USS Rainier ( AE - 5 ) USS " Rainier " ( AE - 5 ) , the second US Navy vessel named after Mount Rainier , was laid down on 14 May 1940 by the Tampa Shipbuilding Co . , Tampa , Fla . , as " Rainbow " ( MC hull 124 ) ; launched 1 March 1941 ; sponsored by Mrs . Robert E . Anderson ; transferred to the US Navy on 16 April 1941 ; converted for use as an ammunition auxiliary ; and commissioned as " Rainier " ( AE - 5 ) on 21 December 1941 at Norfolk , Va . , Capt . William W . Meek in command . World War II . After a 6 - week shakedown in Cuban waters , " Rainier " transited the Panama Canal and reported to Commander , Service Force , Pacific Fleet . Between February and May 1942 , she made two ammunition runs from Port Chicago , Calif . , to Pearl Harbor , whence , on 10 May , she steamed for Tongatapu . There , through the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway , she offloaded her cargo for transfer to shore depots and issued ammunition to Allied ships , particularly task forces 18 , 15 , and 16 . At the end of July , she shifted to the Fijis to supply ships preparing for Operation Watchtower , the assault on the Solomon s . Then , on 5 August , she continued on to Noumea , New Caledonia , where she remained through the initial phases of the Guadalcanal campaign . On 24 September , " Rainier " moved southeast to Auckland and on the 27 September headed back to the United States . For the remainder of the year and into 1943 , she made ammunition and general cargo runs between the west coast and Hawaii . At the end of February , she sailed once more for the South Pacific . She arrived at Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides on 17 March and remained until 5 May . She then shifted to Efate where she offloaded her remaining torpedoes and ammunition ; took on empty shell cases and damaged ammunition ; and on the 14th got underway to return to San Francisco and another 5 months of west coast - Hawaii shuttle operations . On 25 October , she headed back to Efate . Arriving on 11 November , just prior to the Gilbert Islands campaign , she discharged general and ammunition cargo in Havannah Harbor into December . On the 21st , she shifted to Espiritu Santo ; thence proceeded to Funafuti in the Ellice group . There , she issued ammunition to ships of the fast carrier forces , to the defense forces of the occupied areas , and to the forces preparing for the Marshall s offensive . On 31 January 1944 , Majuro was occupied and work was begun to turn the atoll into a major advance base . " Rainier " arrived in the lagoon three day later . In mid - April , she returned to San Francisco . At the end of May , she was back at Majuro to rearm the fast carrier forces prior to strikes supporting the initial assault on Saipan . On 11 June , as the assault force moved toward Saipan , " Rainier " shifted to Eniwetok , whence , in mid - July , she steamed to Saipan . On 30 July , she sailed east again ; completed an abbreviated overhaul at San Francisco ; filled her holds at Port Chicago ; and returned to Eniwetok on 31 October . The Philippine campaign had started and the fast carrier forces were striking at Japanese positions and shipping from Indochina to the Ryukyus . " Rainier " moved west , to the western Carolines . On 5 November , she arrived at Ulithi , where she remained until after Okinawa operations were well underway . On 25 May 1945 , the ammunition ship headed for the Philippines , where she served the Allies from the 28th until after the signing of the surrender documents . Assigned to support occupation forces , " Rainier " steamed for Okinawa in mid - September . On 6 December , she sailed for the United States , arriving at Port Angeles , on the 23 December . With the new year , 1946 , she began preparations for inactivation . In the spring she shifted to San Diego ; decommissioned there on 30 August , and was berthed with the Pacific Reserve Fleet through the end of the decade . Korean War . In June 1950 the North Korean Army crossed the 38th Parallel and invaded the Republic of Korea ( South Korea ) . United States and other United Nations forces deployed to bolster South Korean forces attempting to slow the advance of the Communists . Supplies , however , were inadequate . Munitions depots in the Far East and in Micronesia were limited in quantity and type . USS Mount Katmai ( AE - 16 ) was the only ammunition ship active in the Pacific . Ammunition facilities on the west coast were expanded . As the Military Sea Transportation Service and the Maritime Administration were pressed for cargo space , reserve fleet ships were ordered activated . " Rainier " recommissioned 25 May 1951 , but remained in the eastern Pacific for 6 months . On 3 November , she sailed west . Through December of that year and into the summer of 1952 , she operated out of Sasebo , carrying her vital cargo to replenishment areas off the coast of the embattled Korean peninsula and to shore facilities at Pohang and Pusan . In September , she returned to California for overhaul , but was back in Korean waters to resupply United Nations naval forces in early February 1953 . The end of July 1953 brought an uneasy truce , and in August " Rainier " headed back to the United States . In November , however , she returned to the Far East on her first , peacetime , 6 - month WestPac deployment . Through 1955 , her annual deployments included shuttle runs between Japanese ports and 7th Fleet replenishment areas in waters off Japan and Korea . In 1956 , her operating schedule was expanded and into the 1960s included operations in the Philippine area out of Subic Bay . Vietnam War . In 1964 , as the war in Vietnam expanded , Subic Bay became the focal point of " Rainier ’ s " 7th Fleet support activities . There when the Tonkin Gulf crisis occurred , 4 – 5 August , she put to sea immediately and steamed to the gulf to rearm carriers conducting strikes on North Vietnamese bases . For the next months , " Rainier " operated between Subic Bay and replenishment areas off Vietnam . In late October , she sailed for Japan and in December , she arrived back at her homeport , Concord , California In the late spring of 1965 , she resumed 7th Fleet operations and by January 1966 , had transferred at sea almost 12 , 000 tons of ammunition , 83 tons of freight , and 11 , 500 pounds of mail . In February , she returned to Concord . In April , she moved to San Francisco for overhaul and , in August , began refresher training with new equipment aboard which increased her underway replenishment capabilities . In February 1967 , " Rainier " resumed her annual deployments to provide underway logistic support to the 7th Fleet . By 16 September , the date of her last at - sea munitions transfer on that tour , she had transferred 13 , 000 tons during 204 underway replenishments . Departing Subic Bay on 25 September for her homeport , " Rainier " touched at Yokosuka , and Pearl Harbor before arriving at Concord on 25 October . Throughout the remainder of 1967 and the first half of 1968 , " Rainier " conducted independent underway replenishment exercises and participated in fleet exercises along the southern California coast . On 29 June , she departed Concord for the western Pacific , arriving at Subic Bay on 21 July . Following a week in port , " Rainier " got underway for her first replenishment cycle . It was during this first cycle that she was awarded the Battle Efficiency " E " for fiscal year 1968 . On 21 November , during her sixth line cycle , " Rainier " established her best underway replenishment record by transferring 826 tons to USS " Camden " ( AOE - 2 ) in a 5 - hour period . By the end of the year the converted World War II C - 2 cargo ship had transferred more than 11 , 000 tons in support of carriers , their escorts , and SAR vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin and to gunfire support and coastal surveillance units operating along South Vietnam ' s coast . " Rainier " returned to Concord in February 1969 and following 6 months of operations along the west coast , once again deployed for the western Pacific . Upon completion of her last tour off Vietnam in January 1970 , Rainier sailed for home and preparation for inactivation . She was decommissioned and struck from the Navy list on 7 August 1970 . " Rainier " ( AE - 5 ) earned four battle star s during the Korean War and eight off Vietnam .