USS Cimarron ( AO - 22 ) USS " Cimarron " ( AO - 22 ) was a " Cimarron " - class oiler serving with the United States Navy and only the second ship to be named for the Cimarron River in the southwestern United States . She was launched 7 January 1939 by Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company , Chester , Pennsylvania ; sponsored by Mrs . William D . Leahy ; and commissioned 20 March 1939 with Lieutenant Commander William W . Behrens , Jr . in command . World War II . " Cimarron " cleared Houston 31 May 1939 for Pearl Harbor , arriving 21 July . She transported oil between west coast ports and Pearl Harbor , making 13 such voyages until she sailed for the east coast on 19 August 1940 . After repairs and alterations , she began oil runs on the east coast , principally between Baton Rouge and Norfolk , until August 1941 , when she took part in amphibious operations . From 5 – 16 September she put to sea with a transport convoy bound for Iceland , and voyaged north again from 12 October to 5 November to refuel ships at Placentia Bay . On 15 November 1941 , she joined a convoy at Trinidad bound for Singapore with reinforcements , but was detached from the convoy on 9 December at Cape Town , South Africa . Returning to Trinidad on 31 December , she operated from Brazilian ports to Iceland until 4 March 1942 , when she cleared Norfolk for San Francisco . Pacific War . " Cimarron " reached San Francisco on 1 April 1942 and sailed the next day with the task force bound for the first air raid on Tokyo on 18 April . With , they fueled the Fleet at sea before and after the raid , and returned to Pearl Harbor on 25 April . She sailed on 29 April , bound to join the force soon to join battle with the Japanese naval forces in the Coral Sea , but arrived after the battle to refuel destroyers at Nouméa , and returned to Pearl Harbor on 26 May . She cleared Pearl Harbor 28 May to fuel the force which defeated the Japanese in the Battle of Midway and returned 12 June , departing 7 July to support the operation in the Solomon Islands . Using Nouméa as her principal base , " Cimarron " occasionally reloaded at Suva and Efate . After repairs at San Francisco in November 1942 , she sailed for the forward area 18 December . She operated again out of Nouméa supporting the final stages of the Guadalcanal action , then fueled out of Efate , carried cargo to Sydney , Australia , and returned to fueling at Dumbea Bay in support of the occupation of New Georgia . She returned to San Francisco , in July 1943 , and then made two trips from the west coast to Pearl Harbor . " Cimarron " departed Pearl Harbor 29 September 1943 with the force which raided Wake Island on 5 – 6 October , and returned to Pearl Harbor 16 October . She sailed once again 14 November to fuel in support of the Gilbert Islands campaign , returning 1 December , and sailed to San Pedro , California to reload 12 December to 4 January 1944 . Clearing Pearl Harbor 13 January 1944 , she supported the Marshall Islands operation and the February attacks on Truk from Majuro until 6 June ; the Marianas operation from Eniwetok until 26 August ; and the Palau Islands operation from Ulithi . After a stateside overhaul from October through December 1944 , " Cimarron " arrived at Ulithi 26 December 1944 . From 27 December to 21 January 1945 she sailed to fuel the task force launching air attacks on Indo - China and Philippine targets as part of the Luzon invasion , and put to sea again from 8 February to 22 March for air raids on the Japan ese home islands and the invasion of Iwo Jima . From 26 March to 23 May she sailed from Ulithi to fuel ships engaging in the Okinawa operation , and from 3 June shuttled between Ulithi and the areas from which the mighty carrier task forces launched the final series of raids upon the heartland of Japan . Ulithi remained her base as she supported the occupation until 10 September , when she anchored in Tokyo Bay . Operations in the Far East continued until 4 February 1946 , when she arrived at Long Beach Naval Shipyard , for overhaul . Korean War . Between July 1946 and June 1950 , " Cimarron " ferried oil from the Persian Gulf to naval bases in the Marianas and Marshalls , occasionally continuing on to the US West Coast . Her first tour of duty in the Korean war , from 6 July 1950 to 3 June 1951 , found her fueling ships of the Taiwan Patrol at Okinawa , amphibious ships at Kobe , and operating from Sasebo to the waters off Korea to fuel task forces . Several times she entered the heavily mined waters of Wonsan Harbor South Korea to fuel the ships carrying out the lengthy blockade and bombardment of that key port . Returning to the west coast , she gave service as a training tanker until her second Korean tour , from 1 August to 10 December 1951 . During this time she spent a month at Taiwan fueling the ships on duty in the Formosa Straits , and made three voyages to Korean waters from Sasebo . During 1952 , overhaul and training on the west coast preceded her third Korean war deployment from 9 April to 5 January 1953 , when her duty was similar to that of her second . Her fourth tour of duty in the Far East was completed between 11 April and 27 November 1953 . " Cimarron " sailed to the Far East again between 14 June 1954 and 8 February 1955 , during which she served as flagship of the United Nations support group for Operation Passage to Freedom , the evacuation of refugees from Communist North Vietnam . Her pattern of operations from that time into 1963 included highly effective support of the guardian U . S . 7th Fleet in its Far Eastern operations through deployments in 1955 , 1956 - 1957 , 1957 - 1958 , 1958 - 1959 , 1959 , and 1960 . As of 1963 , she had the longest continuous commissioned service of any active ship in the United States Navy , belying her age as she continued to provide her essential support with outstanding skill and efficiency . Vietnam War . " Cimarron " continued her service into the Vietnam War during Western Pacific deployments to Subic Bay between 1965 and 1967 . But her claim to fame as the oldest US Navy ship in continuous active service ended abruptly after being side - swiped by the during an underway replenishment port - side approach along the San Diego , California , coastline in September 1968 . " Cimarron " was decommissioned and struck from the Navy List in October 1968 and sold for scrap in 1969 . As a tribute to many dedicated crew members , " Cimarron ' s " key artifacts were donated to Cimarron , New Mexico , which was located closest to the Cimarron River ' s headwaters at Eagle Nest , New Mexico . Her ship ' s bell became the village high school ' s bell . " Cimarron " received 10 battle stars for World War II service , seven for the Korean War , and 4 campaign stars for her Vietnam War service .