USS Saugatuck ( AO - 75 ) USS " Saugatuck " ( AO - 75 ) was a of the United States Navy . The ship was laid down on 20 August 1942 as SS " Newtown " , a Maritime Commission type Type T2 - SE - A1 tanker hull , under Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 355 ) at the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co . , Chester , Pennsylvania . She was renamed " Saugatuck " on 16 September 1942 . Launched on 7 December 1942 , and delivered to the U . S . Navy , she was converted for naval service at Bethlehem Steel Co . , Key Highway Plant , Baltimore , Maryland . She was commissioned on 19 February 1943 , with Lt . Comdr . Ben Koerner , USNR , in command . It was named for the Saugatuck River in Connecticut . Service history . World War II , 1943 – 1945 . Following shakedown in Chesapeake Bay , " Saugatuck " departed Norfolk for the Netherlands West Indies and the Panama Canal . On 30 April , she transited the canal ; and , the next day , headed for the South Pacific . Diverted en route , she was ordered first to Pearl Harbor , thence to San Pedro , California . During the summer and fall , she carried fuels and lubricants to Espiritu Santo and Funafuti . In December , she assumed duties as station oiler at Espiritu Santo . Late in January 1944 , she put to sea to rendezvous with , and refuel , fleet units engaged in the Marshalls ' campaign ; and , by 5 February , she had begun fueling ships in Majuro Lagoon . A week later , " Saugatuck " returned to Funafuti to receive more cargo . By June , she had completed three shuttle runs to Majuro : one from the Ellice Islands , one from California , and one from Hawaii . On 16 June , she moved into the Marianas . For two days , she refueled ships of the Saipan assault force ; then , late in the afternoon of the 18th , the refueling area was attacked by Japanese aircraft . The oilers were the targets . " Saugatuck " underwent three attacks during which she was peppered by shrapnel and strafing bullets . She lost only one of her crew during the 15 - minute engagement , and within the hour , resumed refueling operations . On the 19th , the battle of the Philippine Sea raged to the west . On the 20th , " Saugatuck " was detached from TU 16 . 7 . 5 and ordered back to the Marshalls . On the 25th and 26th , ATR - 46 performed necessary repairs to her hull and equipment ; and , into July , " Saugatuck " refueled ships at Eniwetok . On the 15th , she got underway back toward the Marianas . From the 18th to the 26th , she operated off Guam . On the 26th , she transferred her remnant cargo to ; and , on the 29th , she returned to Eniwetok . Three weeks later , " Saugatuck " moved further west ; and , at the end of August , she commenced operations out of Seeadler Harbor in the Admiralties . From that base , north of New Guinea , she supported the units engaged in the assault and occupation of the Palaus in September , and of Leyte in October . She then shifted her base to Ulithi , whence she sortied to refuel units of the fast carrier force as it struck Japanese installations and shipping in the Philippines , Indochina , Formosa , and Ryukyus during November and December ; as it supported the Lingayen assault force in January 1945 ; and as it hit the Japanese home islands in February . In March , " Saugatuck " moved into the Volcano Islands where she fueled ships supporting Marine units fighting on Iwo Jima . In April , she got underway for the United States . " Saugatuck " arrived at Los Angeles on the 22nd ; underwent repairs and alterations there at the Bethlehem Steel Co . docks ; and headed west again in late June . On 12 July , she returned to Ulithi and , after a run to Leyte , commenced carrying fuel to the Ryukyus . On 4 August , she arrived off Okinawa . On the 10th , she moved into Buckner Bay and remained there until the day after the mid - August cessation of hostilities . She then commenced refueling operations in support of the minesweeping effort in the East China Sea , the occupation of Japan , and the repatriation of Allied and Japanese prisoners of war . 1946 – 1974 . She was decommissioned on 29 March 1946 , at San Francisco , California . She was struck from the Naval Register and transferred 9 October 1946 to the Maritime Commission for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet , Suisun Bay , Benecia , California . The " Saugatuck " was chartered by Pacific Tankers on 30 October 1947 , but was reacquired by the Navy on 22 January 1948 and assigned to the Naval Transportation Service ( NTS ) . Assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service ( MSTS ) ( later Military Sealift Command ) as USNS " Saugatuck " ( T - AOT - 75 ) with a civilian crew on its establishment in October 1949 , she remained in the Pacific until early 1950 when she extended her range to the Caribbean and Atlantic . With the outbreak of war in Korea , the ship became primarily engaged in shuttling fuel from the west coast and the Persian Gulf to Japan and , in December 1950 , to Korea . The spring and summer of 1952 saw her operating in the Caribbean and along the east coast on a schedule which , after a run to Seattle in early fall , was continued into the spring of 1953 . She then resumed operations in the Pacific . In 1955 , she commenced a varied schedule under which she has carried petroleum products from the world ' s major oil ports to United States Naval bases and depots in both hemispheres . From June 1965 to March 1966 the USNS Saugatuck , was operated under MSTS contract by Keystone Shipping Company of Philadelphia , PA . During this period she continued to carry petroleum products from the US West Coast to United States Naval bases and depots in the Pacific , including Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , Midway , Wake & Kwajalein Islands , as well as , four ( 4 ) months of " floating storage " duty in Cham Ranh Bay & Da Nang , Vietnam from August through December 1965 . On completing this duty she spent 2 weeks in the US Naval Shipyard Subic Bay , Philippines . Then continued west bound to Ras Tanura , Saudi Arabia , the Suez Canal , Greece , & Spain , before returning to the US East Coast ports of Delaware City & Providence , RI . Decommissioning and sale . Transferred to the Maritime Administration ( MARAD ) , 5 November 1974 , for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet , James River , Fort Eustis , Virginia . Reclassified ( along with her sisters ) as T - AOT on 30 September 1978 . In July 2006 MARAD listed the " Saugatuck " under their disposal program . At that time , on 2 June 2006 , Bay Bridge Enterprises had been awarded a contract for $ 549 , 999 to dispose of the " Sauguatck " . The removal date from the James River Reserve Fleet ( JRRF ) was listed as 18 July 2006 and final disposal was listed as in process . Awards . " Saugatuck " earned seven battle star s for World War II service