USS Florence Nightingale ( AP - 70 ) USS " Florence Nightingale " ( AP - 70 ) was an " Elizabeth C . Stanton " - class transport ship of the United States Navy . She was named for Florence Nightingale ( 1820 – 1910 ) , the nursing pioneer , and is one of the few United States Navy ships named after a woman . " Florence Nightingale " was launched on 28 August 1940 by Moore Shipbuilding and Drydock Company , Oakland , California , as " Mormacsun " ; sponsored by Miss Carlotta S . Chapman . Delivered to Moore - McCormack Lines in May 1941 , she was acquired by the War Shipping Administration on 20 December 1941 , and acquired by the US Navy on 13 September 1942 , and commissioned on 17 September 1942 , Captain E . D . Graves , Jr . , in command . Service history . " Florence Nightingale " sailed from Norfolk , Virginia on 23 October 1942 in the task force bound for the invasion of North Africa , and between 8 – 15 November lay off Port Lyautey , Morocco , landing troops and cargo . Returning to Norfolk on 30 November , she made two voyages to Algeria , carrying reinforcements and cargo out , and prisoners of war back , returning to New York from the second , on 11 March 1943 . After brief overhaul and exercising in Chesapeake Bay , " Florence Nightingale " sailed from Norfolk on 8 June with troops for the invasion of Sicily , landing them through hazardous surf conditions at Scoglitti from 10 – 12 July . Returning to New York on 3 August 1943 , " Florence Nightingale " voyaged to Oran in September , and on 8 October sailed from New York for Belfast , Northern Ireland . She carried men from Glasgow , Scotland , to Iceland , before returning to Boston on 17 November to load for the first of two transport voyages to the Firth of Clyde , Scotland , from New York . Laden with soldiers and nurses , she sailed from New York on 27 February 1944 for Cardiff , where she landed her original passengers , then sailed to Belfast to embark soldiers for the Mediterranean Sea . From 21 March , she carried troops among Mediterranean bases , and took part in landing operations in preparation for the invasion of southern France , for which she sortied from Naples on 13 August . She landed her troops in the initial assault on 15 August , and returned with casualties to Naples three days later . Until 25 October , when she sailed for home , " Florence Nightingale " brought reinforcements from Oran to the fighting in southern France . Overhauled at New York from 8 November – 18 December , " Florence Nightingale " loaded Marines at Norfolk , and with them arrived at Pearl Harbor on 10 January 1945 . Here she debarked the Marines and loaded soldiers and Army equipment for the Marianas . She sailed among these islands , transporting casualties , mail , and cargo to Guam , made one cargo voyage to Ulithi , and returned to Pearl Harbor on 22 March . On 7 April , again troop laden , she got underway for Okinawa , off which she lay to discharge reinforcements from 3 – 8 May , undergoing many air raids but suffering no damage . The transport reached San Francisco from action waters on 27 May 1945 , and sailed 11 days later to carry men of naval construction battalions and their equipment to Okinawa . She returned to Pearl Harbor on 20 August to begin occupation transport duty , which found her calling at Eniwetok and Yokosuka before her return to Portland , Oregon , on 15 November . Between 21 November and 6 December 1945 the " Florence Nightingale " transported Project Paperclip , including Hans Lindenberg , from Le Havre to New York . Between 13 December and 16 February 1946 , she again voyaged to the Far East , carrying occupation troops to Korea , and returning to Long Beach , California , with servicemen eligible for discharge . At Long Beach she loaded German prisoners of war , with whom she sailed for Liverpool , England , on 26 February . Landing the homeward - bound Germans in England for further transfer , " Florence Nightingale " embarked troops at Le Havre for transportation to New York City , where she docked on 8 April 1946 . The transport was decommissioned on 1 May 1946 and transferred to the War Shipping Administration the same day . " Florence Nightingale " received four battle star s for World War II service .