USS Marion County ( LST - 975 ) USS " Marion County " ( LST - 975 ) was an built for the United States Navy during World War II . Named after counties in seventeen U . S . states , she was the only U . S . Naval vessel to bear the name . Originally laid down as " LST - 975 " by the Bethlehem - Hingham Shipyards , Inc . of Hingham , Massachusetts on 1 December 1944 ; launched on 6 January 1945 , sponsored by Miss Alice J . Varian ; and commissioned on 3 February 1945 with Lieutenant David S . Stanley in command . World War II . After shakedown in Chesapeake Bay , " LST - 975 " departed New York on 27 March 1945 for the Pacific , via the Panama Canal , arriving Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , on 1 May for amphibious warfare exercises in the Maui area . She steamed to Seattle , Washington , arriving on 13 June to embark 119 Army troops and equipment . Sailing on 28 June via Hawaii , Eniwetok , and Saipan , she arrived Okinawa on 17 August , two days after the Japanese surrender . On the 23rd she got underway for Saipan to embark men and equipment of the 2nd Marine Division for the occupation of Japan . " LST - 975 " reached Nagasaki on 24 September and began unloading . Two days later she continued on to the Philippines , entering San Pedro Bay , Leyte Gulf , on 7 October . " LST - 975 " again got underway for Japan six days later , embarked men and equipment of the United States Army ' s 52nd Field Artillery Battalion at Mindanao en route , and arrived at Maysuyama on 25 October to disembark passengers and cargo . She returned to the Philippines from Honshū the 29th , mooring at Manila on 6 November . The ship spent the next five months conveying troops and equipment between the various ports of the Philippines until she decommissioned in Subic Bay , Luzon , on 16 April 1946 and was turned over to the Army for operations in the Far East . Korean War . " LST - 975 " was still in service there when at 0400 on 25 June 1950 the North Korean People ' s Army struck south across the 38th Parallel . On 27 June President Harry S . Truman ordered American naval and air support of the Republic of Korea . That afternoon the Security Council called upon all members of the United Nations to assist in repelling the North Korean attack . With the need for shipping for an immediate large - scale lift of troops and supplies , " LST - 975 " was assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service ( MSTS ) on 1 July , to be manned by a Japanese civilian crew . On 28 August she recommissioned at Yokosuka , Japan , with Lieutenant Arnold W . Harer in command . After training out of Kobe , Japan , " LST - 975 " joined the Amphibious Forces , Pacific Fleet , and arrived off Inchon , Korea , on 15 September for supply duty through the landings on 15 to 17 September , and into the middle of October . That first day she was repeatedly harassed by sniper fire as she beached on " Red Beach ; " a mortar shell wounded one man . While she unloaded during the next few days , marine casualties were brought on board for care by Surgical Team 3 . Completing unloading by the 17th , she spent the next month on ship - to - shore supply operations . On 15 October the tank landing ship departed Inchon for Wonsan , arriving the 25th , five days after the original landings . The difficulties of land transportation on the peninsula repeatedly emphasized the key importance of seaborne supply . " LST - 975 " s supply runs lasted into the middle of 1951 . She departed Yokosuka , Japan , on 1 May for the west coast , arriving San Diego the 26th , and operated along the California coast for the next eight months before returning to the Far East . " LST - 975 " arrived off Yokosuka on 11 March 1952 . She again supported the deterrent efforts of the United Nations Forces in Korea from 4 April during protracted armistice negotiations until departing on 20 October for the west coast . " LST - 975 " received six battle star s for Korean War service . Inter - war . On 19 June 1953 , " LST - 975 " sailed via Seattle and Point Barrow to resupply Distant Early Warning Line ( DEWS ) radar stations along the Arctic Circle . On 25 August she departed Seward , Alaska , to resume operations out of San Diego until 19 October when she got underway for another cruise to the Far East . Following arrival at Yokosuka on 13 November , the tank landing ship spent nearly five months in amphibious warfare training . From 23 to 26 March 1954 , she participated in a simulated assault landing on Iwo Jima - nearly a decade after the World War II operation on 19 February 1945 . Returning to the west coast , the LST arrived San Diego on 20 May for two years of coastal duty . Renamed USS " Marion County " ( LST - 975 ) on 1 July 1955 , she departed San Diego on 9 January 1956 for training exercises off Hawaii and the Philippines . After a stay in the Long Beach , California area from 14 April to 5 May , " Marion County " sailed for Portland , Oregon , arriving on 9 May . The next day she decommissioned and was turned over to MSTS . The ship operated in the Pacific until 26 September 1957 when she entered the MSTS " ready reserve " fleet at Suisun Bay , California . " Marion County " remained there until 21 October 1960 when she was returned to the Navy account to be placed in temporary custody of the Maritime Commission . Vietnam War . On 12 April 1962 " Marion County " was transferred under the Military Assistance Program to the Republic of Vietnam . Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 June 1963 , she served South Vietnam as RVNS " Cam Ranh " ( HQ - 500 ) . Following the Fall of Saigon on 29 April 1975 , " Cam Ranh " escaped to the Philippines . Transferred to the Philippine Navy on 17 November 1975 , the ship was renamed BRP " Zamboanga Del Sur " ( LT - 86 ) , and is still active as part of the Philippine Navy as of 2013 .