USS General H . F . Hodges ( AP - 144 ) USS " General H . F . Hodges " ( AP - 144 ) was a for the U . S . Navy in World War II . The ship was crewed by the U . S . Coast Guard until decommissioning . She was named in honor of U . S . Army general Harry Foote Hodges . She was transferred to the U . S . Army as USAT " General H . F . Hodges in 1946 . On 1 March 1950 she was transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service ( MSTS ) as USNS " General H . F . Hodges " ( T - AP - 144 ) . She was later sold for commercial operation under the name SS " James , before being scrapped in 1979 . Operational history . " General H . F . Hodges " ( AP - 144 ) was launched 3 January 1945 under Maritime Commission contract ( MC # 711 ) by Kaiser Co . , Inc . , Yard 3 , Richmond , California ; sponsored by Mrs . Hodges Dickson ; acquired by the Navy and commissioned 6 April 1945 , Comdr . C . H . Hilton , USCG , in command . After shakedown training , " General H . F . Hodges " sailed from San Francisco 10 May 1945 with over 3 , 000 troops and a contingent of Army nurses . In the ensuing two months , she steamed to Hollandia , Manila , Leyte , and Biak in support of the accelerating push toward Japan before returning to San Francisco on Independence Day 1945 . The transport departed 8 July for New York via the Panama Canal ; and , after stopping there briefly , departed 5 August for Naples on a troop rotation voyage . While at sea she received word of the Japanese capitulation . She returned to Boston 31 August with passengers from Naples . " General H . F . Hodges " then made two long voyages through the Suez Canal to India bringing home American troops , ending the second cruise when she reached New York Christmas Eve . The transport departed New York 31 January 1946 for Ceylon and India , continuing by way of the Pacific Islands to the United States , arriving 28 March 1946 . She remained at Seattle until decommissioned 13 May 1946 and was returned to the Maritime Commission for transfer to the Army Transport Service . Reacquired by the Navy 1 March 1950 , " General H . F . Hodges " was assigned to the MSTS under a civil service crew . In the years that followed , the ship sailed between New York and Latin American and European ports , as a passenger ship and supporting American ground units helping to deter Communist aggression in Europe , and transporting refugees from Bremerhaven to New York . From 22 to 28 March 1950 , the ship left Cristobal , Canal Zone in the Republic of Panama and arrived in New York carrying passengers immigrating to the United States . She carried troops , their dependents , and supplies to most of the ports in northern Europe and the Mediterranean . In 1958 , the versatile ship took time out from her busy schedule of voyages to participate in a giant amphibious exercise on the North Carolina coast , demonstrating the ease with which MSTS ships could be integrated into regular navy combat operations when and where the need arises . After two more passages to Europe , " General H . F . Hodges " was returned to the Maritime Administration 16 June 1958 , and was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet , Hudson River , New York . The transport was sold in 1967 to James River Transport , Inc . of New York who had Todd Shipyard , Brooklyn rebuild her to SS " James " , a 10 , 530 - ton cargo ship . " James " entered commercial service in February 1968 and was scrapped at Taiwan in 1979 .