USS Allagash ( AO - 97 ) USS " Allagash " ( AO - 97 ) was an oiler constructed for the U . S . Navy for use in World War II . She had the dangerous task of supplying fuel and ammunition to ships in and near combat area . " Allagash " ( AO - 97 ) was laid down on 26 October 1944 at Sparrows Point , Maryland , by the Bethlehem Steel Co . under a Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 2559 ) ; launched on 14 April 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs . Reuben D . Vining ; acquired by the Navy on a loan - charter basis on 21 August 1945 ; and commissioned that same day , Lt . Comdr . Howard C . Plummer , USNR , in command . World War II North Atlantic operations . The oiler departed Baltimore on 27 August for shakedown training in Chesapeake Bay . She completed this cruise — interrupted by an availability at the Norfolk Navy Yard between 4 and 15 September — late in that month and put to sea from Norfolk , Virginia , on 28 September , bound for the West Indies . Operating from Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , the ship spent the next 10 weeks carrying fuel oil between ports on the Gulf Coast of the United States and bases in the West Indies . She also conducted underway refueling exercises before returning to Norfolk on 10 December and remaining there for the rest of the year . Post - war Atlantic operations . At the beginning of 1946 , the ship was assigned to the Naval Transportation Service and began regular voyages carrying oil from gulf coast and West Indian oil ports to cities along the east coast . By August 1947 , she expanded her itinerary to include Persian Gulf oil ports , making two round - trip voyages between the United States and the island of Bahrain during the period August 1947 to April 1948 . During the summer of 1948 , " Allagash " began deployments with the U . S . 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea . Returning to the east coast of the United States in September 1948 , she resumed runs between the Atlantic seaboard and oil ports in the West Indies and along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico . Participation in 1952 NATO exercises . " Allagash " did not deploy to the Mediterranean again until 1951 when she operated with the 6th Fleet between June and September . Her next overseas deployment came in the summer of 1952 when she sailed to northern European ports during a training cruise for midshipmen . That fall , the oiler participated in the NATO exercise " Operation Mainbrace . " In the spring of 1953 , the ship was once more deployed to the Mediterranean . Operations along the eastern seaboard occupied her time during the latter part of 1953 and the first five months of 1954 . Early in June 1954 , " Allagash " sailed for Europe again on the first of two midshipmen training cruises conducted that summer . Repairs and western Atlantic missions took up the remainder of that year . 1955 West Indies exercises . In mid - January 1955 , she completed a three - month overhaul and embarked upon three weeks of refresher training in the West Indies . During the latter part of February and the first week in March , the oiler took part in the annual " Springboard " exercise in the West Indies . She embarked upon another cruise to the Mediterranean early in May and returned to the United States at the beginning of October . Emergency repairs kept her out of operation in November and December . In the 10 years between the beginning of 1956 and the beginning of 1966 , " Allagash " continued to conduct operations along the lines established during her first decade of service . She made six deployments to the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea , participated in NATO exercises , and made midshipmen cruises . When not deployed overseas , the oiler conducted east coast and West Indian missions , including the annual " Springboard " fleet exercise as well as type training , refresher training , and independent ship exercises . Supporting the fleet during the Cuban crisis . During November and December 1962 , she earned the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for providing logistics support to the warships enforcing President John F . Kennedy ' s " quarantine " of Cuba to compel the Soviet Union to remove offensive missiles from that island . 1966 South Atlantic tour . The year 1966 , the first of her last five of active service , began as had many of the previous 20 . She had returned from a Mediterranean deployment late in 1965 . February 1966 brought the usual " Springboard " exercises in the West Indies followed by several weeks of operations out of Newport , Rhode Island . On 21 June , " Allagash " departed Newport on a voyage that added a new area of the world to her itinerary , the South Atlantic . During that cruise , she visited Port Elizabeth in South Africa and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil , before returning to Newport on 18 August . After a period of post - deployment standdown and local operations , the oiler began regular overhaul at Boston on 17 November . 1968 Springboard operations . She completed repairs on 30 April 1967 and resumed operations out of Newport , Rhode Island . On 10 August , the ship was again deployed to the Mediterranean . " Allagash " returned to Newport on 4 February 1968 and , after standdown , participated in the annual " Springboard " exercises and conducted local operations from her base at Newport . Between 22 April and 14 June , she took part in exercises in the northern Atlantic during which she also visited northern European ports . She returned to the Rhode Island coast on 14 June visiting Melville , Rhode Island , and Newport until 19 July . During the remainder of the year , " Allagash " completed missions off the coasts of Florida and New England . On 6 January 1969 , the oiler departed Newport on her final assignment with the U . S . 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean and returned to Newport on 27 July . She spent her final year of service operating off the east coast of the United States . Inactivation and decommissioning . " Allagash " was placed in commission , in reserve , at Boston , Massachusetts , on 2 September 1970 to prepare for inactivation . On 21 December 1970 , she was decommissioned . Though she remained Navy property , " Allagash " was turned over to the custody of the Maritime Administration on 13 November 1971 at its James River , Virginia , facility . Her name was struck from the Navy list on 1 June 1973 , and she was sold to the Union Minerals & Alloys Corp . on 22 March 1976 for scrapping . Her ship ' s bell has been preserved as the church bell of St . Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church in Wilmington , Delaware . Military awards and honors . " Allagash " was authorized the following medals for World War II :