USS Suamico ( AO - 49 ) USS " Suamico " ( AO - 49 ) was the lead ship of her class of Type T2 - SE - A1 fleet oiler s of the United States Navy . The ship was laid down as the SS " Harlem Heights " under Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 319 ) on 27 September 1941 by the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co . of Chester , Pennsylvania . Launched on 30 May 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs . W . Potter ; she was delivered to the Navy on 27 June 1942 ; converted to a fleet oiler at Brooklyn , New York , by the Bethlehem Steel Co . ; and commissioned as USS " Suamico " ( AO - 49 ) , on 10 August 1942 , Comdr . R . E . Butterfield in command . Service history . 1942 . " Suamico " completed her fitting - out at Norfolk . She departed Hampton Roads on 28 September and , after sailing via Aruba off Venezuela , she transited the Panama Canal . After liberty in Panama City , the oiler continued her voyage . She arrived in Nouméa , New Caledonia , late in November and then shifted to Suva Harbor , Fiji , in early December to unload her liquid cargo . She departed Suva on the 7th and , later that month , arrived in San Pedro , California . 1943 . " Suamico " made another round - trip voyage from San Pedro to the South Pacific in January 1943 ; then returned to New Caledonia in mid - February . In mid - March , she sailed for the Solomon Islands to deliver aviation gasoline to Henderson Field on Guadalcanal . On the 17th , she moved to the anchorage at Tulagi , where she off - loaded PT boat s . On 19 March , while steaming in company with the destroyer , the oiler received her baptism of fire . At 1130 , a Japanese medium bomber came in high out of the sun and dropped three bombs . " Suamico " sustained some shrapnel damage , but the bombs — all three near misses — did no serious damage . She opened fire on the enemy aircraft , but altitude protected him . The bomber returned , dropped two more near misses ; then turned and ran . An hour and one - half later , " Balch " picked up a sonar contact ; but , after a six - depth charge barrage , the contact disappeared from the screen . In March , " Suamico " made a round - trip voyage from Espiritu Santo to New Caledonia and back ; then , in late April , she got underway for San Francisco where she underwent repairs until mid - May . Between 19 May and 22 July , the oiler made two voyages between the west coast and Hawaii . At the end of July , she shifted from San Francisco to Los Angeles , loaded aircraft , and sailed for New Zealand . She arrived at Auckland on 22 August ; then moved on to Wilmington Harbor , New Zealand , where she unloaded some of her cargo on the 27th . On 3 September , she off - loaded the aircraft at New Caledonia . " Suamico " returned to San Pedro , California , on 21 September . On 5 October , she departed the west coast and , seven days later , entered Pearl Harbor , where she refueled the carrier . She set sail again on 10 November and joined Task Force 52 for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands . On 16 November , she fueled ships at sea . The next day , she was en route to the Fiji Islands where she arrived on the 21st . Fueling at sea followed in the vicinity of the Gilbert Islands ; and , on 9 December , she returned to Funafuti and cast off for Pearl Harbor where she arrived on the 20th . By the end of the year , she was in San Diego for repairs and overhaul at the Destroyer Base . 1944 . On 18 January 1944 , the oiler sailed for Pearl Harbor where she arrived on the 21st . Leaving the next day , she joined Task Force 52 for the invasion of the Marshall Islands . She fueled the ships in this task force on the 26th ; and , on 1 February , was en route to Majuro in the Marshalls . On the first day of the occupation of Majuro , " Suamico " entered the harbor in the heart of the Marshall Islands . She got underway on the 5th for Roi Island , where she anchored on the following day . On 10 February , she steamed to Kwajalein Island where she arrived on the 11th , but was detained several hours before entering the harbor by a submarine contact . On 12 February , all hands went to general quarters as condition red prevailed during enemy air attacks on Roi , located at the northern tip of the lagoon . She remained at Kwajalein for four days , joined Task Group 51 . 