normal operating schedule , making for Iwakuni on the 27th to offload , before proceeding to Yokosuka . Upkeep from 2 to 25 November at Yokosuka preceded the ship ' s type - training exercises through 29 November . " Tom Green County " paid a port visit at Beppu , Japan from 1 to 3 December before returning to her home port on the 7th . Underway three days later , the ship made for Numazu , Japan to load marines and material for transport to Okinawa and arrived on the 15th . The tank landing ship off - loaded , headed for Japanese waters , and arrived at Yokosuka on 19 December before getting underway again on Christmas Eve for Tokyo . " Tom Green County " departed the Japanese capital city on the 28th and returned to Yokosuka , where she spent the remainder of the year in upkeep status . The following year saw more of the same activities in store for the tank landing ship . Port visits to Tsoying , Taiwan ( 12 to 14 March 1963 ) ; Hong Kong ( 16 to 22 March ) ; Osaka , Japan ( 8 to 15 April ) ; and Taipei , were interspersed with local operations out of Yokosuka . " Tom Green County " participated in Operations " Flagpole " ( 16 to 28 June ) and " Bayonet Beach " ( 31 August to 9 September ) along the eastern coast of South Korea , transporting embarked marines and vehicles to landing beaches and putting them ashore . Following her return to Japanese home waters with a visit to Kagoshima from 9 to 15 November , the ship proceeded to Sasebo for three weeks of upkeep . Conducting type training in Buckner Bay , she on - loaded marines for transport to Numazu and subsequently arrived home at Yokosuka on 20 December . Vietnam War . As the situation in Southeast Asia worsened , the United States began to take a more active part in the Vietnam War . " Operation Jungle Drum , " towards the end of 1965 , landed marines in southern Thailand . With increasing American commitments in Vietnam , " Tom Green County " participated in Operations " Piranha " and " Double Eagle " in January and February 1966 . The latter was the first large - scale amphibious landing under combat conditions since Inchon . In June 1966 the tank landing ship came under the operational and administrative command of Landing Ship Squadron 9 ; and , in November , the ship commenced support commitments for the Vietnam Coastal Surveillance Force , engaged in monitoring and interdicting offshore small craft traffic , TF 115 . The year 1967 found the ship participating in further combat operations : " Operation Beacon Torch , " " Operation Beaver Track , " " Operation Bear Chain , " and " Operation Kangaroo Kick . " As an element of Amphibious Ready Group Bravo ( TG 76 . 5 ) , Tom Green County received the Meritorious Unit Commendation for these operations conducted between 18 June and 4 August 1967 . During this deployment in Southeast Asia , the ship also underwent a yard overhaul at Yokosuka from 16 August to 17 November before she returned to Vietnamese waters . On 22 March 1968 " Tom Green County " arrived in the Mekong Delta region to commence a deployment as support LST for the Mobile Riverine Assault Force . On 15 April Viet Cong insurgents attacked the ship with recoilless - rifle and automatic - weapons fire , taking nine hits in quick succession . Following repairs , the tank landing ship resumed operations with Amphibious Ready Group Alpha ( TG 76 . 4 ) and participated in " Operation Swift Pursuit , " before returning to the Mekong in December to commence resupply duties for TG 117 . 2 — Mobile Riverine Group Bravo . While en route on 28 December , " Tom Green County " came under rocket fire from Viet Cong gunners and took seven hits on her port side . Repairing the damage and continuing her assigned missions , she conducted her operations in the Bassac River near Can Tho . On 21 January 1969 , while beached at Vung Tau and loading supplies for a routine convoy run , the ship again came under fire as Viet Cong launched a rocket barrage directed at the loading ramp and the adjacent airstrip . One rocket ( 122 millimeter ) impacted on the fantail and exploded in the mess decks of " Tom Green County " , inflicting heavy materiel damage and wounding several men in the after part of the ship . Retracting and anchoring at Vung Tau Bay , " Tom Green County " effected temporary repairs before being relieved by the " Whitfield County " ( LST - 1169 ) to sail for Yokosuka and permanent repairs . En route to Japanese waters , the ship ' s company arrived at a novel method of preparing and consuming their meals , as the regular galley and messing facilities had been rendered useless by the battle damage . Besides subsisting on makeshift rations , the crew " char - broiled " steaks on jury - rigged " grills " fashioned from empty 65 - gallon oil drums . Steak - grilling continued unabated through even inclement weather — in which case the whole " steak - grilling " operation was moved to the tank deck . On 2 February the ship made port at Yokosuka to commence a long repair period , after which she conducted support operations for an assault boat school at Numazu while undertaking independent steaming exercises . Sudden troop deployments in Vietnam resulted in a recall to Southeast Asian waters , and " Tom Green County " accordingly sailed for Vung Tau on 23 June . En route , the ship trained in riverine warfare tactics . " Tom Green County " relieved " Whitfield County " on 4 July 1969 at My Tho , near Dong Tarn , and spent the next six weeks supporting the operations of TF 117 , as it prepared to " wrap up " its operations in the Mekong Delta region . While at My Tho and in the " Delta , " the tank landing ship served as a floating supply base and a transient barracks ship for members of the Army 9th Division who were being processed for stateside duty . " Tom Green County " also gave the Viet Cong a dose of their own medicine , firing over 3 , 000 rounds of 3 - inch / 50 - caliber counter - battery harassment and interdiction fire , while maintaining a vigilant watch for swimmer - sappers who might attempt to mine the ship while she lay at anchor . On 18 August , the day before the disestablishment of the Mobile Riverine Force , " Tom Green County " departed Vietnamese waters and steamed for Subic Bay , arriving in the Philippines on the 23rd of the month . Taking on provisions after arriving , the tank landing ship proceeded for Keelung , Taiwan on the 23rd , making port four days later . Underway for the Marianas on 2 September , the ship stopped briefly at Guam before pressing on with a Micronesian cruise , calling at Koror , Babelthuap , and Yap , before returning to Guam and subsequent operations transporting men and materiel to Yokosuka . On 25 October , with the ship ' s dependents on board , " Tom Green County " cruised from Yokosuka to Tokyo , unloading the dependents upon arrival and on - loading a 5 - ton , 135 - foot totem pole from Alaska , to transport it to Expo ' 70 at Osaka . " Operation Totem Pole " proceeded to completion on 27 October when the ship docked at Kobe and unloaded her unusual cargo . After a one - night liberty , " Tom Green County " joined the USS " Vernon County " ( LST - 1161 ) , " Washoe County " ( LST - 1165 ) , and " Westchester County " ( LST - 1167 ) in support of " Operation Keystone Lift " from Danang , where they made port on 5 November . Four and one - half hours later , the tank landing ship got underway for Kin Red , Okinawa with elements of the 3rd Battalion , 12th Marines , embarked ; and arrived at her destination on the 11th , unloaded and disembarked the troops ; and headed back toward Yokosuka . En route , however , the ship was redirected to Danang for another lift , and she took on board a full cargo of railroad rolling stock . Her ship ' s historian nicknamed " Tom Green County " the " Ghost Ship of Danang " because of her nocturnal loading operation in which she arrived after dark and was gone before the dawn . On the night of the 25th , " Tom Green County " made port at Okinawa ; unloaded in just one and one - half hours ; and steamed for Yokosuka , her job completed . Four days later , on the afternoon of 29 November , the ship arrived at her home port in time to spend Thanksgiving of 1969 at " home . " Returning to the business of transporting marines soon thereafter , " Tom Green County " completed one round - trip haul from Okinawa to Numazu before making port at Yokosuka on 13 December for a year - end leave and upkeep period . For the next two years , " Tom Green County " remained in the Far East serving as she had done since she was first homeported at Yokosuka . Late in 1971 , she was ordered home to the United States and her home port changed to San Diego . The tank landing ship departed Japanese waters on 27 October and made port at Pearl Harbor on 12 November for a seven - day stay before beginning the last leg of her voyage to the west coast . Upon her arrival at San Diego on 28 November , she soon commenced preinactivation preparations ; and , on 23 December , she cruised in San Diego harbor , commencing the training of the new Spanish crew slated to take over the ship . On 5 January 1972 " Tom Green County " was decommissioned and transferred to Spain . Renamed " Conde de Venadito " ( L - 13 ) , she served the Spanish Navy through 1989 . Struck from the Spanish Naval list in 1990 , her final fate is unknown .