USS Ozark ( LSV - 2 ) The USS " Ozark " ( LSV – 2 / CM - 7 / AP - 107 / MCS - 2 ) was a " Catskill " - class vehicle landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II . Named for the native American Ozark tribe of the Quapaw confederacy , she was the third U . S . Naval vessel to bear the name . Constructed in Oregon . Originally laid down as " CM – 7 " by the Willamette Iron and Steel Corporation of Portland , Oregon 12 July 1941 ; launched 15 June 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs . A . J . Byrholdt ; redesignated " AP – 107 " on 1 May 1943 ; again redesignated " LSV – 2 " on 21 April 1944 ; and commissioned 23 September 1944 with Captain Frederick P . Williams in command . World War II service . Philippine operations . Following shakedown , " Ozark " sailed for Manus , Admiralty Islands , where she reported 16 November to Commander , U . S . 7th Fleet , for assignment to the 3rd Amphibious Force . After intensive training the new vehicle landing ship departed 31 December for Lingayen Gulf , Luzon , Philippine Islands as a unit of invasion Task Group 79 . 1 . Iwo Jima operations . Subsequent to that successful operation , she steamed for the Marianas where she joined Transport Squadron 15 at Saipan for the invasion of Iwo Jima . She landed three waves of troops there 19 February 1945 and continued logistic support to the beach until 27 February . Supporting Okinawa operations . After transporting wounded marines to Guam for hospital care , " Ozark " reported to Transport Squadron 13 at Leyte rehearsing for the invasion of Okinawa . She landed her troops and equipment on Okinawa 1 April and again remained to lend logistic support to beach operations until departing 10 April for Guam . End - of - war operations . With the end of World War II in the Pacific near , " Ozark " was chosen to transport select occupational units to Japan . In an operation that took two days working around the clock , 911 officers and men were transferred to her at sea by breeches buoy from 9 aircraft carrier s , 3 battleship s , 2 cruiser s , and 6 destroyer s . " Ozark " entered Tokyo Bay 30 August where she debarked her special landing force . After making two complete tours with the " Magic Carpet " Fleet returning overseas troops to the United States after the War , " Ozark " transited the Panama Canal and arrived Barrow , Alaska 31 January 1946 where she was placed in upkeep status . She commenced pre - inactivation overhaul in Orange , Texas 14 March and decommissioned 29 June . Operating as MCS - 2 . " Ozark ’ s " hull classification was changed 7 February 1955 from " LSV – 2 " to " MCS – 2 " . Struck from the Naval Vessel Register 1 September 1961 , she was returned to the Maritime Administration and placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet and berthed at Beaumont , Texas . She was reacquired by the Navy 19 June 1963 for conversion to a mine countermeasures support ship by the Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock Corporation and reinstated on the Naval Register 1 October 1963 . Recommissioned USS " Ozark " ( MCS - 2 ) on 24 June 1966 ( complete with the ship ' s bell from second " Ozark " ) she was assigned to MinRon 8 , homeported in Charleston , South Carolina where she became flagship for Commander , Mine Forces , U . S . Atlantic Fleet . After shakedown and intensive training at Guantanamo Bay , she remained in port for the rest of the year . With the Navy ’ s first minesweeping launches ( MSL , Mark IV ) and helicopter s ( RH3A ) on board , " Ozark " conducted her first mine countermeasures training in the Charleston area early in 1967 . After a cruise to several western European ports in 1967 , she continued to operate in the Charleston , South Carolina , area until deploying to the Mediterranean 18 November . Returning to Charleston 14 February 1969 she began material maintenance and upkeep followed by periodic deployment to the West Indies and the South Atlantic Ocean . Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register , 1 April 1974 , she was towed to Destin , Florida and anchored there while being used as a target by the Air Force from Eglin Air Force Base . Ozark was hit multiple times with large practice ( non - explosive ) bombs but was not sunk . In September 1979 , Ozark was ripped loose from her anchorage by Hurricane Frederic and driven onto the beach near Perdido Key , Florida . Naval units from Norfolk , Pearl Harbor and Hawthorne , Nevada participated in a salvage effort that began in October 1979 . Sinking . After salvage , she was returned to Destin , and unintentionally sunk with a Maverick missile launched from an F - 4 " Phantom " from Eglin AFB in 1981 . The missile ' s warhead entered on her starboard side approximately 13 feet above the waterline , went through 2 decks and exploded above the hull leaving a hole approximately 3 feet in diameter in her hull . The hole in the bottom of the ship wasn ' t noticed until the next day when Air Force personnel and Hughes Missile Systems Co . engineers entered the ship for damage assessment . By this time , she was listing at 16 degrees and all personnel were ordered off the ship . The wreck currently lies upright and intact in approximately 330 feet of water , 28 to 30 miles due south of Destin , Fl . Honors and awards . " Ozark " earned three battle star s for Luzon , Iwo Jima , and Okinawa operations as well as the Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation Badge for service in World War II .