USS Sabine ( AO - 25 ) USS " Sabine " ( AO - 25 ) , a " Cimarron " - class fleet replenishment oiler serving in the United States Navy , was the second ship named for the Sabine River on the Texas - Louisiana border . " Sabine " was laid down on 18 September 1939 as SS " Esso Albany " , MC hull 10 , by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation , at the Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard , Sparrows Point , Maryland ; launched on 27 April 1940 ; sponsored by Miss Ellen Klitgaard ; renamed " Sabine " on 19 September 1940 ; acquired by the Navy through purchase on 25 September 1940 ; and commissioned on 5 December 1940 , Commander Edmund W . Strother in command . World War II . Following shakedown , " Sabine " transited the Panama Canal and joined the Base Force Squadron of the US Pacific Fleet . During 1941 , she plied the waters between California and Pearl Harbor supplying fuel to ships operating in Hawaiian waters . Early in 1942 , " Sabine " supported carrier task forces that carried out raids against Wake Island and the Gilbert Islands . On 10 April , she joined the task force built around and which steamed to within of the coast of Japan and launched bomber s of the United States Army Air Forces commanded by Lt . Col . James Doolittle . The Doolittle Raid ers bombed Tokyo , Yokosuka , Nagoya , and Kobe . This daring strike surprised the Japanese and helped to boost American morale . In May , " Sabine " provided at - sea refueling for ships in the South Pacific near New Guinea and Australia . In June , she serviced destroyer s and cruiser s on Aleutian Patrol off Kodiak , Alaska . August found her in southern waters again where , in company with , she played an important role in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons . During September , she supported ships in and around New Caledonia , the Solomon Islands , and the New Hebrides . By October , she was busy providing fuel for warships engaging Japanese forces in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands . " Sabine " returned to the United States for two brief periods in January and July 1943 . The rest of her time , up to November , was spent on fueling operations in the South and Central Pacific . When the assault on the Gilbert Islands commenced on 19 November 1943 , " Sabine " was busy refueling the carriers , battleship s , cruisers , and destroyers that were supporting the landing forces . During the Gilbert operation , the " sea going service station " concept emerged . " Sabine " and other oilers were assigned designated station areas . Individual combatant ships were sent to these areas in accordance with a preplanned schedule , rather than steam in groups to the areas where each might lose hours waiting for her turn alongside the oiler . Other oilers shuttled between the station areas and Pearl Harbor , which was replenished by a vast fleet of Merchant Marine tankers . In January , February , and March 1944 , " Sabine " operated with Task Force 58 supporting carrier raids on the Palau Islands , the Caroline Islands , and the Marshall Islands . She was detached on 22 April ; but , after a voyage to Pearl Harbor , arrived at Majuro Atoll on 18 May ready to rejoin TF 58 for the coming Marianas Islands campaign . The force sortied on 6 June , and " Sabine " supported the landings on Saipan and Guam and subsequent operations in the Marianas until returning to Pearl Harbor on 14 August . She participated in the invasion of the Palaus during September . In October , she supported the assault forces at Leyte and subsequently provided fuel during follow - up operations in the Philippines . From March through June 1945 , " Sabine " assisted in the Okinawa n campaign . July and August were spent supporting US Third Fleet strikes against the Japanese home islands . Japan surrendered in mid - August , and " Sabine " anchored in Tokyo Bay on 18 September . Postwar service . " Sabine " ' s post - war duties took her from Tokyo to the Yangtze River . Arriving on 19 November , she remained until 22 April 1946 . From China , she returned to Hawaiian and west coast operations . However , she made several Far East cruises ; and , on 13 June 1949 , she was transferred to the US Atlantic Fleet . " Sabine " followed a schedule of east coast fueling operations , training exercises , and Mediterranean deployments until she was placed out of commission , in reserve , on 14 February 1955 and assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet for further transfer to the Military Sea Transportation Service ( MSTS ) . She was activated by MSTS on 15 November 1956 at San Diego and commissioned on 10 December . Following operations under MSTS , " Sabine " was again placed out of commission , in reserve , on 13 November 1957 . Berthed with the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Beaumont , Texas , she was not struck from the Navy List until 14 January 1959 . " Sabine " was reacquired by the Navy in 1961 and towed to New York City for refitting . She recommissioned on 14 December 1961 and rejoined the Atlantic Fleet , homeported at Mayport , Florida . During the Cuban missile crisis , " Sabine " was active in the naval quarantine late in 1962 . She also participated in operations during the political crisis of mid - 1965 in the Dominican Republic . The remainder of the time , during these years and the years which followed , found " Sabine " busy in local operations , training exercises , and deployments to the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean . In October 1968 , she was ordered to report to Philadelphia to begin deactivation . For a third time in her long career , " Sabine " was decommissioned on 20 February 1969 ; and she joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet , at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . On 22 January 1970 , " Sabine " was transferred to the custody of the Maritime Administration and berthed with the James River , Virginia , Group of the National Defense Reserve Fleet , where she remained into 1976 . She was struck from the Navy List for the final time on 1 December 1976 , and sold on 1 August 1983 . " Sabine " earned ten battle star s for World War II service .