USS Luzerne County ( LST - 902 ) USS " Luzerne County " ( LST - 902 ) was an built for the United States Navy during World War II . Named after Luzerne County , Pennsylvania , she was the only U . S . Naval vessel to bear the name . Originally laid down as " LST - 902 " by the Dravo Corporation of Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania on 5 November 1944 ; the ship was launched on 16 December 1944 , sponsored by Mrs . Michael Grom ; and commissioned at Algiers , Louisiana on 15 January 1945 with Lieutenant Everett J . Bondesen in command . World War II . After shakedown off the Florida coast , " LST - 902 " departed New Orleans on 16 February for the Pacific . She reached San Pedro , California , on 13 March ; thence , steaming via San Francisco , she arrived Maui , Hawaiian Islands on 31 March . She participated in amphibious training during the next two months . After embarking troops and loading cargo , she cleared Pearl Harbor on 18 June for the western Pacific . " LST - 902 " touched at Eniwetok and Saipan before arriving Okinawa on 28 July as part of a 70 - ship convoy . She discharged troops and cargo and on 5 August departed for Saipan where she remained until following the Japanese surrender . She sailed to the Philippines early in September and during the rest of the month operated in Leyte Gulf and along the western coast of Luzon . Departing Subic Bay on 4 October , she carried occupation troops to Japan where she arrived at Yokohama on 17 October . Between 28 October and 4 November " LST - 902 " steamed to Guam where she embarked 603 war veterans before sailing for the United States . She touched at Pearl Harbor on 27 November , and arrived San Diego on 14 December . After sailing to San Francisco the 19th , she underwent a three - month overhaul before sailing for the Columbia River on 25 April 1946 . During the next three months she based at Astoria and Portland , Oregon and at Vancouver , Washington . She decommissioned at Portland on 3 August 1946 and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet . Korean War . " LST - 902 " recommissioned at Astoria on 18 January 1952 with Lieutenant William J . Martin in command . After completing shakedown and training operations along the Pacific coast , she departed San Diego for the Far East on 31 July . Steaming via Pearl Harbor and Midway , she reached Yokosuka , Japan , on 15 September and began supply runs in support of American naval and military operations in Korea . She operated along the Japanese coast and between Japanese and South Korean ports to bolster the movement of men and supplies to the war - torn peninsula . Departing Yokosuka on 27 April 1953 , " LST - 902 " steamed via Pearl Harbor to the west coast where she arrived San Diego on 23 May . Between 31 July and 25 August she carried elements of the 3rd Marine Division to Japan ; and , after returning to San Diego on 2 October , underwent overhaul at Alameda the remainder of the year . " LST - 902 " departed San Diego on 27 March 1954 to resume duty in the Far East . She arrived Yokosuka on 26 April and over the next five months operated on supply and training runs out of Yokosuka to Okinawa , South Korea , and Japanese coastal ports . On 8 October she sailed for French Indochina where she arrived Hai Phong on 17 October to support the French withdrawal and " Operation Passage to Freedom " from North Vietnam . Between 21 October and 11 November she completed four runs out of Hai Phong , carrying French troops and equipment to Da Nang and Saigon . After steaming to the Philippines in mid - November , she departed Subic Bay for Japan on 5 December and reached Yokosuka via Hong Kong the 22nd . The veteran LST cleared Tokyo Bay on 17 January 1955 . After arriving San Diego on 13 February , she operated along the Pacific coast during the next four months , and from 24 to 30 June she steamed to Seattle , Washington . Named USS " Luzerne County " ( LST - 902 ) on 1 July , she underwent deactivation overhaul ; and , after sailing to Astoria , Oregon , on 29 August , she decommissioned there on 30 November to rejoin the Pacific Reserve Fleet . Dominican Republic . " Luzerne County " recommissioned in reserve at Stockton , California on 29 March 1963 for activation prior to service with the Atlantic Fleet . She joined the active list on 15 April with Lieutenant D . W . Moore in command ; and , following shakedown and type training out of San Diego , she departed for the east coast on 24 