USS Starr ( AKA - 67 ) USS " Starr " ( AKA - 67 ) , the only ship of the United States Navy named for Starr County , Texas , was a . She served as a commissioned ship for 20 months . Her keel was laid down as a Type C2 - S - AJ3 ship on 13 June 1944 ( as MC hull 1392 ) , under Maritime Commission contract , by North Carolina Shipbuilding Company of Wilmington , North Carolina . She was launched on 18 August 1944 , sponsored by Mrs . C . L . Griffin and acquired by the Navy from the War Shipping Administration on a bareboat charter ; and was commissioned on 29 September 1944 with Commander Frederick O . Goldsmith in command . Service history . World War II , 1944 – 1945 . " Starr " completed fitting out at Charleston , South Carolina , and sailed on 31 October for the Chesapeake Bay on her shakedown cruise . After loading cargo , she stood out of Norfolk , Virginia , on 27 November and proceeded , via the Panama Canal , to the Pacific . She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 18 December 1944 and remained there until after Christmas . " Starr " participated in amphibious landing exercises during the first week of January and then entered Kahului Harbor , Maui , for combat loading . " Starr " joined a large convoy and sailed west on 27 January , stopping at Eniwetok for two days , before proceeding to Saipan , where the Iwo Jima assault force was staging . The force cleared Tanapag Harbor on 16 February . At 0640 three days later , " Starr " launched her boats against the Iwo Jima beaches . The attack cargo ship had multiple duties : she was a receiving ship for wounded ; an ammunition ship for ; and she had a priority cargo of vehicles which were to be delivered only when requested and then , as quickly as possible . She waited until 25 February to begin discharging her cargo and finished on 5 March . She then got underway for Leyte . " Starr " loaded combat cargo from 9 to 27 March and joined a convoy for the Ryukyu Islands . On 1 April , her first boats hit the water at 0615 ; and they soon joined their prearranged waves for hitting the Okinawa beaches . At 0420 on 9 April the ship was raked from stem to stern by an explosion . At first , it was thought that she had been torpedo ed ; but it was soon learned that she had been attacked by a Japanese suicide boat . The suicide boat had exploded as it contacted one of a cluster of " Starr " s landing craft that were moored alongside . The explosion was sufficiently removed from the side of the ship , and the water absorbed the shock so " Starr " suffered little damage . " Starr " sailed for Guam on 10 April with a convoy and was routed onward to Pearl Harbor . She arrived there on 26 April and was notified that she was to return to the West Coast for overhaul . She arrived at San Pedro , California , on 5 May ; and repairs were begun immediately . When they were completed , the ship participated in an amphibious exercise and then loaded cargo at San Francisco , California , to be delivered to Guam . She sailed on 24 June and arrived at Guam on 11 July . On 20 July , she steamed to Pearl Harbor for another load of cargo for Guam . " Starr " was several days out of Guam when word was received that hostilities with Japan had ended . Post - war activities , 1945 – 1946 . After discharging her cargo at Guam , the ship was routed to the Philippines on 2 September ; she arrived at Leyte on 5 September . " Starr " operated in the Philippines until 29 November when she got underway for China and arrived at Tsingtao on 4 December 1945 . " Starr " sailed from China to Sasebo , Japan , and thence to Vladivostok . She arrived there on 2 January 1946 , unloaded her cargo , and returned to Sasebo where she received orders to proceed , via San Diego , to San Francisco . She remained at San Francisco from 9 to 18 March and then got underway for Hampton Roads . " Starr " arrived at Norfolk , Virginia , on 4 April 1946 ; was decommissioned on 31 May 1946 , and was returned to the War Shipping Administration on 1 June 1946 . She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 19 June 1946 . In commercial service , 1947 – 1970 . As a civilian vessel , " Starr " was sold on 3 December 1947 to Pacific Far East Lines , which changed her name to " India Bear " . In April 1957 she was sold to Trans - Pacific Company , who sold her in turn on 11 November 1959 to Dorama , Incorporated . On 10 July 1959 she was named " Lanakila " , and on 27 May 1960 she was sold to Long Island Tankers Corporation which renamed her " India Bear " . On 7 February 1961 she was again sold to Pacific Far East Line . Finally , on 9 September 1970 she was sold to Sing Cheng Yung Iron & Steel Company for scrapping in Taiwan . Awards . " Starr " received two battle star s for World War II service .