USS Kleinsmith ( APD - 134 ) USS " Kleinsmith " ( APD - 134 ) , ex - DE - 718 , was a for the United States Navy . She was named for Chief Watertender Charles Kleinsmith ( 1904 – 1942 ) , who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism during the Battle of Midway . Originally a designated DE - 718 , " Kleinsmith " was re - designated as APD - 134 on 17 July 1944 , even before being laid down on 30 August 1944 at the Defoe Shipbuilding Company , Bay City , Michigan . She was launched on 27 January 1945 , sponsored by Mrs . Mary Agnes Kleinsmith . Builders trials before her pre - commissioning cruise were done in Lake Huron . After completion , " Kleinsmith " sailed from the builder ' s yard at Bay City to Chicago , Illinois . From there , they went through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and down the Chicago River to Joliet , Illinois , where pontoons were attached to the ship so it could be pushed down the Des Plaines River , Illinois River , and Mississippi River as part of a barge train . After arriving at the Todd Johnson Shipyard in Algiers , Louisiana , on the west bank of the Mississippi at New Orleans , the rest of the crew reported aboard , and " Kleinsmith " was commissioned at New Orleans on 12 June 1945 , with Lieutenant Commander Alden J . Laborde in command . Service history . 1945 – 1951 . As an APD , her primary role was to land raiding parties on enemy beaches and Underwater Demolition Team s ( UDT ) personnel on beach obstacle clearance operations . APDs also retained the sound gear and some anti - submarine weapons of destroyer escorts , and served as escorts to amphibious groups . Because they could take on extra personnel , they were often designated as rescue ships if a transport went down . After shakedown out of Guantanamo Bay , " Kleinsmith " arrived at Norfolk , Virginia , on 21 July . Departing on 4 August for the Pacific , the high - speed transport steamed via the Panama Canal , San Diego , and Pearl Harbor , and reached Buckner Bay , Okinawa , on 1 October . She operated between Okinawa and the Japanese home islands until 21 February 1946 . She then sailed from Sasebo via the Marshall Islands and Pearl Harbor , arriving at San Francisco on 24 March with 118 returning veterans embarked . Departing on 10 April , she proceeded via the Panama Canal to the East Coast , arriving at Norfolk on 1 May 1946 . Based at Norfolk and NAB Little Creek , during the next six years , " Kleinsmith " operated along the Atlantic coast from Labrador to Venezuela while conducting amphibious and anti - submarine operations . She served primarily as an amphibious command ship ; many of her cruises carried her into the Caribbean , where she operated out of Puerto Rico , the Virgin Islands , and Guantanamo Bay . 1951 – 1960 . During January 1951 , the " Kleinsmith " embarked an Underwater Demolition Team ( UDT ) at Little Creek to participate in the filming of " The Frogmen " , a Hollywood film chronicling the adventures of the Navy ' s UDT divers in the Pacific during World War II . Departing Norfolk on 3 January 1951 , the warship stopped at Key West , Florida , and Charlotte Amalie , St . Thomas , United States Virgin Islands , before commencing ten days of filming between 15 January and 6 February . According to the command historian , " Dana Andrews and Richard Widmark helped make the old ' klinker - dinker ' a movie star . " Returning from the Caribbean on 13 February 1951 , " Kleinsmith " departed Little Creek on 5 March on the first of four deployments to the Mediterranean Sea . Arriving at Gibraltar on 15 March with UDT personnel embarked , she deployed with the 6th Fleet and participated in amphibious operations that ranged from Oran , Algeria , to Phaleron Bay , Greece . After serving as an amphibious control ship , she departed Gibraltar on 26 June for the United States , arriving at Little Creek on 6 July . On 19 July 1952 , she departed for another four - month deployment with the 6th Fleet , and supported its important peace - keeping activities off the troubled lands of the Mediterranean . Returning to Little Creek on 29 January 1955 , " Kleinsmith " resumed operations along the eastern seaboard to the Caribbean . On 9 January 1957 , she again departed for duty with the 6th Fleet , and for almost three months operated in the Eastern Mediterranean . In response to an urgent request from King Hussein of Jordan , whose government was threatened with leftist - oriented , Egypt ian - supported subversion , " Kleinsmith " departed La Spezia , Italy , on 25 April for the Levantine Coast . Arriving off Beirut , Lebanon , on 30 April , she joined ships of the 6th Fleet in a formidable display of seapower , designed to show U . S . determination that the integrity and independence of nations in the Middle East would be guaranteed against Communist subversion or aggression . Remaining on station until 3 May , she then departed Rhodes , Greece , on 18 May , and returned to Little Creek on 1 June . Less than three months later , " Kleinsmith " sailed once again for the Mediterranean , arriving at Palermo , Sicily , on 15 September . During the previous August , a pro - Soviet takeover of the Syrian Army had threatened the stability of the Middle East . The high - speed transport proceeded to the Eastern Mediterranean on 19 September , and operated there to prevent aggression and to preserve peace . She departed Barcelona , Spain , on 4 November , and arrived back at Little Creek on 17 November . In 1958 , " Kleinsmith " continued her activities along the Atlantic coast . While operating out of Guantanamo Bay on 24 October , she rescued 56 U . S . citizens and 3 foreign nationals at Nicaro , Cuba , where they were endangered by military operations between the Cuban Army and the Fidel Castro ' s rebels . From 27 May to 3 August 1959 , she cruised to the Great Lakes via the newly opened St . Lawrence Seaway . On 1 April 1960 , " Kleinsmith " departed Little Creek for the Pacific . Steaming via the Panama Canal , San Diego , Pearl Harbor , and Guam , she arrived Tsoying , Taiwan , on 15 May . " Kleinsmith " was decommissioned on 16 May 1960 , and was transferred the same day to the Nationalist Government of the Republic of China . ROCS " Tien Shan " . The ship served in the Republic of China Navy as ROCS " Tien Shan " ( APD - 315 ) , ( later renumbered 215 , 615 , and 815 ) . In the early 1970s , " Tien Shan " was fitted with a second 5 - inch / 38 mount aft , a Sea Chapparal surface - to - air missile launcher , and ASW torpedo tube s . At this time , she was re - rated as a patrol frigate . In the 1980s , " Tien Shan " , and other surviving ships of her class which were also transferred to Taiwan , were assigned to the Customs Service Coastal Patrol command , where they patrolled the economic exclusion zone . In this role , their armament was reduced to just one twin 40 mm mount in front of the bridge . She was still active in this role in 1995 . Her decommissioning year is variously reported as 1997 or 1998 .