May and reached Little Creek , Virginia on 19 June . Assigned to ResLSTRon 2 , " Luzerne County " trained Naval Reserve units out of Little Creek during the rest of 1963 and throughout 1964 . This important duty sent the LST on training and readiness cruises along the Atlantic coast from Long Island Sound to the Straits of Florida . After completing a run to Florida waters and back early in 1965 , she joined naval forces operating to stabilize a crisis in the Dominican Republic . On 10 May " Luzerne County " steamed to Norfolk where she embarked troops and loaded equipment for shipment to the Dominican Republic . Departing 12 May , she reached Puerto de Andres on 19 May and debarked units of peacekeeping force . She returned to Little Creek , on 26 May . During the remainder of the year she made numerous runs between the United States and the Dominican Republic , shuttling troops , support equipment , and military cargo from Southport , North Carolina , to Santo Domingo and to San Juan , Puerto Rico . She completed her final run from Santo Domingo to Southport on 14 December and reached Little Creek two days later . Vietnam War . Late in December " Luzerne County " was assigned to duty in the Pacific in support of naval operations in Southeast Asia . Departing Norfolk on 19 January 1966 , she loaded an Landing Craft Utility ( LCU ) at Charleston ; transited the Panama Canal on 1 February ; touched at Pearl Harbor and Subic Bay ; and arrived Saigon on 21 April . There she offloaded the LCU before steaming to Da Nang the next day . During the next two weeks she operated in the South China Sea and took part in freeing SS " Excellency " , an American merchant freighter , from a reef on Triton Island in the Paracels . Although damaged during salvage operations , " Luzerne County " carried the merchantman ' s cargo of ammunition to Bangkok , Thailand , where she arrived on 16 May ; thence , she steamed to Sasebo , Japan for repairs and overhaul . Departing Sasebo on 2 July , " Luzerne County " resumed supply runs to South Vietnamese ports in support of the American war effort . During July , August , and September she carried military stores from Okinawa to Nha Be , Yung Tau , and Nha Trang , and during the next two months she hauled cement from Kaohsiung , Taiwan , to Phan Rang . After departing Cam Ranh Bay on 26 November , she returned to Sasebo via Okinawa on 13 December . She returned to South Vietnam early in 1967 , and during February , March , and April she shuttled cargo to South Vietnamese ports . She operated out of Sasebo during much of May , but on 4 June she returned to Da Nang . While at Da Nang , she was ordered to Triton Island to aid an American merchantman that had grounded on the islands surrounding reef . While working alongside , " Luzerne County " was damaged when a sudden swell caused the ships to roll together . As soon as possible , she sailed for Sasebo to undergo repairs . Upon completion of repairs , she spent the remainder of the year hauling supplies to Vietnam from Taiwan and Okinawa . Excluding periods of upkeep and refresher training , " Luzerne County " remained in this capacity until 1969 . During the first part of 1970 , " Luzerne County " was part of Landing Ship Squadron 2 ( LANSHIPRON2 ) which in turn was part of the Mobile Riverine Force . Operating out of Vũng Tàu , Republic of Vietnam , her mission was " Armed Logistic Support " where she was utilized to resupply U . S . Army bases in the Mekong Delta . She had her last combat incident in April 1970 , where she went to general quarters in response to hostile fire in the vicinity of Dong Tam , RVN . This incident resulted in injury to one member of the crew , who was evacuated by medical helicopter . Later she went to Bangkok , Thailand before returning for one last mission in Vietnam . " Luzerne County " departed the Mekong Delta for Đà Nẵng at the end of April 1970 along with the other three ships of LANSHIPRON2 , the Monmouth County , Iredell County and Clarke County . All four ships then began a six - week voyage from Đà Nẵng to Guam , Pearl Harbor , San Diego and finally to the mothball fleet in Vallejo after which they were removed from active service . Decommissioned ( date unknown ) , she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 12 August 1970 . Her final fate is unknown . Awards . " LST - 902 " earned two battle star s for Korean War service and as " Luzerne County " earned ten campaign star s for Vietnam War service .