USS Appalachian ( AGC - 1 ) USS " Appalachian " ( AGC - 1 ) was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 200 ) on 4 November 1942 at the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Company in Kearny , New Jersey ; launched on 29 January 1943 , sponsored by Mrs . John Frank Mclnnis ; acquired by the Navy on 27 February 1943 ; converted at Brooklyn , N . Y . , by the Todd Shipbuilding Company for naval service as an amphibious flagship ; and commissioned on 2 October 1943 , with Captain James M . Fernald in command . " Appalachian " was the lead ship of the " Appalachian " class . World War II service . Following shakedown in the Chesapeake Bay , " Appalachian " headed south ; transited the Panama Canal ; and reached San Diego , California , on 26 November . There , after elements of the 4th Marine Division had embarked , and Rear Admiral Richard L . Conolly had broken his flag in " Appalachian " , she got underway on 13 January 1944 , bound for Hawaii . After a one - day stop in Pearl Harbor , the ship steamed westward to take part in the invasion of Kwajalein Atoll , Marshall Islands . The objectives of the northern attack force , which included " Appalachian " , were the islands of Roi and Namur . The attack opened on 31 January ; and the next day , " Appalachian " entered Kwajalein lagoon and began disembarking the men and equipment of the headquarters battalion of the 4th Marine Division . The area was secured by 5 February . Rear Admiral Conolly shifted his flag to USS " Maryland " ( BB - 46 ) " , and " Appalachian " set sail the next day for the Ellice Islands . Her crew enjoyed a week - long respite at Funafuti before the ship sailed to Guadalcanal . She operated in the Solomon Islands until 29 March when she began a return voyage to Hawaii . The vessel reached Pearl Harbor on 8 April and began resupplying . " Appalachian " returned to Guadalcanal in late April , spent the next six weeks preparing for the impending assault on the Marianas , then , early in June , sailed to Kwajalein , the final staging area for the operation . On 12 June , " Appalachian " with Major General Roy S . Geiger , USMC , embarked , sortied in a group of transports carrying troops of his III Amphibious Corps . These leathernecks were scheduled to assault Guam . When the force had progressed to within 50 miles of its objective , it was ordered to reverse course to avoid a powerful Japanese fleet which was then approaching the Marianas to contest the American landings . While the American 5th Fleet routed the Japan ese warships in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and American ground forces fought fanatical Japanese defensive forces on Saipan , the convoy steamed in readiness on a rectangular course for 16 days . The Guam attack was then postponed , and the group put in at Eniwetok on 28 June for replenishment . It once more set sail for Guam on 11 July . The ships reached their objective on the 14th , and " Appalachian " joined in the preassault bombardment that morning and continued providing fire support throughout the invasion . On 30 July , " Appalachian " dropped anchor in Apra Harbor and remained there through the end of the struggle for the island . Guam was officially secured on 10 August , and " Appalachian " got underway that day , bound for Pearl Harbor . Between 21 August and 2 September , " Appalachian " carried out training exercises off Maui in preparation for an assault on Yap . However , this operation was later canceled . The ship departed Hawaiian waters on 15 September and proceeded to Manus , Admiralty Islands , for additional training . " Appalachian " dropped anchor in Seeadler Harbor on 3 October and reported to the 7th Fleet for duty . She sortied on the 14th with invasion forces , bound for Leyte , Philippines . Major General A . V . Arnold , Commander of the Army ' s 7th Infantry Division , was on board " Appalachian " . The landings on Leyte , which began on 20 October , met little opposition . After her troops had gone ashore , the ship stood by to supply provisions and freshwater to smaller craft in the area until the 23rd , then headed for New Guinea , and arrived in Humboldt Bay five days later . The ship sailed on for Noumea , New Caledonia , on 20 November . After her arrival there on 26 November , the crew enjoyed a period of liberty . " Appalachian " sailed for the Solomons on 17 December , engaged briefly in invasion rehearsals at Guadalcanal , and stood out to sea on Christmas Day bound for Manus . For " Appalachian " , the year 1945 began with the invasion of the Philippine island of Luzon . She reached Lingayen Gulf on 11 January , landed her troops , and departed the following day . As she was steaming through the South China Sea , she was attacked by Japanese planes . However , she was able to evade the attackers and reached Leyte Gulf on the 15th . " Appalachian " sailed east on 18 January and made port calls at Ulithi and Pearl Harbor before reaching San Francisco , Calif . , on 13 February . She entered the Mare Island Navy Yard , Vallejo , Calif . , on Valentine ' s Day to begin overhaul . The ship set out once more for Hawaiian waters on 10 April , arrived in Pearl Harbor on the 16th , and began training exercises off Maui . She sailed for the Marianas on 16 May , and reached Saipan 11 days later . The vessel remained at anchor there until 9 July , when she got underway for the Philippines . She pulled into Manila on 13 July and operated in waters of the archipelago through the end of World War II . " Appalachian " won four battle star s for her World War II service . Post - war service . The ship set out for occupation duty in Japan on 18 September , arrived at Aomori at the northern end of Honshū on the 25th , and landed troops who took possession of the town . Soldier s whom she carried also occupied other cities including Ominato , Hakodate , Otaru , Yokohama , Yokosuka , Matsuyama , and Hiroshima . " Appalachian " departed Japan on 22 November 1945 , bound for the west coast of the United States . After reaching the United States , she remained at San Francisco until 12 April 1946 when she was assigned to Joint Task Force 1 which was being established for Operation Crossroads , the atomic bomb tests to be carried out that summer at Bikini Atoll . During the months of May , June , and July , " Appalachian " served as a headquarters for press representatives before returning to San Francisco on 16 August . She became the flagship of the 5th Fleet on 13 September and also served the Pacific Fleet in a similar role between 28 October 1946 and 30 January 1947 . During this time , the vessel operated out of San Diego . She was decommissioned there on 21 May 1947 and placed in reserve . She was subsequently transferred to the Maritime Administration for disposal , and she was scrapped in 1960 . Her name was struck from the Navy list on 1 March 1959 .