USS Rockingham ( APA - 229 ) USS " Rockingham " ( APA - 229 / LPA - 229 ) was a " Haskell " - class attack transport acquired by the U . S . Navy for the task of transporting troops to and from combat areas . " Rockingham " ( " APA - 229 " ) was laid down 11 September 1944 by Kaiser Shipbuilding Corp . , Vancouver , Washington ; launched 1 November 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . Lynn Norman Carlson ; acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission on a loan - charter basis and commissioned at Astoria , Oregon , 22 November 1944 , Comdr . Hans Hanley , USNR , in command . World War II service . Following trials at Seattle , Washington , and shakedown off San Pedro , California , " Rockingham " reported to the U . S . Pacific Fleet 30 December 1944 . After amphibious training off the southern California coast , she was underway on 16 February 1945 from San Diego , California , with cargo for Pearl Harbor . Following further training exercises in the Hawaiian Islands , she steamed 10 March for Eniwetok and Saipan with over a thousand U . S . Army men . Operating in the Marianas until 15 April , she departed Saipan with over 1 , 200 troops and officers for Ulithi and Okinawa . Landing troops on Okinawa under dangerous conditions . On 26 April she debarked her troops at Okinawa . On 27 April , " Rockingham " experienced the first of many enemy air attacks , witnessing the sinking by a suicide plane of nearby SS Canada Victory . The next morning , " Rockingham " joined in splashing a kamikaze . On 1 May " Rockingham " sent boats to assist , hit and badly damaged by a suicide plane , taking on board 55 casualties . On 4 May she got underway in convoy for Ulithi , Pearl Harbor , and San Francisco . There she loaded over 1 , 300 troops and got underway 6 June for Eniwetok , Ulithi , and Manila where she debarked her passengers . End - of - war activity . Returning to San Francisco , California , 28 July she loaded some 1 , 600 Army troops and got underway on 14 August , the first U . S . naval vessel to leave San Francisco Bay following the announcement of peace . She proceeded to Eniwetok , Ulithi and Manila where she debarked her troops . Embarking 1 , 500 new Army troops there , she got underway 17 September for Japan . After unloading troops on the Tokyo Plain , she proceeded to Leyte and Samar to pick up veterans and returned to San Francisco , 5 November . She then made another " Operation Magic Carpet " run to the Philippines reaching Los Angeles , California , 23 December . Supporting nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll . Remaining on the U . S . West Coast until 11 March , she steamed for Eniwetok and Kwajalein to participate in the Joint Task Force 1 atomic bomb tests . Returning to San Francisco by way of Pearl Harbor 29 April , she was back at Pearl on 14 May . Proceeding on to Kwajalein and Bikini Atoll where she arrived 1 June , she returned to Pearl Harbor briefly 11 June , then steamed back to Bikini and Kwajalein before finally steaming for Pearl Harbor and San Francisco , where she arrived 12 September 1946 . Post - war decommissioning . She was detached from Operation Crossroads , 14 September 1946 ; and , following radiological clearance , reported to the U . S . 19th Fleet 5 December 1946 . She was placed out of commission in the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Francisco 17 March 1947 . The Commander , Columbia River Group , accepted custody of " Rockingham " from the Commander , San Francisco Group , 18 June 1953 . She was transferred to the Maritime Administration at Astoria , Oregon , 26 September 1958 and struck from the Navy list 1 October 1958 . Military honors and awards . " Rockingham " earned one battle star for World War II service .