USS Latimer ( APA - 152 ) USS " Latimer " ( APA - 152 ) was a " Haskell " - class attack transport acquired by the U . S . Navy during World War II for the task of transporting troops to and from combat areas . " Latimer " ( " APA - 152 " ) was launched under Maritime Commission contract 4 July 1944 by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp . , Portland , Oregon ; sponsored by Mrs . Melvin H . McCoy ; acquired by the Navy 28 August 1944 ; and commissioned the same day at Astoria , Oregon , Capt . John P . Dix in command . World War II service . Departing Seattle , Washington , 11 September 1944 , " Latimer " steamed via San Francisco , California , to San Pedro , California , where she arrived 16 September . After shakedown off southern California , she embarked 1 , 301 troops at San Francisco and departed 26 October for the western Pacific Ocean . She sailed via Hollandia , New Guinea , and Noumea , New Caledonia , to the Solomons ; arrived Guadalcanal 21 December for amphibious assault exercises ; then steamed to Manus , Admiralties , 25 to 31 December to prepare for the invasion of Luzon . Invasion of Okinawa . Assigned to task group TG 77 . 9 as a reinforcement transport , " Latimer " cleared Seeadler Harbor 2 January 1945 , bound for Lingayen Gulf . She arrived off San Fabian , Luzon , 11 January ; discharged troops and support equipment ; then steamed 13 to 27 January via Leyte Gulf and Manus to Wakde , New Guinea , where she embarked additional troops for passage to Luzon . After steaming to Lingayen Gulf 2 to 10 February , she sailed the 10th for Leyte Gulf and arrived 14 February to prepare for the invasion of Okinawa . During most of March " Latimer " rehearsed assault landings off Samar before departing San Pedro Bay in convoy 27 March . Assigned to task group TG 55 . 3 , she carried troops of the U . S . 96th Infantry Division and arrived off Hagushi , Okinawa , at dawn 1 April . She debarked troops at 0730 for the first wave against beaches Brown 1 and 2 , then remained in the inner transport area to discharge troops and cargo until 1930 , when she prepared for night retirement at sea . After successfully repelling a Japanese aerial attack at dawn 3 April , she completed unloading operations the following morning and departed Okinawa the 5th . Steaming via Guam and Pearl Harbor , she arrived San Francisco Bay 29 April ; proceeded to Seattle 20 to 22 May ; embarked 1 , 422 troops ; and departed 28 May for the Far East . After touching at Pearl Harbor , Eniwetok , and Ulithi , she arrived Hagushi 14 July and discharged troops and military cargo . With 350 veterans embarked she sailed 22 July for the United States via Ulithi and arrived San Francisco 10 August . End - of - war operations . Between 7 and 27 September , " Latimer " transported 1 , 164 occupation troops from Pearl Harbor via Saipan to Honshū , Japan . She returned to Saipan 1 to 6 October ; embarked 1 , 523 passengers ; and departed 8 October on “ Operation Magic Carpet ” passage to the U . S . West Coast , arriving Seattle 19 October . During the next 4 months she made two more “ Magic Carpet ” voyages to the western Pacific from Seattle and San Francisco , carrying military passengers from Saipan and the Philippines to the U . S . west coast . Post - war decommissioning . Arriving San Francisco 19 February 1946 after a voyage from Subic Bay , Luzon , " Latimer " departed 11 March for the U . S . East Coast . Steaming via the Panama Canal , she arrived Norfolk , Virginia , 26 March and for the next 5 months operated at Norfolk and Yorktown , Virginia . She entered Norfolk Navy Yard 27 August , decommissioned there 26 February 1947 , and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet . Reactivation during Korean War . " Latimer " recommissioned 23 September 1950 at Portsmouth , Virginia , Capt . M . L . Catterton in command . Assigned to Transport Squadron 2 , she operated out of Norfolk from the Virginia and North Carolina coast to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean , transporting U . S . Marines and participating in amphibious landing exercises . Departing Norfolk 31 August 1951 , she embarked 2d Division Marines at Morehead City , North Carolina , before sailing 2 September for the Mediterranean . She arrived Oran , Algeria , 14 September and began a 4 - month deployment with the U . S . 6th Fleet . During amphibious exercises she steamed throughout the Mediterranean and touched the coasts of France , Italy , and Greece and the Islands of Crete , Sardinia , and Sicily . Departing Naples , Italy , 29 January 1952 , she returned to the United States and reached Norfolk 14 February . North Atlantic operations . For more than 2 years " Latimer " cruised in the Caribbean and along the eastern coast of North America from Florida to Greenland conducting Midshipman and U . S . Naval Reserve training cruises or engaging in amphibious landing training . Between 6 September 1954 and 30 January 1955 she again deployed to the Mediterranean , and after another year of operations along the eastern seaboard , she steamed from Brooklyn , New York , to Galveston , Texas , 2 to 9 February 1956 . Final decommissioning . Towed to Orange , Texas , 24 to 25 February , " Latimer " decommissioned 15 May and entered the Texas group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet . In February 1960 she transferred to the Maritime Administration and was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet . She was berthed at Mobile , Alabama and was later struck from the Navy list ( date unknown ) and presumed scrapped ( date unknown ) .