USS General A . W . Brewster ( AP - 155 ) USS " General A . W . Brewster " ( AP - 155 ) was a for the U . S . Navy in World War II . The ship was crewed by the U . S . Coast Guard throughout the war . She was named in honor of U . S . Army general Andre Walker Brewster . She was transferred to the U . S . Army as USAT " General A . W . Brewster in 1946 . On 1 March 1950 she was transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service ( MSTS ) as USNS " General A . W . Brewster " ( T - AP - 155 ) . She was later sold for commercial operation under the name SS " Philadelphia , before being scrapped some time after November 1987 . Operational history . " General A . W . Brewster " ( AP - 155 ) was laid down 10 October 1944 under Maritime Commission contract ( MC # 712 ) by Kaiser Co . , Inc . , Yard 3 , Richmond , California ; launched 21 January 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs . Bert Hotchkiss ; acquired and commissioned 23 April 1945 , Comdr . E . E . Hahn , USCG , in command . After shakedown out of San Diego , the transport sailed 28 May from San Pedro . Transiting the Panama Canal , she arrived Avonmouth , England , 20 June and embarked troops for Pacific ports . Sailing westward , " General A . W . Brewster " passed through the canal again and arrived $ 3 , New Guinea , 27 July 1945 . She then sailed to the Philippines , remaining there until after the capitulation of Japan . The ship embarked veterans and returned to San Francisco 1 September . " General A . W . Brewster " made three additional voyages to the Far East in the immediate postwar period , bringing home thousands of servicemen . She decommissioned at San Francisco 10 April 1946 and was transferred to the Maritime Commission and later to Army Transportation Service for Pacific duty . One journey made by USAT " General A . W . Brewster " left Manila in September 1946 with elements of the U . S . Thirteenth Air Force and arriving in Oakland the next month . The ship was reacquired by the Navy 1 March 1950 and sailed for the Military Sea Transportation Service with a civilian crew . " General A . W . Brewster " made many voyages to Korea and Japan during the next 3 years , carrying more than 67 , 000 troops . A typical voyage of this period was one that arrived in San Francisco on 25 May 1952 and was documented by photojournalist s with the " San Francisco News - Call Bulletin " . In 1954 the ship was diverted to the coast of Indochina for Operation Passage to Freedom . During September and November " General A . W . Brewster " and other navy ships brought thousands of refugees out of the northern sector of Vietnam as that country was partitioned . Returning to San Francisco , the transport was placed in Reduced Operational Status in December 1954 , and was returned to the Maritime Administration 26 July 1955 . " General A . W . Brewster " was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet , Suisun Bay , California , where she remained until being sold for commercial service in 1968 . She was converted to a container ship and operated for Sea - Land Service , Inc . under the name SS " Philadelphia " . She was sold to ship breaker s in Taiwan in November 1987 . " General A . W . Brewster " received five battle star s for Korean War service .