USS Mineral County ( LST - 988 ) USS " Mineral County " ( LST - 988 ) was an built for the United States Navy during World War II . Named after Mineral County , West Virginia , she was the only U . S . Naval vessel to bear the name . Originally laid down as " LST - 988 " at the Boston Navy Yard , Boston , Massachusetts on 10 February 1944 ; the ship was launched on 12 March 1944 , sponsored by Mrs . Winfred K . Buckmaster ; and commissioned on 25 April 1944 with Lieutenant ( j . g . ) Charles E . Craig in command . Service history . World War II , 1944 – 1945 . Following shakedown out of Little Creek , Virginia " LST - 988 " departed the Norfolk area on 2 June 1944 in a convoy bound for Bizerte , Tunisia . Arriving on the 22nd , she discharged her Seabee passengers and equipment and took on troops and rolling stock to be transported to Italy . She anchored at Naples on 2 July and for the next month shuttled troops and equipment along the Italian coast , to Sicily and to Corsica . On 12 August , with Army personnel as passengers and their tanks and other vehicles as her cargo , she departed Naples for the invasion of southern France . By 0800 , on 15 August , she stood off Saint - Raphaël awaiting her first beaching on enemy held shores under fire . Moving in at 1745 , she had completed unloading by 1945 . The following day she headed for Corsica and until 6 October shuttled troops , American and French , from Ajaccio , Corsica and Oran , Algiers to Saint - Raphaël and Marseille . During October she completed runs to Italy and Tunisia , returning in November to the Corsica - Marseille route . She completed her final Mediterranean assignment , Marseille - Bizerte - Oran , in mid - December and on the 28th got underway for Norfolk , Virginia . Arriving on 14 January 1945 she steamed to New York for overhaul , returning to Virginia in March to take on vehicles for Pearl Harbor . Underway on 1 April , she joined a convoy for the Panama Canal Zone , thence , on 15 May , steamed north to San Francisco where she loaded explosives and ammunition for use in the western Pacific . By the end of June she had discharged her Hawaiian cargo and by 6 July was en route to Eniwetok and Guam . After off - loading her dangerous cargo at the latter island , she received word of the Japanese surrender and orders to continue transportation services in the Marshalls and Marianas . Post - war activities , 1945 – 1946 . On 14 September she departed Saipan for the Philippines to begin duty with the 3rd Amphibious Force , Pacific Fleet . From the 26th until 19 November , she operated between Subic Bay and Yokohama , carrying Army occupation personnel and their equipment on the first leg of their journey to their assigned stations in the former enemy ' s home islands . " LST - 988 " then commenced occupation service of her own , the transportation of cargo and passengers amongst various Japanese ports from Honshū to Kyūshū . Detached 11 April 1946 , she began to make her way back to the United States . She arrived at San Francisco on 27 May , thence steamed through the Panama Canal and arrived at New York City on 13 July . Naval Reserve training vessel , 1946 – 1950 . Under orders from the commandant , 3rd Naval District , she decommissioned and was placed in reserve on 25 July and , after overhaul , was placed in service , on 13 January 1946 for employment as a Naval Reserve training vessel for the New York area . On 6 April 1950 she reported for inactivation at Philadelphia and on 13 June was officially designated out of commission , in reserve . Towed to Florida the following week , she was berthed at Green Cove Springs as a unit of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet . Cargo and personnel carrier , 1951 – 1957 . Shortly after her berthing at Green Cove Springs , the reopening of hostilities in Asia and high tension in Europe and the Middle East resulted in an increased demand for ships of her type . " LST - 988 " was ordered reactivated . On 7 June 1951 she recommissioned , and 13 days later reported to ServLant for duty as a troop and cargo carrier . Her assignments during the next year took her as far east as the Mediterranean and as far north as Newfoundland . In May 1952 she was fitted out with a helicopter pad and then ordered to Iceland for special projects with the United States Air Force . Returning to Norfolk in September , she prepared for her first extended oversea deployment since World War II , six months with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean , after which she resumed operations for the 2nd Fleet . In November 1953 she commenced work as cargo and personnel carrier , helicopter supply ship , and LORAC team unit for the Navy ' s Hydrographic Office , then engaged in scientific research in and resurvey of the Atlantic . Renamed USS " Mineral County " ( LST - 988 ) on 1 July 1955 , she continued to serve the Hydrographic Office until the spring of 1957 when she was ordered to prepare for inactivation . Decommissioning and disposal . On 8 July 1957 , at Norfolk , she was placed in reserve . On 27 September the ship was struck from the Naval Vessel Register , and on 11 October she decommissioned and was ordered to be stripped preparatory to use to destruction as a target vessel for the Atlantic Fleet . Awards . " LST - 988 " received one battle star for World War II service .