USS St . Clair County ( LST - 1096 ) USS " St . Clair County " ( LST - 1096 ) was a built for the United States Navy in World War II . Like most of the ships of her class she was originally known only by her designation , USS " LST - 1069 " , and , like all remaining LSTs , was renamed on 1 July 1955 . She was named for counties in Alabama , Illinois , Michigan , and Missouri . Operational history . World War II . " LST - 1096 " was laid down on 27 November 1944 by the Jeffersonville Boat and Machinery Co . , Jeffersonville , Indiana ; launched on 10 January 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs . Elizabeth L . Middleton ; and commissioned on 2 February 1945 , Lt . Lester W . Sperberg in command . Following shakedown off Florida , " LST - 1096 " prepared for duty in the Pacific . In early March , she took on pontoons and ammunition as cargo ; and , on 11 March , sailed for the Panama Canal . From there , she continued on to the Marshalls , the Marianas , and the Western Carolines , arriving at Ulithi in early May . For the next two months , she supported operations in the Ryukyus ; then , on 1 July , headed south to the Philippines . Most of July was spent in the Leyte area . At the end of the month , she moved up to Luzon to prepare for further amphibious operations ; but , with the Japanese surrender , she returned to Okinawa with occupation troops . Further occupation duties followed ; and , into November , she carried troops and supplies from the Philippines and Okinawa to Japan . In December , carrying returning veterans as passengers and heavy equipment including one LCT as cargo , she headed east and arrived at San Francisco in mid - January 1946 . Ordered deactivated , she moved to Astoria , Oregon , in May for " mothballing . " The ship was decommissioned on 24 August and berthed with the Reserve Fleet , where she remained through the end of the decade . Korean War . In June 1950 , the North Korean People ' s Army crossed the 38th parallel into the Republic of Korea in an attempt to unify the divided country by force . As a part of the American build - up of military and naval forces , " LST - 1096 " was ordered activated in August . She was recommissioned on 3 October ; and , after a month at Bremerton , she moved down the coast to her home port , San Diego . For the next two months , the LST trained out of San Diego ; and , in mid - February 1951 , she headed for Hawaii , Japan , and Korea . March was spent in exercising in Hawaiian waters ; and , at the end of April , she arrived in Yokosuka to take up duties supporting United Nations operations in Korea . She conducted amphibious training exercises in Japanese waters ; shuttled cargo and personnel between Japan and Korea ; and transported prisoners of war ( POWs ) from the South Korean mainland to the camps on the offshore islands . In November , she completed her last run and headed home . In mid - December , " LST - 1096 " arrived at San Diego . Overhaul , type exercises , and coastal cargo runs occupied the next eight months ; and , in September 1952 , the ship got underway for the Far East . By mid - October , she had arrived at Yokosuka and , a fortnight later , was conducting amphibious training exercises on the Honshū coast . She then returned to carrying cargo and personnel to Korea . She also was busy returning prisoners of war , scheduled to be exchanged , to the Korean peninsula . After the truce agreement was reached in July 1953 , " LST - 1096 " continued her POW shuttle runs , from the camps to the mainland , and completed her last run , from Koje Do to Pusan , on 10 August . Three days later , she returned to Japan , then continued east , arriving at San Diego at the end of September . Mid - 1950s to mid - 1960s . In October , the LST shifted to Long Beach , where she remained for repairs and overhaul into 1954 . In January , she returned to San Diego ; put back to Long Beach for further work in early February ; then commenced refresher training . In April , she began moving west again ; and , on 25 April , arrived in Yokosuka to begin her first peacetime Western Pacific ( WestPac ) deployment . Through most of the summer , she conducted exercises in Japanese , Korean , and Okinawan waters . In mid - August , she was ordered south ; and , for three months , participated in Operation Passage to Freedom , the transportation of people from the newly created Democratic Republic of Vietnam , north of the 17th parallel , to the National State of Vietnam , south of that line . Operating between Haiphong and Tourane , she completed her last run from north to south in mid - November ; visited Hong Kong ; then returned to Japan . In February 1955 , she returned to San Diego ; and , for the next eleven months , remained on the west coast . Named " St . Clair County " ( LST - 1096 ) in July 1955 , she sailed west again in February 1956 . Training operations in Japanese , Korean , and Okinawan waters were interrupted only once , by a cruise to the Philippines in July , during her WestPac stay . In September , she moved east ; and , in October , reached California . Through the end of the 1950s and into 1960 , " St . Clair County " rotated regularly between training exercises , cargo runs , and overhauls on the west coast and similar exercises and cargo operations with the 7th Fleet in the western Pacific . During 1960 , she also participated in the making of two motion pictures : one in May while deployed to WestPac ; the other — the Pat Boone vehicle " All Hands on Deck " , — in December in California coastal waters . From 1961 to 1963 , " St . Clair County " ' s schedule was altered , and her annual deployments took her only to the mid - Pacific , where she participated in amphibious exercises and conducted cargo operations for Service Force , Pacific . A overhaul and refresher training occupied most of 1964 . In January 1965 , the LST resumed WestPac operations . Only briefly deployed , she departed her home port to participate in a west coast operation and ended by carrying marines and their equipment via Hawaii to Okinawa . In May , after a visit to Japan , she returned to San Diego . From mid - August to November , she retraced the itinerary she had followed from January to May . Then , through the end of the year , she remained on the west coast . Vietnam War . The LST sailed west again on 14 January 1966 ; and , late in February , commenced logistic support duty for combat operations in her third war . On 25 February , after a stop at Okinawa , she offloaded miscellaneous cargo , vehicles , and personnel at Chu Lai , RVN ; then proceeded to Subic Bay . She briefly remained there for upkeep and loading before returning to Vietnam to operate as a unit of TF 76 in that embattled country ' s coastal waters . In March , she offloaded ammunition cargo at Danang ; took on vehicles at Qui Nhon ; and transported them to Vung Tau . On 30 March , she moved up to Saigon ; and , on 4 April , returned to Vung Tau , whence she transited the Mekong and Bassac Rivers to call at Can Tho . There , she discharged cargo and loaded damaged vehicles which she carried to Saigon . After another run to Can Tho , she returned to the Philippines for availability ; and , in June , resumed operations in Vietnam . Through that month , she shuttled cargo between Chu Lai and Danang . In July , she underwent repairs in the Philippines ; and , in August , she got underway to return to San Diego via Hong Kong , Sasebo , Yokosuka , and Pearl Harbor . Arriving back at her home port on 23 September , " St . Clair County " underwent voyage repairs , then resumed exercises off the southern California coast . In the spring of 1967 , she participated in exercises in Hawaiian waters , then returned to the west coast for a three - month overhaul . In November , she resumed local exercises ; and , early in 1968 , completed her first " over - the - beach - hi - line " evolution . In June , she headed west . The LST remained in WestPac through the remainder of the year , ferrying troops and cargo between Cua Viet and Danang and providing logistic support to riverine forces in the Mekong Delta . On 26 January , she completed the cruise . Repairs and local operations followed her return to San Diego . During the summer , she conducted amphibious exercises at San Clemente and Oceanside ; visited British Columbia ; then returned to San Diego to prepare for inactivation . Ordered to Bremerton , she moved north and was decommissioned there on 26 September 1969 . She remained at Bremerton as a unit of the Pacific Reserve Fleet . Decommissioning and post - Navy career . Struck from the Navy List on 1 April 1975 , she was sold for scrapping 1 December 1975 . Ultimately saved , she operated under the name " LST 5 " for a Singapore - based concern , and as the Greek - flagged " Petrola 145 " for a Panamanian organization . She was sold for scrapping in 1988 . " LST - 1096 " earned one battle star for her World War II service ; three during the Korean War ; and two for service off Vietnam .