USS Rocky Mount ( AGC - 3 ) USS " Rocky Mount " ( AGC - 3 ) was an in the United States Navy . She was named for Rocky Mount , North Carolina . Commissioning and 1944 . " Rocky Mount " was laid down for the Maritime Commission on 4 December 1942 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company , Kearny , New Jersey ; launched 7 March 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs Elsie F . Lee , wife of Robert C . Lee of the Moore - McCormack Lines for whom the ship was being built ; acquired by the Navy 13 March 1943 ; and after conversion by Bethlehem Steel Co . , Hoboken , N . J . , commissioned 15 October 1943 , Capt . Stanley F . Patten in command . Following shakedown , " Rocky Mount " sailed for Hawaii via the Panama Canal arriving at Pearl Harbor 27 December . On 10 January 1944 , she became flagship of Rear Admiral Richmond K . Turner , Commander , 5th Amphibious Force , Pacific Fleet . " Rocky Mount " was the 3rd of a new type of naval auxiliary : a specially - equipped command and communications ship , which had been improvised for Admiral H . Kent Hewitt in the Salerno operation . The increasing complexity of communications in modern amphibious warfare and the larger number of officers and enlisted men necessary to staff amphibious force headquarters , necessitated the new type . 1945 . On 22 January , the 5th Amphibious Force got underway for the Marshall Islands and arrived off Kwajalein the 31st . This was the first of six important campaigns in which " Rocky Mount " played a significant role . Rear Admiral Turner directed operations from his flagship until Kwajalein was secured on 4 February . " Rocky Mount " then became flagship for the task group which next took Eniwetok . On the 25th , she departed the Marshalls for Pearl Harbor and overhaul . Vice Admiral Turner , now Commander of Amphibious Forces , Pacific , boarded " Rocky Mount " again , along with Lt . Gen . Holland Smith , USMC , Commander , 5th Amphibious Corps . The ship got underway 29 May as flagship for the " Joint Expeditionary Force " attacking the Marianas Islands . On 15 June she reached Saipan and directed initial landings which came under heavy mortar and rifle fire and air attack . After 24 days , organized resistance on the island ceased . " Rocky Mount " proceeded to Guam 20 July , and 4 days later sailed for Tinian . Rear Adm . Forrest B . Royal broke his flag on board " Rocky Mount " in Pearl Harbor on 26 August . On 15 September she departed for Manus , and 1 month later sortied for the assault on Leyte , Philippine Islands , as flagship of the Amphibious Force Fleet . From 21 to 24 October she participated in shore bombardment , temporarily silencing enemy mortar fire which had damaged several beached LST s . The ship then sailed for practice and drills in the Admiralty Islands and New Guinea . " Rocky Mount " returned to the Philippines to participate in the Lingayen Gulf operation as flagship of Attack Group " Baker " , 6 January 1945 . The amphibious group was under frequent air attack from the enemy - held island of Luzon . For 5 weeks " Rocky Mount " acted as flagship , Lingayen Area Control Group . On 8 March she carried Lt . Gen . R . L . Eichelberger , Brig . Gen . White , and Maj . Gen . J . A . Dow and their staff to Santa Cruz Bank for landings on Zamboanga Peninsula , Mindanao . This ship observed and directed the assault for 2 weeks following her arrival on the 10th . While anchored in Subic Bay , " Rocky Mount " welcomed Brig . Gen . L . Barham , RAA , 4 April , and departed for Morotai where all hands attended memorial services for the late President Franklin D . Roosevelt . On the 23d , Brig . Gen . D . A . Whitehead , RAA , and his staff embarked and Rocky Mount got underway for landings on Tarakan Island , Borneo . Maj . Gen . G . F . Wooten , RAA , came on board at Morotai on 3 May , and the ship began its second part of the Borneo Campaign - the assault from Brunei Bay . After naval shore bombardment 10 June , " Rocky Mount " landed troops , and 1 week later she was underway for Leyte . En route Rear Admiral Royal died from a heart attack 18 June . Ten days after Japan surrendered , " Rocky Mount " reported to Commander , 7th Fleet , as his flagship . She embarked part of his staff at Manila 1 September , and then sailed for Jinsen , Korea , where , on the 10th , Adm . Thomas C . Kinkaid came on board and broke his flag . The next day the ship was underway across the Yellow Sea to the Yangtze River . She led U . S . and Allied ships up the Yangtze and Whangpoo Rivers the 19th , and returned to Shanghai where they were met by cheering crowds along the shores . Post - war and decommissioning . From the day she arrived at Pearl Harbor , 27 December 1943 , the ship never left the combat area of the Pacific and came through all of the operations unscathed . She was dubbed " The Rock " and " Veteran Queen of Amphibious Fleets " . She decommissioned and was placed in reserve with the San Francisco Group , Pacific Fleet , on 22 March 1947 . She remained in this status until struck from the Navy List 1 July 1960 . For her service during World War II , " Rocky Mount " earned six battle star s , and the Navy Unit Commendation .