USS Braxton ( APA - 138 ) USS " Braxton " ( APA - 138 ) was a " Haskell " - class attack transport acquired by the U . S . Navy during World War II for the task of transporting troops to and from combat areas . " Braxton " ( APA - 138 ) was laid down on 29 August 1944 at Wilmington , California , by the California Shipbuilding Corp . under a Maritime Commission contract ( MCV hull 54 ) ; launched on 3 November 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . J . R . DeFrees ; acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission on a loan - charter basis on 28 December 1944 ; and commissioned the following day at Terminal Island , San Pedro , California , Cmdr . William L . Bray , USNR , in command . A bad start for World War II service . Following alterations and repairs between 3 and 5 January 1945 , the attack transport sailed on 9 January for shakedown training in the Long Beach , California , area . Less than a week later on 14 January , " Braxton " collided with the merchant tanker " SS Mission Capistrano " during a heavy fog and suffered damage to two LCVP ' s , three life rafts , and her hull . Following repairs , the attack transport departed Long Beach on 22 January , proceeded to San Diego , California , and reported the next day for duty with the Amphibious Training Command , U . S . Pacific Fleet . Operations in the Hawaiian Islands area . " Braxton " then conducted amphibious exercises off the coast of southern California until mid - February and then headed for San Francisco , California , where she arrived on the 20th . After embarking passengers , she departed from the Bay area on the 24th , bound for Hawaii . The ship moored at Pearl Harbor on 1 March and disembarked her passengers . For the rest of the month , she operated in Hawaiian waters conducting amphibious exercises off Maui and Oahu . Heading to the combat area with troops on board . On the morning of 9 April , the attack transport sailed for the Marshalls in convoy PD - 372T — with also , " Sea Flasher " , and the minesweepers and — and anchored at Eniwetok on the morning of 18 April . The following day , after picking up additional escorts in the form of and PCE - 898 , the convoy sailed thence for the Marianas . " Braxton " reached Saipan early on 23 April and disembarked some of her passengers before pushing on to Guam which she reached on the afternoon of the 26th . There , she disembarked her remaining out - bound passengers before embarking U . S . Marine Corps officers and enlisted men for the return voyage on 1 May . That afternoon , the transport sailed for Oahu . " Braxton " arrived at Pearl Harbor on the morning of 10 May , but sailed the following morning for the U . S . West Coast . Although initially ordered to San Diego , she was redirected to San Francisco en route and disembarked 120 Marines and 217 casualties there on 17 May . After brief voyage repairs , the ship then shifted to the Naval Supply Depot at Oakland , California , where she loaded a cargo of fuel , ammunition , and supplies , before sailing for Hawaii on 30 May . Bound for the Marshall Islands and Saipan . Arriving at Pearl Harbor on 5 June , the attack transport disembarked passengers from the U . S . West Coast and embarked 5 army officers and 296 enlisted men for the voyage westward , returning to sea on the 8th bound for the Marshalls . Following a stop at Eniwetok on 15 and 16 June , she pushed on to Saipan , remained there from the 19th through the 26th , and finally headed on to Ulithi . Underway from that atoll on 20 July in convoy UOK 39 , consisting of 40 ships — both merchant and naval — the vessel arrived at Okinawa soon thereafter and discharged her cargo near Kinmu Wan on 25 July . The dangers of Japanese planes at Okinawa . While " Braxton " remained at Okinawa for the remainder of the month , wartime conditions were very much in evidence . As her war diary for 27 July states : " enemy planes definitely in [ the ] vicinity . . . " The presence of the Japanese planes usually triggered the use of smoke boats and shipboard generators to screen the ship in artificial fog . Such conditions continued into August , but the arrival of a typhoon forced the ship to sea on the 1st for two days to ride out the " blow . " And onwards to Guam . Early on the 6th , the ship weighed anchor and sailed for Ulithi , joining convoy 0KU - 17 — 34 ships and 11 escorts . Upon her arrival there on the 10th , she fueled from and received orders to sail for Saipan . Underway on 13 August , she had not gone far before she received orders re - routing her to Guam . " Braxton " moored in Apra Harbor on 14 August and commenced loading cargo and embarking passengers . All through the night and most of the morning , the embarking and loading continued until shortly before noon . Underway on the 15th , " Braxton " stood out of Apra Harbor , bound for Japan . She then formed up with , , , , , and a trio of destroyers to make up Task Unit ( TU ) 12 . 1 . 2 . End - of - war occupation operations . " Braxton " and her consorts later joined task force TF 31 — commanded by Rear Admiral Oscar C . Badger in — on the 19th and she dropped anchor in Sagami Wan , Honshū on the 27th . After landing the first occupation troops on the 30th , the ship returned to the transport area in Tokyo Bay . During the rest of the day , more Marines , together with bluejacket detachments and Royal Marine units — under the guns of the United States Third Fleet and beneath a veritable umbrella of aircraft — occupied Yokosuka . On 1 September , " Braxton " sailed for the Marianas , and anchored in Saipan harbor on the 5th . The next morning , she fueled from . She then shifted to Tanapag Harbor where , between 9 and 11 September , she embarked more than 1 , 200 passengers . She cleared Tanapag Harbor on the afternoon of 18 September , bound for Nagasaki . Early in the afternoon of 23 September , " Braxton " and the other transports disembarked the 2nd Marines and 6th Marines to occupy the atomic bomb - devastated city . Three days later , " Braxton " — with nine other APAs , an attack cargo ship , and a single escort — sailed for the Philippines . After refueling and reprovisioning at Manila from 9 to 11 October , she embarked elements of the U . S . Army ' s 25th Infantry Division at Lingayen Gulf between 12 and 14 October . She got underway on 23 October in Lingayen Nagoya Convoy No . 2 . Participating in Operation Magic Carpet . " Braxton " reached Nagoya on the 28th , but did not moor until the 30th . There , she disembarked the 25th Division , rear echelon and completed unloading her cargo later that day . Having put her " third load of occupation troops on Japan " , " Braxton " sailed for San Pedro , California , on 3 November as part of the " Operation Magic Carpet " fleet . She then made a round - trip , " Magic - Carpet " voyage to the Philippines and returned to San Pedro on 13 February 1946 . Transporting troops and prisoners to Germany . " Braxton " remained there into April . On the 9th , " LCI - 1O17 " came alongside and transferred 8 German officers , 154 enlisted men , and 2 prisoners — the remaining crewmen of the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen ( IX - 300 ) , a war prize that had been brought to the United States from the Baltic — to " Braxton " . The transport got underway at 1610 that same day . After transiting the Panama Canal on the 17th , " Braxton " reached Staten Island early on of the 23d . She then embarked 1 , 492 U . S . Army enlisted men and , with the 164 former Prinz Eugen crewmen still on board , sailed for Germany on 3 May 1946 , reaching Bremerhaven on the morning of the 10th . Final voyage to decommissioning and deactivation . Ten days later , " Braxton " got underway for the United States with naval and military passengers and reached Staten Island on 30 May . Underway for Norfolk on 3 June , " Braxton " anchored in Hampton Roads the following morning . After preparations for inactivation , she was decommissioned there on 27 June 1946 . " Braxton " was turned over to the War Shipping Administration on the 29th , and her name was struck from the Navy List on 19 July 1946 . She was placed in the portion of the National Defense Reserve Fleet berthed at James River , Virginia . She remained there , inactive , until sold on 9 April 1973 to the Union Minerals and Alloys Corp . , of New York City , to be scrapped .