USS Ascella ( AK - 137 ) USS Ascella ( AK - 137 ) was an " Crater " - class cargo ship commissioned by the U . S . Navy for service in World War II , named after Ascella , a star in the constellation Sagittarius . She was responsible for delivering troops , goods and equipment to locations in the war zone . " SS George C . Yount " was laid down on 7 January 1943 at Wilmington , California , by the California Shipbuilding Corp . under a Maritime Commission contract ( MCE hull 708 ) ; launched on 4 February 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . E . Rickenbacker ; delivered to the American President Lines , for operation by a civilian crew under a War Shipping Administration contract ; acquired by the Navy on a bare - boat basis on 30 November 1943 ; modified by the Matson Navigation Co . , at San Francisco , California , to prepare her for naval service ; renamed " Ascella " and designated AK - 137 on 14 December 1943 ; and commissioned at Hunters Point , California , on 7 January 1944 , Lt . Comdr . Alexander Kusebach , USNR , in command . World War II Pacific Theatre operations . Two days after commissioning , the cargo ship arrived at the Naval Supply Depot , Oakland , California , to load stores , provisions , and ammunition . Following brief shakedown training , she departed San Francisco , California , on 21 January . Nine days later , " Ascella " entered port at Pearl Harbor and began discharging her cargo . Delivering supplies to troops in the South Pacific . On 3 February , she shifted berths and began loading supplies bound for the U . S . Army occupation garrison on newly won Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands . A week later , the vessel put to sea and , after a nine - day voyage , entered the lagoon at Kwajalein . She spent the remainder of February unloading her cargo before departing Kwajalein on 3 March . After interrupting her voyage at Pearl Harbor to drop off three landing craft for repairs , the ship returned to the Naval Supply Depot , Oakland , on the 23d . There she took on another load of supplies , embarked 83 Navy men for passage to Hawaii , and stood out of San Francisco Bay . She entered Pearl Harbor on 10 April and began a four - day visit during which her passengers disembarked and she loaded ammunition and armory equipment . On 14 April , " Ascella " set sail for the Marshall Islands with another 44 passengers embarked . Replenishing Fifth Fleet ships . Upon her arrival in Majuro lagoon , the cargo ship began replenishing the warships of Task Force ( TF ) 58 . During her sojourn there , she also provided berthing spaces for her officer passengers until the middle of the first week in May . On 6 June , she took on board 47 U . S . Marines for passage to Roi Island at Kwajalein , where the ship remained and loaded defective ammunition and empty shell cases until 21 June . On that day , " Ascella " embarked 51 Navy passengers and weighed anchor for Hawaii . She stopped at Oahu from 30 June to 3 July to debark 24 of her passengers and unload her cargo . Another eight days at sea preceded her 11 July arrival back at San Francisco . Supporting Central Pacific bases . After disembarking the remaining 27 passengers , the ship started loading dry stores and provisions bound for the fleet in the Central Pacific . She got underway on 24 July and reached Pearl Harbor on 1 August . During the next two days , the cargo ship debarked passengers and took on mail bound for the Central Pacific . Returning to sea on the 3d , " Ascella " resumed the voyage west and stood into the lagoon at Eniwetok Atoll on 15 August for a month ' s visit . In addition to serving as station stores ship issuing supplies to various units of the fleet , she also provided berthing spaces for transient sailors . After transferring what remained of her cargo to " Silica " ( IX - 151 ) on 11 September , " Ascella " embarked 53 hospital patients for transportation to Hawaii on 16 September and began the voyage that same day . She reached Pearl Harbor on the 25th , exchanged her patient - passengers for 56 California - bound sailors , and continued on her way on the 27th . On 6 October , the ship pulled into San Pedro , California , and disembarked her passengers . New Guinea operations . Three weeks of voyage repairs and cargo loading operations followed her return to the California coast . She got underway again on the 27th to carry supplies , this time to the fleet in the southwestern Pacific . " Ascella " made a stop at Pearl Harbor to take on fuel and water before continuing on to her first destination , Finschhafen , New Guinea . She arrived at that port on 23 November but remained only a few hours . Two days later , the cargoman hauled into Seeadler Harbor at the island of Manus in the Admiralties . Her stay there brought more provisioning duty and lasted until 15 December . On that day , the ship cleared Manus for a run to the Palaus and the Carolines . New Zealand operations . Following stops at Kossol Passage and at Ulithi , she departed the latter port on 10 January 1945 and shaped a course for New Zealand . " Ascella " moored at Princess Dock , Auckland , on 24 January . Another consignment of general stores and provisions hoisted on board , she steamed out of Auckland on 1 February . The cargo ship delivered supplies to Noumea , New Caledonia , between 5 and 9 February and , with another group of passengers embarked , resumed her voyage . " Ascella " entered Seeadler Harbor once more on 16 February and discharged supplies and passengers . Having exchanged one group of passengers for another , the ship returned to sea on the 24th . Her last assignment of the war . " Ascella " and her passengers were bound for the same duty station , Ulithi Atoll in the Carolines . They arrived there on 28 February , and the cargo ship began her last assignment of World War II . Throughout the final campaigns — Okinawa and the U . S . 3rd Fleet – U . S . 5th Fleet air assault on the Japanese home islands — the cargo ship remained at Ulithi issuing stores and provisions to the warships prosecuting those actions . One mission — a round - trip voyage from Ulithi to Pearl Harbor and back in late July and early August — interrupted her service in the lagoon . Her assignment as station stores ship at Ulithi ended nine days after the formal surrender of Japan . End - of - war operations . On that day — 11 September 1945 — she weighed anchor for similar duty at Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands . After duty at Okinawa from 16 September to 23 October , " Ascella " moved on to Samar in the central Philippines where she issued stores and provisions from 5 November to 24 December . Forced to get underway on Christmas Eve Day , she celebrated the holiday at sea before entering Shanghai , China , on the 30th . The cargo ship served as an accommodation ship at Shanghai through the first week of April 1946 . On 10 April , she departed Shanghai and headed for the Marianas . " Ascella " performed some unspecified duty at Guam for about three weeks between 16 April and 5 May . Post - war assignments . On the latter day , the ship weighed anchor and set sail for the United States . Following 18 days at sea , she arrived back in San Francisco on 22 May . Later , she moved to Stockton , California , where she loaded provisions before getting underway on 29 June for Hawaii . She arrived in the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard on 6 July and began inactivation procedures . " Ascella " was placed out of commission at Pearl Harbor on 13 August 1946 . Post - war decommissioning . There , she remained until the spring of 1947 when she was towed to San Francisco , California , to be returned to the Maritime Commission . Her name was struck from the Navy list on 22 May 1947 , and she was transferred to the Maritime Commission for layup with the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay , California . She remained there under her merchant name , " SS George C . Yount " , until the mid - 1960s when she was scrapped in 1964 . Military awards and honors . No battle stars are indicated for " Ascella " in current Navy records . However , her crew was eligible for the following medals and campaign ribbons :