USS Pecos ( AO - 65 ) USS " Pecos " ( AO – 65 ) was laid down 20 April 1942 by the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co . as a type T3 - SE - A1 tanker , Chester , Penn . , as " Corsicana " ( MC hull 325 ) ; launched 17 August acquired by the Navy 29 August 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs . B . P . M Abrams ; and commissioned 5 October 1942 , Comdr . Palmer M . Gunnell in command . Bora Bora . After operations along the Atlantic coast , the oiler transited the Panama Canal and sailed 18 February 1943 for Fanui Bay , Bora Bora , mothering a brood of 11 subchasers , five yard minesweepers , numerous LCI ( L ) ’ s , and one net tender . Four motor torpedo boats nested in cradles in the forward and after well decks . " Pecos " fueled each small craft every four days . Throughout the voyage , groups of boats came alongside the tanker for fuel ; then , replenished , gave place to others . " Pecos " next supported the landings at Tarawa , Gilbert Islands , refueling the bombardment and transport groups . She returned to the West Coast late in 1943 and departed San Pedro , Calif . , on New Year ’ s Eve after undergoing repairs and loading with oil and supplies . Escort . " Pecos " departed Majuro Atoll 2 February 1944 to escort " Washington " into the anchorage after the latter ’ s bow had been shorn off in collision with " Indiana " . For over three hours the officers and men of " Pecos " worked at the delicate task of getting the huge battleship alongside , then maneuvering her into the atoll . She performed the whole operation in the dark , and acted as anchor for " Washington " overnight . Less than two weeks after Kwajalein Atoll fell to the Americans , the tanker steamed into the lagoon and refueled warships in the Marshall Islands until returning to Pearl Harbor early in March for oil and supplies . She then headed for the southwest Pacific to support strikes against the Palaus in late March and early April . The Pacific . For ten hours on 10 July , shells from marine “ Long - Tom ” cannons flew over " Pecos " as she lay at anchor off Saipan , refueling cruisers , destroyers , and an LST full of high explosives . The oiler next began fueling operations running between Eniwetok in the Marshalls and Manus in the Admiralty Islands . In September , she participated in the Palau invasion , fueling the bombardment and transport groups . On 2 January 1945 , Japanese aircraft attacked the tanker as she steamed from Leyte Gulf toward Mindoro . The following day seven general quarters alarms announced Japanese planes . A bomb exploded so close astern that the oil feed pump fuses blew temporarily stopping the main engine . On the evening of 4 January , three enemy planes attacked the anchorage in Mangarin Bay , Mindoro . One bomb , a dud , skipped from the water and smashed into the after port cargo boom of " Pecos " , bending it almost double . A plane crashed into an ammunition ship lying less than a mile away , causing it to explode in a single , blinding flash . " Pecos " ' guns splashed one attacker . " Pecos " shot down two more Japanese planes during a raid in the Sulu Sea off Negros Island . A single engine Japanese plane dove out of the sun on the ship ’ s starboard quarter 7 January 1945 , releasing a bomb that struck the water 100 feet off her port bow before a tanker ahead of " Pecos " shot this plane down . During the next weeks , " Pecos " fueled the huge task force steaming up the South China Sea for the Lingayen landings . General Quarters became as routine an affair as fueling , as enemy planes continued to operate in the Mindoro area . The veteran oiler next steamed to Mangarin Bay to supply aviation gasoline for an Army Air Force unit based there 18 February . Previously , fuel for the squadron ’ s P – 38 fighters had been flown in by transport aircraft , but the planes now were virtually grounded for lack of gasoline . At the month ’ s end , " Pecos " departed the Philippine area for Ulithi Atoll in the Western Caroline Islands to prepare for the war ’ s final major landing operation at Okinawa , She spent April and May at sea in the fueling area off Okinawa transferring oil and gasoline to 3rd Fleet ships . " Pecos " spent two hectic days outside of Hagushi Anchorage , adjoining the war - torn city of Naha , fueling destroyers on the perilous picket lines . On the evening of 20 May , in a major Japanese air raid , kamikaze pilots hit five of the picket ships . but the tanker was untouched . " Pecos " sailed for the United States on 28 May , after seventeen consecutive months overseas . With overhaul completed , " Pecos " departed San Francisco 14 August 1945 — as word was received of the end of hostilities . By 26 September she was anchored in Sasebo Ko , Kyushu Island , Japan , which had just been occupied by American naval forces , fueling the vessels in the harbor . Decommissioned . " Pecos " decommissioned 14 March 1946 . She was transferred to the Maritime Commission 1 April 1947 and struck from the Navy List 23 April 1947 . By directive dated January 1948 , " Pecos " was reacquired by the Navy . She was reinstated on the Navy List 20 March 1950 . She was then taken over by the Military Sea Transportation Service 18 July 1950 to be operated by a merchant crew . In October 1957 , while on a voyage to the Middle East , she received an SOS from the USS " Merrimack " ( AO - 37 ) after the oiler had lost all propulsion power . The rendered assistance until " Pecos " arrived and towed the stricken ship into Bombay , India . Into 1970 she was still serving MSTS . " Pecos " received seven Battle Star s for World War II service . References .