5 , and entered Majuro anchorage once more on the 17th . On 25 February , all her cargo and stores were discharged for the voyage to Pearl Harbor ; but the Pearl Harbor orders were cancelled ; and " Suamico " departed on 2 March for the New Hebrides . " Suamico " entered Segond Channel at Espiritu Santo on 7 March and remained there until shifting to Pallikula Bay on the 21st to be topped off . By 22 March she was underway to a fueling area in the vicinity of New Ireland . On 26 March , she fueled warships to the east of New Ireland . On 30 March , she returned to Pallikula Bay and remained there through the end of April . On 3 May , " Suamico " got underway for the Marshalls . She anchored at Majuro on the 7th . She operated in the Marshalls until getting underway on 19 June for fueling at sea operations . The 23rd of June found her within sight of Saipan , where the landings were proceeding . At noon , while she was fueling the battleship , two Japanese suicide dive bomber s attacked the escort carrier about 2 , 000 yards off the oiler ' s stern . The enemy peppered the carrier with bombs and water shot skyward . The steady fire from the American ships , however , forced the Japanese to retire . On 29 June , she anchored in Garapan Anchorage , Saipan , and fueled ships in the harbor . Later that day , " Suamico " put to sea to avoid night kamikaze attacks and returned to the anchorage the following morning . On 30 June , she was at sea again , circling Tinian and Saipan ; then returned to Garapan Anchorage the following day . At midnight on 2 July , general quarters brought all hands to battle stations , but the enemy aircraft bypassed the darkened ships and concentrated on the troops ashore . Heavy fighting and many fires were visible ashore as brilliant flashes of red and white lit up the midnight blackness . Leaving Saipan on 2 July , she steamed towards Eniwetok and arrived there on 5 July . On the 22nd , she got underway for the California coast , visited Pearl Harbor on 29 and 30 July , and arrived at San Pedro on 5 August . On 20 September , following repairs in drydock , she headed toward Pearl Harbor , where she moored alongside the oil pier seven days later . On 2 October , she got underway and , the following day , searched for an aircraft believed to be lost in the vicinity . Ten days later , she passed Massen Island and , on 14 October , she anchored in Seeadler Harbor at Manus . The following day , she headed for New Guinea and arrived at Hollandia on the 16th . After two days at anchor , she put to sea for fueling operations and thence proceeded to the Philippines . On the 24th , " Suamico " entered Leyte Gulf where she fueled ships of the fleet . The oiler remained in the gulf for four days . During that time , she went through frequent air raids , but suffered no battle damage . Her closest scrape came on 26 October , when a Japanese torpedo bomber swept in low over the water and barely cleared " Suamico ' s " stack . On 28 October , she sought refuge at Kossol Passage in the Palau Islands , but put to sea again that evening when a supposed enemy task force did not materialize . On 7 November , she anchored in San Pedro Bay for three days before heading back to Hollandia . She arrived there on the 14th , fueled the ships in the harbor , and made short shuttles to Tanahmerah Bay and out to sea for gunnery practice until late December . On the 28th , she got underway to return to San Pedro Bay , Leyte , where she arrived on New Year ' s Day , 1945 . 1945 . Two days later , she negotiated the Surigao Strait , crossed the Mindanao Sea , rounded the southern end of Negros , and headed north to support the Lingayen invasion . There were many tense moments because the Japanese were expected to launch land - based torpedo bombers across the narrow straits , but this fear proved groundless . On the afternoon of the 4th , however , was struck by a Japanese suicide aircraft . The escort aircraft carrier burst into flames about 2 , 000 yards from " Suamico " and was later abandoned and sunk by American destroyers . The following day , she left Task Unit 77 . 10 . 3 off Mindoro Island and headed into Mangarin Bay . Her entry into the harbor was delayed while the shore installations at Mindoro fought off an enemy air attack . However , " Suamico " was not to be left out of the encounter , for she fired on an enemy aircraft directly overhead and frightened him away . He dropped a mine directly in front of the oiler just before fleeing , but it drifted by harmlessly . She was at sea again on 6 January , off the coast of Mindoro . On the 7th , while fueling ships at sea , " Suamico " and her sister ship were attacked by a Japanese A6M Zero . The aircraft came in directly out of the sun , swooped low over " Pecos " , and dropped a bomb astern of that oiler as he started his run on " Suamico " . All her guns opened up simultaneously . The " Zeke " came in at masthead height , slightly to starboard astern , and then , curving to port , ran smack into " Suamico ' s " curtain of anti - aircraft fire . The aircraft surged upward and then plunged toward the sea . It rolled twice and crashed into the water about a hundred yards from the oiler . On 8 January , she anchored during the day