USNS Harris County ( T - LST - 822 ) USNS " Harris County " ( T - LST - 822 ) was an built for the United States Navy during World War II . Named for counties in Georgia and Texas , she was the only U . S . Naval vessel to bear the name . USS " LST - 822 " was laid down by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Company of Evansville , Indiana on 20 September 1944 ; launched on 1 November 1944 ; and commissioned at New Orleans , Louisiana on 23 November 1944 with Lieutenant R . N . Mclntyre in command . Service history . World War II , 1944 – 1946 . After shakedown off the Florida coast , " LST - 822 " departed New Orleans for the Pacific on 27 December . Steaming via San Diego and San Francisco , she reached Pearl Harbor on 6 February 1945 . After a month of training in Hawaiian waters , she sailed on 15 March with Army troops and equipment embarked . She touched Eniwetok on 27 March , then arrived Ulithi on 7 April to prepare for participation in the battle of Okinawa , begun a week earlier . Departing 12 April , she approached the shore of Okinawa on 18 April ; and , during bitter fighting ashore and frequent Japanese air attacks , she operated between Okinawa and islands to the west . On 22 April she discharged men and equipment at Ie Shima while protected by smoke cover . During her three weeks at Okinawa she survived 18 enemy air raids and carried vitally needed supplies for ground forces . " LST - 822 " departed Okinawa on 11 May , reached Saipan the 18th , and sailed for the Philippines on 6 June . Arriving Leyte on 11 June , she proceeded to Biak where she arrived the 18th and embarked troops for transfer to Okinawa . Steaming via Leyte , she reached Naha , Okinawa , on 4 July . There she embarked troops of the 108th Armored Tank Battalion and sailed on 6 July for Cebu , Philippines . She arrived on 17 July , embarked troop replacements at Subic Bay , then returned to the Ryukyu s , arriving Ie Shima on 7 August . Following the surrender of Japan , she returned to the Philippines to transport occupation troops and equipment to Japan . As part of a 120 - ship convoy , she departed Lingayen Gulf on 17 September and arrived off Wakayama , Japan , on the 25th . After unloading equipment and debarking Army engineers , she sailed on 1 October for Manila . Between 19 and 27 October , she carried additional occupation troops from Lingayen Gulf to Wakayama ; and during the next four months , she supported occupation landings and Allied operations along the coast of Japan . Departing Sasebo on 3 March 1946 , " LST - 822 " sailed for the United States where she arrived San Diego on 30 March . After operating along the West Coast from Southern California to Washington , she entered drydock at Portland , Oregon on 28 May . She decommissioned on 27 July and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet on 10 August . Korean War , 1950 – 1953 . " LST - 822 " recommissioned at Bremerton , Washington on 23 November 1950 with Lieutenant Kent D . Myers in command . In response to the invasion of South Korea , she departed Long Beach , California on 10 February 1951 for the Far East . Steaming via Pearl Harbor , she arrived Yokosuka , Japan on 23 March . During the next four months she operated between Japan and the western coast of Korea , supporting amphibious operations and bolstering American military operations . She departed Yokosuka on 20 July , arrived San Diego on 9 August , and spent the next nine months participating in amphibious training along the West Coast . " LST - 822 " departed San Diego on 9 April 1952 and again deployed to the Far East , arriving Yokosuka via Pearl Harbor on 18 May . Operating out of Yokosuka and Sasebo , she steamed to ports along the coast of Korea from Inchon and Koje Do to Pusan and Pohang . She transferred men and supplies between Japan and South Korea and later in the year and into 1953 shuttled North Korean prisoners of war during prisoner exchanges . Departing Inchon on 22 January 1953 , she sailed via Sasebo to Yokosuka , then departed for the West Coast on 5 February . She arrived San Diego on 5 March and resumed amphibious training , which continued during the remainder of the year . Vietnam , 1954 . " LST - 822 " departed San Diego on 25 January 1954 for the Western Pacific . Arriving Yokosuka on 25 February , she resumed supply duty in support of US forces in the Far East , and during the next five months steamed to Korea , Okinawa , and along the coast of Japan . On 11 August she departed Yokosuka for Haiphong , North Vietnam where she arrived on 26 August . There she joined " Operation Passage to Freedom " , which provided citizens of North Vietnam an opportunity to escape the Communist takeover and to emigrate to South Vietnam . She took part in the evacuation of almost 300 , 000 Vietnamese from North to South . Between 29 August and 2 October she carried refugees , cargo , and military equipment from Haiphong to Nha Trang , South Vietnam . After returning to Japan on 28 October , " LST - 822 " departed Yokosuka on 17 November , touched Pearl Harbor on 5 December , and reached San Diego on 20 December . Arctic operations , 1955 – 1956 . " LST - 822 " operated along the West Coast until 27 June 1955 when she sailed for operations in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska . Renamed USNS " Harris County " ( T - LST - 822 ) on 1 July , she steamed via Seattle , Washington and reached Point Hope , Alaska on 27 July . For almost two months she conducted supply and survey operations in the ice - filled Arctic Ocean north of Alaska . Departing Point Hope on 19 September , she sailed to San Diego and arrived on 8 October . She returned to Seattle late in October and from 1 December to 20 January 1956 underwent extensive overhaul . Departing Seattle on 27 January , she carried cargo to San Francisco on 31 January . " Harris County " was placed in service in reserve on 21 February at Mare Island , California and she entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet . In March she transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service ( MSTS ) . Pacific Ocean operations , 1955 – 1976 . Manned by a civilian crew , " Harris County " continued operating along the coast of Alaska and into the southern reaches of the Arctic Ocean . She operated out of ports in California and Washington as a supply and replenishment ship between 1956 and 1962 . On 14 January 1962 she departed Seattle for the mid - Pacific . Steaming via Seward , Alaska she arrived Pearl Harbor on 12 February to begin duty as a survey support ship . Thereafter " Harris County " operated throughout the Pacific from Hawaii to New Guinea while carrying supplies and supporting ocean survey projects . Her duties carried her to eastern New Guinea , the Marshalls , the Marianas , and the Line Islands of Polynesia . Subsequently placed out of service and struck from the Naval Vessel Register , the ship was sold to the Philippines on 13 September 1976 . As Philippine Navy ship " Aurora " . The ship was sold to the Philippines on 13 September 1976 , and was renamed RPS " Aurora " ( LT - 508 ) , and on July 1980 as BRP " Aurora " ( LT - 508 ) . She served the Philippine Navy until she was decommissioned and stricken by the end of the 1980s . Her final fate is unknown , although probably she was sold for scrap . Awards . " Harris County " received one battle star for World War II and four battle stars for Korean War service .