USS LST - 1038 USS " LST - 1038 was a built for the United States Navy during World War II . She was later named Monroe County " ( LST - 1038 ) after counties in seventeen U . S . States — the only U . S . Naval vessel to bear the name — but never saw active service under the latter name . Originally laid down as USS " LST - 1038 " on 29 October 1944 by the Dravo Corporation of Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania ; launched on 6 January 1945 , sponsored by Mrs . Elwood Printz ; and commissioned at New Orleans on 5 February 1945 with Lieutenant Julius Wood in command . Service history . World War II , 1945 . Following shakedown exercises along the Florida gulf coast , " LST - 1038 " returned to New Orleans for availability then steamed to Gulfport , Mississippi and Mobile , Alabama , taking on side - carry pontoons at the former and cargo ammunition at the latter . Loaded by 15 March , she departed for the Panama Canal en route to the western Pacific . Steaming independently , she arrived at Ulithi on 4 May , departing again on the 8th with convoy UOL 11 , then headed west to the embattled Ryukyus . On 16 May she sighted Kerama Retto and , after reporting to CTG 31 . 15 , commenced supplying ammunition to fleet units as necessary , primarily DDs and DMSs . The constant threat of Japanese air attack kept the crew alert at all times , bringing them to general quarters at least once every day for the next month . On 10 June she shifted her operating area to Nakagusuku Wan , Okinawa where she carried out similar ammunition supply ship missions for CTG 31 . 19 until the end of the month . She then got underway for Leyte , arriving on 6 July to begin availability . Post - war activities , 1945 – 1949 . Two days after the formal Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay , on 2 September , " LST - 1038 " cleared Subic Bay en route to Luzon where she took on personnel attached to headquarters , XI Army , for transportation to Wakayama , Honshū for occupation duty . Disembarking her passengers on the 25th , she returned to the Philippines to take on further occupation troops . During the next two months she completed two more troop lifts , one from the Philippines , the other from Okinawa . On 27 December she sailed for Saipan , thence steamed to Tinian where she took on cargo for Guam . Arriving there on 10 January 1946 , she sailed again on 2 February heading for the Russells for temporary duty under ComMarianas in connection with rollup of ocean bases in that area . Detached from the Pacific Fleet in the spring , " LST - 1088 " headed back toward the Panama Canal and duty on the Atlantic coast . In May she reported to the 3rd Naval District and for the next three years served as a training vessel for naval reservists in the New York area . Decommissioning . In 1949 she was ordered south for inactivation . Decommissioning in June , she entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet , berthing at Green Cove Springs , Florida . Renamed USS " Monroe County " ( LST - 1038 ) on 1 July 1955 , she remained in Florida until 1958 , when she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 November 1958 . Her final fate is unknown . Awards . " LST - 1038 " received one battle star for her World War II service .