USS Pinkney ( APH - 2 ) USS " Pinkney " ( APH - 2 ) was a " Tryon " - class evacuation transport that was assigned to the U . S . Navy during World War II . " Pinkney " served in the Pacific Ocean theatre of operations and returned home safely post - war with six battle stars but missing 18 crew members who were killed in action . In 1947 she was acquired by the U . S . Army who renamed her USAT " Pvt . Elden H . Johnson and retained her in Army service until 1950 when she was returned to the Navy and assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service ( MSTS ) as USNS " Pvt . Elden H Johnson ( T - AP - 184 ) . Built in Oakland , California . " USS Pinkney " ( APH - 2 ) was laid down as " Alcoa Corsair " ( MC hull 176 ) , 3 June 1941 , by the Moore Dry Dock Co . , Oakland , California ; launched 4 December 1941 ; sponsored by Miss Ruth Grove ; designated for U . S . Navy use and assigned the name " Mercy " . After the bombing of Pearl Harbor , she was renamed " Pinkney " , 13 August 1942 ; acquired , by the U . S . Navy , 27 November 1942 ; and commissioned the same day , Comdr . A . L . Hutson in command . World War II Pacific Theatre Operations . Following extensive fitting out and shakedown , " USS Pinkney " , an Evacuation Transport , departed San Diego , California , for Pearl Harbor and the South Pacific Ocean , 27 January 1943 . In mid - February , she arrived at Espiritu Santo , whence she sailed to Purvis Bay to deliver reinforcements and replacements to the veteran units of the fight for Tulagi and Gavutu . Throughout the remaining battles for the Solomon Islands , among them Munda , Vella Lavella , Shortlands , Bougainville , and the numerous engagements in the " Slot " , she brought men , food and ammunition forward and evacuated casualties from field hospitals to better facilities on New Caledonia and in New Zealand . She also transported American and New Zealand nurses to and between various southwest Pacific Ocean hospitals . By August 1944 , island hopping had carried the Allies to and past the Marshall Islands and Mariana Islands . On 8 September , " USS Pinkney " departed Guadalcanal for the Palaus , the next group en route to the Philippine Islands . On the 15th , she delivered her passengers , men of the 1st Marine Regiment , to LVTs , which took them on to the beaches at Peleliu . She then took up position 6 , 000 yards off the assault area to expedite offloading of equipment and embarkation of casualties . On the 20th she sailed for Manus Island , whence she returned to the Palaus , again and again , to evacuate the wounded . Invasion of the Philippines . In early October , she returned briefly to the Solomon Islands , then sailed for Hollandia , then the Philippines . Into November , she evacuated Leyte casualties to Hollandia , Mantis , and New Caledonia . In December , she prepared for the Luzon invasion . On 9 January 1945 , she landed Army troops on the Lingayen beaches , and , once again , assumed responsibilities for the care and evacuation of casualties , this time to Leyte . In late February , while en route to the Solomons , she was diverted to Guam , thence to Iwo Jima . On the 28th , she returned to Guam , disembarked her patients and began preparations for her last campaign , Okinawa . Okinawa operations . On 1 – 2 April , " USS Pinkney " participated in the feints against southern Okinawa , then shifted to the Hagushi assault area where she landed U . S . Marine combatant and hospital units on the 10th . Casualties , from ships and from ashore , were soon filling her hospital wards . Caring for patients and expediting transferral of others to the hospital ship USS " Samaritan " , she dodged enemy shells and kamikazes until the 28th . Struck by a kamikaze . On that day , at 1730 , a low - flying kamikaze was spotted closing the ship . Seconds later USS " Pinkney " was rocked by an explosion and the after - end of the superstructure was walled by a sheet of flame . Ammunition began to explode . Water lines , electrical conduits , and steam pipes ruptured . The crew immediately formed rescue and damage control parties . Live ammunition was thrown overboard . All but 16 patients , killed in the initial explosion , were transferred to safety . Rescue tugs and landing craft moved in to assist in fire fighting , but the flames continued for another three hours , by which time USS " Pinkney " had lost 18 of her crew and had taken on a heavy list to port . A jagged hole , 30 feet in diameter , extended from the bridge deck to the bulkhead deck . All wards in the amidships hospital area were burned out . Return to Stateside for repairs . Temporary repairs took 8 days . On 9 May , USS " Pinkney " got underway for Saipan en route to the United States . She arrived at San Francisco , California , 8 June , and underwent repairs . Post - War operations . On 21 October , sailed for the Far East again , this time to carry replacements and occupation troops to Tokyo and Sasebo and return with veterans . By February 1946 , she had completed another U . S . West Coast — Far East run . Inactivation followed and on 9 September she was returned to the U . S . Maritime Commission and simultaneously transferred to the Army Transportation Service . Conversion to U . S . Army use . Converted to an AP by the Puget Sound Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co . , and renamed " USAT Pvt . Elden H . Johnson " , 31 October 1947 , she remained with the Army Transportation Service ( ATS ) until returned to the U . S . Maritime Commission , thence to the U . S . Navy , 1 March 1950 . Conversion to MSTS use . Designated AP – 184 , she joined the newly formed Military Sea Transportation Service ( MSTS ) and was assigned a civil service crew . As an MSTS vessel , she plied the same waters , Atlantic Ocean – Mediterranean – Adriatic Sea , as she had under ATS until mid - 1951 , when runs to Caribbean ports were added to her schedule . Final decommissioning . As USNS " Pvt . Elden H . Johnson " ( T - AP - 184 ) she continued to serve the U . S . Navy until 1957 . On 27 December , she was transferred to the Maritime Administration ' s National Defense Reserve Fleet and her name was struck from the Navy List . Into 1970 , she remained with the NDRF , berthed with the Hudson River group . Final Disposition : scrapped in 1971 Honors and awards . USS " Pinkney " ( APH – 2 ) earned six battle stars during World War II : Qualified on - board personnel were authorized the following : Also awarded :