USS Grafton ( APA - 109 ) USS " Grafton " ( APA - 109 ) was a which served with the United States Navy during World War II . Originally laid down in San Francisco by Western Pipe & Steel as a Type C3 - S - A2 cargo ship named " Sea Sparrow " , the ship was renamed USS " Grafton " during construction and completed as an attack transport designation APA - 109 . " Grafton " was commissioned on 5 January 1945 with Captain C . D . Emory in command . Operational history . After a 10 - day period loading supplies and landing craft at Oakland , California , " Grafton " conducted her shakedown training off San Pedro before undergoing amphibious training between 3 and 19 February . Subsequently , " Grafton " departed on 10 April for Pearl Harbor with 1000 Seabees on board , arriving on the 16th . At Pearl Harbor the vessel took on more Seabees , and departed on 27 April for Samar in the Philippine Islands via Eniwetok and Kossel Roads , disembarking her passengers at the destination on 17 May 1945 . Okinawa . By this time the Battle of Okinawa was drawing to a close , so " Grafton " departed Samar on 24 May to pick up a B - 24 bomber service group in the Palaus and transport them to the newly conquerend Japanese island . On 24 June " Grafton " arrived at Okinawa and disembarked her passengers before anchoring off the Hagushi beaches . Over the next four nights , the US Naval assault fleet was subjected to heavy air attacks , which " Grafton " helped beat off with her antiaircraft gun s . This was destined to be " Grafton " ' s one and only combat mission . On 28 June " Grafton " took on board 1000 Japanese prisoners of war , and then sailed via Saipan to Pearl Harbor , where she offloaded them on 13 July . On 16 July , " Grafton " sailed for San Francisco with a cargo of wounded , arriving on 22 July . After hostilities . On 7 August " Grafton " sailed again for Pearl Harbor with a cargo of fresh troops , but with the surrender of Japan , the ship embarked elements of the 5th Marine Division at Pearl Harbor , and set out on 1 September for the Japanese homeland where the Division was now headed for occupation duties . Sailing via Saipan , " Grafton " arrived at Sasebo on 22 September , where the Marines were disembarked with their equipment . The ship then set out for Lingayen Gulf via Manila to pick up more occupation troops headed for Japan . On 3 October the vessel set out once more for Sassebo with her new passengers , passing Okinawa only two days after the great typhoon which devastated the island , and arriving at her destination on 15 October where the troops were disembarked . Operation Magic Carpet . On 22 October " Grafton " was reassigned for Operation Magic Carpet , the major transport operation undertaken for the purpose of returning millions of US servicemen to the United States . " Grafton " arrived at Saipan on 27 October , where she embarked 1 , 700 servicemen for passage to San Francisco . Arriving there on 11 November , she disembarked her passengers and then began the first of two passages to Guam to pick up more returning veterans . On 11 February 1946 , " Grafton " arrived at Seattle with her final transport of returning servicemen . Decommission . Following the end of " Magic Carpet " , Grafton sailed for Norfolk , Virginia via the Panama Canal and San Francisco , arriving in Hampton Roads on 21 March 1946 . On 16 May she was decommissioned , and the next day returned for disposal to the US Maritime Commission . Commercial career . In 1947 , the Maritime Commission sold " Grafton " to American Mail Lines , who registered her at Portland , Oregon and dubbed her " Java Mail " . She continued with that company until 1969 , when she was sold on to Waterman Steamship Corporation who named her " Carrier Dove " . The vessel remained in service with Waterman Steamship until 1974 , when she was sold to Taiwanese interests and scrapped at Kaohsiung on 28 May of the same year .