USS Malabar ( AF - 37 ) USS " Malabar " ( AF - 37 ) was an acquired by the U . S . Navy for service in World War II . Her task was to carry stores , refrigerated items , and equipment to ships in the fleet , and to remote stations and staging areas . " Malabar " was laid down under Maritime Commission contract by the Pennsylvania Shipyards , Inc . , Beaumont , Texas , 17 July 1944 ; launched 17 September 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . W . R . Brennan ; acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission 24 February 1945 ; converted by Tennessee Coal & Iron Dock , Houston , Texas , to a refrigeration ship ; and commissioned 8 March 1945 , Lt . Charles S . Rogers , USNR in command . World War II service . Following shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico , " Malabar " departed Galveston , Texas , for Pearl Harbor 28 March with a stopover at Mobile , Alabama , to embark food supplies for the U . S . Pacific Fleet , arriving Pearl Harbor 1 May . Assigned to Service Squadron 8 , Service Force , the storeship , sailed the 11th for the Marianas , via Eniwetok , Marshalls , to unload half of her cargo at Saipan from 27 to 31 May . Supplying Iwo Jima troops . She continued on to the Volcano Islands 1 June , arriving Iwo Jima 3 days later . Her task of issuing provisions to 53 ships was interrupted by a typhoon 6 June . After a day and a half of battling the storm , " Malabar " finally anchored and discharged the rest of her stores to a U . S . Army installation ashore . On 12 June " Malabar " returned to Pearl Harbor , again via Saipan , for 12 days of repairs necessitated by the typhoon . She got underway 30 June for a second trip to Eniwetok and , returning to Pearl Harbor , was 1 day out when the Japanese surrendered 15 August . Post - war operations . She departed Pearl Harbor the 27th for Japan , via Eniwetok , arriving Tokyo Bay 17 September . " Malabar " then supplied a record total of 157 ships in 9 days . After upkeep at Pearl from 13 to 27 October , she returned to the central Pacific , sinking two mines en route . On 16 November she reached the Yangtze River and reported to CTU 67 . 2 . 3 for supply duty out of Shanghai until 4 December when she got underway for Seattle , Washington , arriving the 22d . " Malabar " departed San Pedro , California , for the Philippines 21 February 1946 , anchoring in Manila Bay 22 March for a month ' s service before steaming from Samar , 16 April , for the U . S . East Coast , via San Francisco , California , and the Panama Canal Zone . She arrived Bayonne , New Jersey , 1 July to spend the rest of the year cruising along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean from Argentia , Newfoundland , to Bermuda . East Coast operations . On 3 January 1947 " Malabar " departed Bermuda for Europe , arriving Casablanca , French Morocco , the 14th to unload her cargo . After a stop at Naples , Italy , she returned to the U . S . East Coast later in the month to continue her service force operations between Guantanamo Bay , Cuba ; Norfolk , Virginia ; and Argentia , interspersed with annual supply trips to Europe through the next 8 years . Final decommissioning . " Malabar " was placed in reserve at Galveston , Texas , 20 June 1955 before decommissioning 26 September . She remained berthed there in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet until struck from the Navy List 1 July 1960 . Final disposition : she was disposed of by MARAD sale , 27 July 1977 , her fate unknown . Military awards and honors . The Navy record does not indicate any battle star s awarded to " Malabar " . However , her crew was eligible for the following medals :