USS Kern ( AOG - 2 ) USS " Kern " ( AOG - 2 ) was a acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of transporting gasoline to warship s in the fleet , and to remote Navy stations . " Kern " was laid as " Rappahannock " by Seattle - Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation , Tacoma , Washington on 25 May 1942 ; renamed " Kern " on 18 July 1942 ; launched on 7 September 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs . L . A . Oldin ; and commissioned at Seattle , Washington on 9 March 1943 , Lieutenant Commander Lewis Williams in command . World War II . Departing Seattle , Washington on 24 March , " Kern " arrived San Pedro , California on 28 March for shakedown . On 12 April , she joined a convoy out of Los Angeles , California , and reached Pearl Harbor on the 22nd . Loaded with aviation gas and diesel oil , she steamed to Midway Island from 8 – 12 June . She returned to Pearl Harbor on 18 June , and from 27 June - 11 July she made a similar run to Canton and Palmyra Island s . During the next year , " Kern " continued tanker operations out of Pearl Harbor , supplying American bases on Midway , Canton , and Palmyra Islands with gasoline and oil . Departing Pearl Harbor on 19 August 1944 , she sailed to Eniwetok , Marshalls , where she arrived on 31 August and served as station tanker during September . She departed Eniwetok on 5 October and carried gasoline to the Marianas and Ulithi before reaching Kossol Roads , Palaus on 28 October . End - of - war operations . From November 1944 - July 1945 , " Kern " served as a station tanker at Kossol Roads and as a shuttle tanker to Peleliu and Angaur . In addition , she made replenishment runs between the Palaus and Ulithi during March , May , and June . Departing Kossol on 21 July , she steamed via Ulithi to Guam where she arrived on 6 August for overhaul . Post - war service . Following the end of hostilities in the Pacific Ocean , " Kern " returned to Ulithi on 31 August . She steamed to Okinawa from 17 – 21 September and served as station tanker until sailing for Japan on 13 October . She reached Hiro Wan , Honshū on 15 September and began refueling ships in support of occupation operations in Japan . She operated along the coast of Japan until 31 January 1946 , when she departed Sasebo , Kyūshū , for Korea . She arrived Jinsen on 2 February , served there as a station tanker , then sailed for Japan on 15 April . The veteran tanker arrived Kobe , Honshū on 18 April and resumed refueling duties along the coast of Japan . She decommissioned at Yokosuka , Honshū on 6 August and was transferred to the United States Army the same day . Assigned to MSTS during the Korean War . Reacquired by the Navy on 1 July 1950 , " Kern " was assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service ( MSTS ) . Manned by a civilian crew , she operated in the Western Pacific . During the effort to repel Communist aggression in Korea , she supplied fighting ships of the mighty 7th Fleet with gasoline and oil . Post - Korean War operations . After the end of the Korean War , she continued to operate in the Pacific as the might of U . S . seapower sought to keep the peace in the tense Far East . She was inactivated at San Francisco , California in September 1956 and was berthed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay , California from 28 September - 30 April 1957 . Reactivated for Arctic operations . During the late spring and throughout the summer of 1957 , she returned to tanker duty for Naval replenishment operations in the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska . Decommissioning and Fate . She was again inactivated at San Francisco , California on 1 October 1957 . She entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay and remained under MSTS control until 10 April 1958 , when she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register and transferred to the Maritime Administration . She remained berthed at Suisun Bay , California , until she was sold on 2 December 1975 to the National Metal & Steel Corp , Terminal Island , Ca as part of a lot of 4 vessels for $ 528 , 529 . 19 . She departed the Suisun Bay Fleet on 16 December 1975 and was scrapped shortly afterwards . Honors . Eligible crew members of " Kern " could claim the following medals : References . " The entry can be found "