USS Rockwall ( APA - 230 ) USS " Rockwall " ( APA - 230 ) was a that saw service with the US Navy in World War II , the Korean War and the Vietnam War . " Rockwall " was named after Rockwall County , Texas . She was laid down for the Maritime Commission on 9 September 1944 by Kaiser Shipbuilding of Vancouver , Washington ; launched 5 November ; acquired by the Navy on loan - charter 14 January 1945 , and commissioned the same day at Astoria , Oregon , Capt . Charles W . Roland in command . Operational history . World War II . After shakedown off the California coast , " Rockwall " sailed for Saipan , where she debarked a Marine Rocket Detachment and a Naval Construction Regiment 12 April . With other attack transports , she practiced amphibious operations and maneuvers off Lanai and Maui , 1 – 5 May . She then made a hydrographic survey on Palahinu Beach , Lanai , before arriving at Pearl Harbor on 7 May . Invasion of Okinawa . She departed 24 May , with Marines and debarked them at Okinawa 10 June . The next day , " Rockwall " sailed for Ulithi , and on 18 May , took on board the 5th Military Police Battalion of the U . S . Marines at Guam and carried them to Iwo Jima . " Rockwall " began her homeward voyage with officers and enlisted men from Iwo Jima 29 June , picked up further troops at Tinian 4 July , and arrived at San Francisco on 24 July . After hostilities . " Rockwall " carried Army replacements to Manila 9 September and loaded stores and embarked Army troops at Leyte Gulf 13 September . She sortied on 18 September with , the amphibious force flagship , and a convoy of 24 attack transports and attack cargo ship s for Honshū , Japan . The force arrived 25 September and began unloading . " Rockwall " sailed 29 September for Shanghai , China , joining destroyer escort as escort on 4 October and arrived 6 October . She embarked 1 , 728 passengers 11 October and arrived at Seattle , Washington on 26 October . " Rockwall " made two more voyages to the Philippines . Peacetime Operations . During the spring of 1946 , she took part as a support vessel in Operation Crossroads , the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll designed to test the effectiveness of nuclear weapons on warships . Over 200 warships participated in the experiments , 75 of them as targets , the rest as support vessels . " Rockwall " was then transferred to the Amphibious Force , U . S . Atlantic Fleet , and soon began amphibious training operations in the Caribbean . On 15 March 1947 , " Rockwall " decommissioned and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet . Second commission . The ship recommissioned 3 March 1951 at San Francisco . Her duties during the next 4 years were varied . " Rockwall " carried 1 , 500 Army troops to Bremerhaven , Germany in August 1952 . The next spring , she took part in refresher training off Guantanamo Bay , Cuba . In January 1954 , the transport embarked Marines at Morehead City , North Carolina , for a 5 - month tour of duty in the Mediterranean with the 6th Fleet . She returned to Norfolk , Virginia on 27 May and began a series of amphibious operations off the beaches of Virginia and Vieques Island near Puerto Rico . Final decommission . " Rockwall " entered the Reserve Fleet again 4 June 1955 and decommissioned 28 September . On 1 December 1958 , she was struck from the Navy List and was transferred to the custody of the Maritime Administration , after which she was berthed in James River , Virginia . She was disposed of by MARAD on 1 August 1983 , final disposition is unknown . Decorations . For her service in World War II , " Rockwall " earned one battle star .