USS Wantuck ( APD - 125 ) USS " Wantuck " ( APD - 125 ) was a United States Navy high - speed transport in commission from 1944 to 1957 . Construction and commissioning . Originally projected as a " Rudderow " - class destroyer escort ( DE - 692 ) , " Wantuck " ( APD - 125 ) was selected for completion to a modified design as a high - speed transport ( APD ) , designed for landing and supporting raiding parties while retaining a secondary , destroyer escort - like role of convoy escort . She was laid down on 17 August 1944 at Quincy , Massachusetts , by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company . launched on 25 September 1944 , sponsored by Miss Mary Wantuck , and commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard at Boston , Massachusetts , on 30 December 1944 , Lieutenant Commander Richard Bensen , USNR , in command . World War II . " Wantuck " conducted shakedown training along the New England coast and then in the vicinity of Bermuda until 18 February 1945 , when she arrived in Hampton Roads , Virginia . On 21 February 1945 , she departed Norfolk , Virginia , bound via the Panama Canal , San Diego , California , and Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , for World War II service in the Western Pacific . She arrived at Oahu on 21 March 1945 and got underway again on 2 April 1945 . She stopped at Eniwetok for the night of 10 April 1945 – 11 April 1945 and then resumed her voyage . She touched at Guam in the Mariana Islands on 14 April 1945 and then pushed on to the lagoon at Ulithi Atoll . There , she joined a convoy bound for the Ryukyu Islands and arrived in Kerama Retto near Okinawa on 21 April 1945 . She remained at Okinawa screening the American ships there until 30 April 1945 when she got underway in the screen of a convoy containing 16 other ships bound for Saipan in the Marianas . However , after seeing them safely out of the Ryukyus , she returned to Okinawa and resumed her duty screening the ships remaining at Kerama Retto . On 4 May 1945 , she helped repulse an enemy air attack but claimed no kills or assists for herself . Later that day , when a " kamikaze " struck light cruiser USS " Birmingham " ( CL - 62 ) , " Wantuck " went to the aid of the stricken cruiser . On 5 May 1945 , she departed Okinawa in company with damaged " Birmingham " and destroyer - minesweeper USS " Rodman " ( DMS - 21 ) and set a course for Ulithi . En route , however , the ships received orders diverting them to Guam in the Marianas and , for the next two months , " Wantuck " made regular shuttle runs escorting convoys between Guam and Okinawa . That particular routine ended on 5 July 1945 when she departed Guam for Leyte in the Philippines . She entered San Pedro Bay , Leyte , on 8 July 1945 and then headed back to Okinawa . She served in the Ryukyus for more than a month , during which the surrender of Japan ended World War II on 15 August 1945 . World War II honors and awards . " Wantuck " earned one battle star during World War II , for the Okinawa Gunto operation ( Assault and Occupation of Okinawa Gunto ) , covering various dates from 21 April 1945 to 15 August 1945 . Post World War II . With the war over , " Wantuck " embarked troops for the planned occupation of Japan and joined the United States Third Fleet on 18 August 1945 . She entered Tokyo Bay on 27 August 1945 and disembarked her share of the occupation force . On 30 August 1945 , she moved to the Yokosuka Naval Station where she began loading Allied prisoners of war from the hospital ship USS " Benevolence " ( AH - 13 ) . During the first week of September 1945 , she made calls at various Japanese ports embarking former Allied prisoners of war . On 7 September 1945 , she transferred her passengers to destroyer USS " Lansdowne " ( DD - 486 ) . On 9 September 1945 , " Wantuck " took several British prisoners on board and the next day transferred them to a Royal Navy destroyer . She continued to shuttle former prisoners of war between locations in Japan until 2 October 1945 , at which time she headed for the Marianas . " Wantuck " arrived at Guam on 5 October 1945 and remained there until 19 October 1945 when she headed back to Yokosuka , Japan . She reached Yokosuka on 22 October 1945 , but got underway again on 30 October 1945 . Steaming via Guam , she arrived at Manus Island in the Admiralty Islands on 8 November 1945 but that same day headed for Rabaul . where she arrived on 9 November 1945 . On 18 November 1945 she began a circuitous voyage back to the United States . After stops at Manus , Guam , Eniwetok , and Pearl Harbor , " Wantuck " reached San Francisco . California , on 21 December 1945 . On 3 January 1946 , " Wantuck " entered the Mare Island Naval Shipyard at Vallejo , California , for an overhaul which she completed on 10 March 1946 . That same day , she sailed for her new home port , San Diego . For almost a year , she operated out of San Diego , primarily conducting amphibious warfare exercises at San Clemente Island . On 24 February 1947 , " Wantuck " departed San Diego for a three - month voyage to the Western Pacific . Her ports of call included Pearl Harbor , Kwajalein , Manus , and Guam . She returned to San Diego on 19 June 1947 and resumed normal operations out of that port , which she continued until the beginning of 1948 . On 15 January 1948 , " Wantuck " again stood out of San Diego for a voyage to the Western Pacific . After stops at Pearl Harbor , Kwajalein , and Guam , she arrived in Tsingtao , China , on 15 February 1948 . For the next six months , she cruised along the China coast , observing conditions during the latter stages of the Chinese Civil War , and transported Chinese Nationalist troops to various locations in support of their efforts against the Chinese Communists . On 16 August 1948 , " Wantuck " departed Tsingtao to return to the United States . She made stops at Guam , Kwajalein , and Pearl Harbor before reentering San Diego on 9 September 1948 and resumed normal United States West Coast operations . Early in 1950 , " Wantuck " made a round - trip voyage to Alaskan waters and back to San Diego before departing San Diego on 1 May 1950 to deploy overseas once more . She stopped at Pearl Harbor from 9 May 1950 to 12 May 1950 and then continued her voyage west . After stops in the