in Mangarin Bay , put to sea again that night for evasive action , and returned to the anchorage again the next morning . On 30 January , " Suamico " returned to Leyte Gulf . The first day of February found her underway for the Carolines , and she anchored at Ulithi on the 5th . After remaining there for eleven days , she got underway for the Volcano Islands . On the day the American flag was raised on Iwo Jima , the officers and crew of " Suamico " viewed the historic scene from just off shore . On 21 February , the ship went to general quarters twice to beat off an air attack . The next day , the " Suamico " fueled ships off Iwo Jima . On the 23rd and 24th , she got underway for Ulithi and anchored in the lagoon on 28 February . On 4 March , she headed back toward the Philippines and she reached San Pedro Bay two days later . She remained there until the 23rd ; then got underway for Ulithi . On 1 April , she cleared Ulithi for the invasion of the Ryukyus . By 23 April , she was anchored at Kerama Retto , near Okinawa . On 2 May , she headed for Ulithi Atoll and arrived on the 7th . She took on stores and operated at sea with the replenishment group until 18 May , when she sailed back to Okinawa . On the 24th , she shifted to the anchorage at Kerama Retto ; then rejoined the replenishment group on 27 May . On 1 June , she returned to the lagoon at Ulithi and , on the 9th , set sail for San Pedro Bay in the Philippines , arriving on 12 June . On 13 June , while steaming toward the battleship , she ran into a reef . With the aid of several tugs , she finally cleared the shoal and pulled alongside " Missouri " the next day . On 14 June she anchored in Leyte and spent the next fortnight fueling various warships . On the 29th , she departed Leyte and entered Ulithi three days later , departing again on the 10th . She reached Buckner Bay , Okinawa , on 14 July , but got underway the same day for fueling operations . Returning on the 16th , she stood out to sea again on the 19th to evade a typhoon , returned on the 21st , and began fueling ships in port . On the 23rd , she got underway , joined convoy OKU 15 , stopped at Ulithi on the 27th , and returned to Buckner Bay on 5 August . On the 11th , she got underway from Buckner Bay with a convoy . She arrived at Ulithi on 15 August , the day hostilities with Japan ended . The oiler fueled and departed in company with convoy OKU 49 on 18 August . She returned to Buckner Bay on 22 August and remained there until 13 September when she sailed for Kōchi , Shikoku Island , Japan , to fuel a group of minesweepers . On the 16th , she entered Wakanoura Wan , Honshū , Japan . The next day , a typhoon boasting a wind of swept through the anchorage and caused her to drag anchor . She was forced to get underway to regain her anchorage . On the 26th of September , " Suamico " departed from Japan but was ordered to return to Wakayama two days later to avoid another typhoon . On the 30th , she reentered Wakayama , Japan . On 1 October , " Suamico " departed Wakanoura Wan , Japan . She arrived in Buckner Bay on the 4th , anchored , and remained there until the 7th when she put to sea to avoid still another typhoon . She returned on the 11th , but got underway on the 13th to fuel the escort carrier and the destroyer escort at sea . She returned to Buckner Bay on the evening of the 14th , received another load of oil , and then steamed towards Wakanoura Wan , where she anchored on the 17th . She fueled various ships in the harbor until the 31st . Sailing via Tokyo , " Suamico " headed back to the United States and arrived in San Francisco on 13 December . 1946 – 1974 . The oiler was decommissioned on 20 January 1946 and turned over to the Maritime Commission on 4 October 1946 . On 24 January 1948 , " Suamico " was reacquired by the Navy and simultaneously turned over to the American Pacific Steamship Co . to be operated under contract with the United States Naval Transport Service as USNS " Suamico " ( T - AO - 49 ) . Her operations carried her around the world , and she frequented ports in the Middle East and in the Far East . During the latter phases of the Korean War , she visited the coast of Korea , stopping twice at Pusan and once at Inchon . In the late 1950s , she operated frequently in the Caribbean Sea , while the intensification of the Vietnam War brought her back to the western Pacific in the mid - 60s . " Suamico " was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 15 November 1974 . The ship was returned to the Maritime Administration ( MARAD ) on 22 January 1975 , and sold the same day to Fuji Marden & Co . , Hong Kong , for scrapping . On 13 February 1975 , the ship was delivered to a breakers yard at Yokohama , Japan . Awards . USS " Suamico " earned eight battle star s for World War II service .