USS Orleans Parish ( LST - 1069 ) USS " Orleans Parish " ( LST - 1069 ) was an in the United States Navy during World War II . Unlike many of her class , which received only numbers and were disposed of after World War II , she survived long enough to be named . On 1 July 1955 , all LSTs still in commission were named for US counties or parish es ; LST - 1069 was given the name Orleans Parish , after Orleans Parish , Louisiana . She was the only U . S . Naval vessel to bear that name . " LST - 1069 " was laid down on 7 February 1945 at the Bethlehem - Hingham Shipyard of Hingham , Massachusetts ; launched on 7 March 1945 , sponsored by Mrs . James Whitfield ; and commissioned on 31 March 1945 with Lieutenant Lewis A . Rockwell in command . Service history . World War II , 1946 – 1946 . This new landing ship steamed to Chesapeake Bay for shakedown prior to her departure for the Pacific war zone . Before the end of June LCT sections , transported from New York to the Hawaiian Islands , had been off - loaded and Army troops destined for Leyte , Philippines embarked . Sailing via the Marshall and Mariana Islands , " LST - 1069 " completed this mission and remained in the Philippines until after the Japanese surrender . With LST Group 37 she proceeded to Shanghai thus becoming one of the first American ships to steam up the Yangtze River since the late 1930s . Here naval personnel were discharged in mid - September to set up an advanced operational base . In October and November Chinese troops were transferred to Formosa for occupation duty from Ningpoo , China and Hai Phong , French Indochina respectively . Four round trips between Tsingtao , China and Sasebo , Japan returned a number of Japanese civilians and soldiers to their home soil by 18 February 1946 . After an additional voyage deposited a group of Korean repatriates at Pusan , Korea " LST - 1069 " began to work her way toward the United States . In the Bonin Islands 110 Marines along with some 18 Japanese war criminals and suspects awaited transportation to Guam . A round trip to Saipan followed and then on to Pearl Harbor , where was taken in tow and delivered on 29 May at San Francisco . Upon resuming her journey she transited the Panama Canal on 5 July , visited Norfolk , unloaded her ammunition in New Jersey and decommissioned at Staten Island , New York on 6 August 1946 . The ship remained in the 3rd Naval District serving the Naval Reserve Training Program until transferred to the Reserve Fleet , Green Cove Springs , Florida in September 1949 . Mine squadron flagship , 1952 – 1958 . The outbreak of Communist aggression in Korea ended her retirement two years later . Recommissioning on 11 January 1952 preceded conversion as a mine squadron flagship and logistic support vessel . Helicopter landing , fueling , and repair facilities also permitted her to embark and control helicopters as demonstrated during 1955 LANTMINEX . Also during 1955 , on 1 July , " LST – 1069 " was named USS " Orleans Parish " ( LST - 1069 ) , and in December , she made her first Atlantic crossing to take part in an Atlantic Fleet mine evaluation project at Port Lyautey , French Morocco . Her duties as flagship for MinRon 8 were interrupted from 16 December 1957 to 19 December 1958 , while the ship was out of commission in reserve at Charleston , South Carolina . Mine countermeasures support ship , 1959 – 1966 . With additional communications equipment installed and other modifications she rejoined the fleet as the mine countermeasures support ship , USS " Orleans Parish " ( MSC – 6 ) . Besides resuming participation in the annual Springboard , MinEx , and PhibEx exercises , on 20 November 1959 she departed Charleston escorting across the Atlantic several recently acquired Norwegian and Spanish minesweeper s . After visiting Lisbon , Portugal she returned to her homeport on 4 January 1960 . That summer she conducted her first ROTC Midshipmen indoctrination cruise . During February 1963 she paid her first visit to her namesake city at the height of the Mardi Gras festival . Military Sea Transportation Service , 1966 – 1970 . " Orleans Parish ' s " area of operation and assignment changed greatly when she decommissioned on 20 May 1966 , and was transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service ( MSTS ) . Again designated USS " Orleans Parish " ( LST – 1069 ) and altered to serve as a cargo ship , she soon received a civilian crew and 12 September sailed for the Panama Canal and the Pacific . Her first voyage brought her to Guam ; Subic Bay , Philippines ; Vũng Tàu , South Vietnam ; and Yokohama , Japan . She continued to sail in 1970 under the MSTS Far Eastern Command . Decommissioning and sale . Subsequently placed out of service , she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 June 1975 . The ship was sold to the Republic of the Philippines on 1 September 1976 to serve as BRP " Cotabato Del Norte " ( LT - 511 ) .