USS Merrick ( AKA - 97 ) USS " Merrick " ( AKA - 97 / LKA - 97 ) was an named after Merrick County , Nebraska . " Merrick " ( AKA – 97 ) was laid down as Maritime Commission hull 219 , on 19 October 1944 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company , Kearny , New Jersey , launched on 28 January 1945 , sponsored by Mrs . Francis N . Van Riper , acquired on 30 March and commissioned on 31 March 1945 , Lt . Comdr . Walter E . Reed , USNR , in command . Service history . 1945 – 1946 . " Merrick " cleared Norfolk on 15 May 1945 for training at Pearl Harbor and duty transporting cargo , landing craft , and troops among the Marshalls and New Hebrides until the close of World War II . She then carried occupation troops from Hawaii and the Philippines to Japan and brought veterans , including Marine war dogs , back to Norfolk , arriving on 3 December . After nine months of east coast operations , " Merrick " sailed in October 1946 with TG 68 . 1 for Port Hueneme , California , to load cargo for " Operation Highjump " , the largest ( to 1968 ) American Antarctic expedition . She set course south on 5 December , and entered the Ross Sea on 31 December . The group reached the Bay of Whales on 15 January 1947 and there established Little America IV , the base for the expedition ' s significant scientific achievements . Threatening ice conditions forced the retirement of the communications and supply ships on 8 February . Three days later " Merrick ' s " rudder was damaged by ice ; , a Coast Guard icebreaker , took her in tow , but before they had cleared the ice , her rudder was completely sheared off . The perilous tow ended at Dunedin , New Zealand , on 22 February . After repairs , " Merrick " departed for California on 22 March , fought boiler failures and fuel shortages during her passage , and reached San Francisco . Here she decommissioned on 25 June 1947 and entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet . 1952 – 1969 . Berthed at Suisun Bay , California , until recommissioning on 19 January 1952 for service in the Korean War , " Merrick " reported at Yokosuka , Japan , on 2 July to carry cargo and men among the Japanese islands until returning California on 7 October for overhaul and training . Her second Far Eastern tour , on 3 July on 1953 to 22 April 1954 , included two months in " Operation Big Switch " , the post - armistice prisoner exchange . She carried more than 6 , 400 prisoners from Koje - do and Cheju - do to Inchon , then trained Army and Marine Corps troops in amphibious exercises in the Philippines and at Iwo Jima . Through 1963 , " Merrick " s annual deployments were with the 7th Fleet in the western Pacific , other than in 1955 and 1957 , when she sailed to supply military and sealing stations in the Arctic . As the Vietnam War intensified , " Merrick " served her first tour in the South China Sea in 1963 , returning annually through 1969 . Support for the forces of South Vietnam included troop lifts from Okinawa and the Philippines to South Vietnam as well as participation in landings at Huế and Chu Lai ( 1965 ) and on the Saigon River Delta ( 1966 ) . The latter marked the Navy ' s first extension of amphibious combat capability on an inland waterway since the Civil War . Between deployments she maintained her readiness through training and necessary overhauls on the west coast . She was reclassified LKA – 97 on 1 January 1969 .