Mariana and Philippine Islands , " Wantuck " arrived at Hong Kong on 7 June 1950 . Korean War . While " Wantuck " was at Hong Kong , war erupted in Korea when communist North Korean troops invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950 , beginning the Korean War . Whether or not this event prompted " Wantuck " s unusually long stay — three months — in a liberty port for a warship is not clear , but she did not leave Hong Kong until 6 September 1950 . From there , the ship moved to Sasebo , Japan , where she arrived on 8 September 1950 . On 10 September 1950 , " Wantuck " was in the Korean combat zone at the port of Pusan preparing for the amphibious assault at Inchon . She departed Pusan on 13 September 1950 with elements of the 3rd Battalion , 5th Marine Regiment , embarked . Early on the morning of 15 September 1950 , " Wantuck " was off Wolmi - do , an island just off Inchon . Her troops stormed ashore on the island and quickly consolidated their position in preparation for the second phase of the operation , the invasion of Inchon itself scheduled for that afternoon . " Wantuck " remained at Inchon supporting the consolidation and expansion of the beachhead until 26 September 1950 , at which time she returned to Yokosuka , Japan . " Wantuck " returned to Korea early in October 1950 with Royal Marine Commando s embarked . In cooperation with high - speed transport USS " Horace A . Bass " ( APD - 124 ) and supported by destroyer USS " De Haven " ( DD - 727 ) , she executed a series of raids near Wonsan to disrupt North Korean transportation facilities — primarily rail lines — to support a scheduled amphibious attack on Wonsan . " Wantuck " returned to Japan on 10 October 1950 and the Wonsan amphibious assault operation was obviated by the fact that Republic of Korea ( ROK ) troops entered Wonsan from landward on 11 October 1950 . " Wantuck " did not arrive back in Korean waters again until 20 October 1950 , once again at Wonsan . By that time , however , United Nations efforts to reopen the port of Wonsan were well advanced , and " Wantuck " saw no further combat duty during that deployment . She returned to Yokosuka on 25 November 1950 and , on 28 November 1950 , headed back to the United States . After stops at Midway Atoll and Pearl Harbor , she arrived in San Diego on 15 December 1950 . " Wantuck " spent almost eight months conducting normal operations along the United States West Coast out of San Diego . Then on 23 July 1951 , she headed westward once again for the Far East . Following calls at Pearl Harbor and at Midway Atoll , she arrived in Yokosuka on 22 August 1951 . By the time of " Wantuck " s return to Korea , the war had degenerated into a stalemate on land with the principals locked in armistice negotiations and jockeying for military advantage at the bargaining table . At sea , the naval war had become almost purely one of aircraft carrier operations with planes interdicting communist supply routes and hitting strategic targets in North Korea . " Wantuck " resumed duty with Task Force 90 , the Amphibious Force , and consequently took little active part in the conflict from that point . In fact , during her 1951 - 1952 deployment , she did not even qualify for the Korean Service Medal , though she did visit Korean ports on occasion , particularly Inchon and Pusan . She departed Yokosuka late in March 1952 and , after a stop at Oahu along the way , reentered San Diego on 19 April 1952 . " Wantuck " remained on the U . S . West Coast for almost a year . A paucity of movements on her part — limited to one move to San Francisco in September 1952 for a three - month stay before returning to San Diego in December 1952 — suggests a period of extensive repairs probably including an overhaul . In any event , she departed San Diego again on 7 March 1953 and steamed via Pearl Harbor to the Far East . She arrived in Yokosuka on 30 March 1953 and , though she patrolled extensively in Korean waters , her operations were essentially as peaceful as they had been during the previous deployment . In July 1953 , the signing of the armistice made those peaceful conditions permanent . Korean War honors and awards . " Wantuck " earned seven battle stars during the Korean War , for the following campaign s : Post Korean War . " Wantuck " conducted patrols , training exercises , and port visits for the remainder of her 1953 Korean deployment . On 9 November 1953 , she departed Yokosuka to return to the United States . En route she stopped at Midway and Pearl Harbor before arriving in San Diego on 25 November 1953 . Over the remaining four years of her active career , " Wantuck " made two more cruises to the Far East , one in 1954 — during which she operated out of Hong Kong — and another in 1955 . In 1956 and the first half of 1957 , her zone of operations centered in two areas , the California coast and the waters around Alaska . Collision with USS " Lenawee " . In mid - August 1957 , " Wantuck " got underway from San Diego for Hawaii on the first leg of a voyage to Japan . She was about 180 nautical miles ( 333 kilometers ) from San Diego on a moonless and starless night when at 0318 hours on 15 August 1957 the attack transport USS " Lenawee " ( APA - 195 ) rammed her on the port side between the No . 1 boiler room and No . 1 engine room , almost tearing " Wantuck " in half , the impact being powerful enough to bring her forward momentum to an immediate stop and shove her laterally to starboard . " Wantuck " suffered two men killed — one who drowned in the flooding engine room and another scalded by high - pressure steam — and five injured , all burned . The submarine rescue ship USS " Florikan " ( ASR - 9 ) and fleet ocean tug USS " Cree " ( ATF - 84 ) came to " Wantuck " s aid , while " Lenawee " took some of " Wantuck " s injured men aboard and proceeded to Pearl Harbor . " Wantuck " arrived in San Diego under tow on the evening of 16 August 1957 . Decommissioning and disposal . Deemed not worth repairing , " Wantuck " was decommissioned at San Diego on 15 November 1957 and berthed there with the Pacific Reserve Fleet . Her name was struck from the Navy List on 4 March 1958 , and she was sold on 27 October 1958 to the Sundfelt Equipment Company , Inc . , of Wilmington , California . Presumably she was scrapped .