USS President Adams ( APA - 19 ) USS " President Adams " ( AP - 38 / APA - 19 ) was a of the United States Navy , named for John Adams and John Quincy Adams , the second and sixth Presidents of the United States . Service history . " President Adams " , built under Maritime Commission contract , was laid down as MC hull 57 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co . , Newport News , Virginia , on 6 June 1940 ; launched on 31 January 1941 ; sponsored by Mrs . Robert H . Jackson ; delivered to the Navy on 5 June 1941 ; converted by the Norfolk Navy Yard ; and commissioned on 19 November 1941 , Commander C . W . Brewington in command . 1941 – 1942 . Stripped for war service with the entry of the United States into World War II , on 7 December 1941 , " President Adams " fired her guns against the enemy , a U - boat , for the first time on Christmas Day . Following the encounter , she continued her shakedown exercises , then , steamed to the Pacific and trained troops off California as she readied for her first amphibious operation . In June 1942 , she embarked the 3rd Battalion , 2nd Marines , and got underway on 1 July for the South Pacific . Between 7 and 9 August , as the United States launched the first step on the island - paved path to victory in the Pacific , her LCM s and LCVP s landed the Marines in the Guadalcanal - Tulagi area . Retiring from the area , the converted liner carried casualties to Samoa , whence she began bringing in reinforcements . For six months she transported fresh troops and equipment to , and brought out wounded from , Guadalcanal . 1943 . Organized resistance on Guadalcanal ceased on 9 February 1943 , but the Solomon Islands campaign was not over . " President Adams " , redesignated APA - 19 ( effective 1 February ) continued to carry men and equipment to and from embattled islands of the south Pacific , escaping serious damage from numerous Japanese air attacks . During March and April she trained assault troops in New Zealand , then transported men and materiel from there , and from Australia , to Guadalcanal , whence she steamed with United States Army forces for Rendova . Landing those troops on 30 June , she took on survivors from on 1 July , and sailed to Nouméa . From New Caledonia , " President Adams " returned to New Zealand , underwent an abbreviated overhaul , then resumed transporting men and equipment to the Solomon Islands and training assault troops for amphibious operations , this time for the Bougainville campaign . On 1 November , after bombarding the beaches at Torokina Point , she landed the 1st Battalion , 3rd Marines , at Empress Augusta Bay . 1944 . During the next six months , " President Adams " thrice returned to Bougainville with reinforcements ; carried Army Engineers to Emirau ; transported two groups of Army reinforcements to Cape Gloucester on New Britain ; and then prepared for action in the Mariana Islands . In June 1944 , she steamed to Kwajalein , thence to Saipan , where , as a floating reserve , she stood by to the east of the island as the Battle of the Philippine Sea raged to the west . With the postponement of the assault on Guam and her troops not needed on Saipan , she steamed to Eniwetok where she remained until 17 July . On the 21st , she stood off Guam as the Battle of Guam got underway , and , during the next five days , unloaded men and equipment , sent supplies and provisions , including hot food , to the beaches and took on casualties for evacuation to Pearl Harbor and the West Coast . By 16 October , having undergone overhaul , " President Adams " embarked construction equipment at Port Hueneme and SeaBee s personnel at San Francisco , California and sailed for Manus Island . Thence she returned to New Caledonia where she took on Army infantrymen for transportation west , to the assault beaches on Lingayen Gulf , Luzon . 1945 . " President Adams " landed " passengers " and cargo on 11 – 12 January 1945 , then retired to Leyte , discharging casualties from the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf . She then sailed back to Guam , whence she carried Marine Corps units to Iwo Jima , landing them on 19 February . During the first ten days of the Battle of Iwo Jima she stood off the beaches , unloading cargo , receiving casualties , provisioning and repairing small boats . After retiring to Saipan , " President Adams " continued on to Nouméa , whence she carried Army personnel to Leyte , and then , for the next two months , she ferried troops from New Guinea to the Philippines . On 17 July she got underway for the United States . Emerging from overhaul at Portland , Oregon , after the cessation of hostilities , " President Adams " commenced moving occupation troops to the Far East and returning veterans to the United States . Post - war , 1945 - 1950 . After the initial post - war transport assignments , she carried dependents to occupied zones and transported military personnel and equipment to ports in Japan , China and the Philippines . On 7 March 1947 , she departed the West Coast for Norfolk , Virginia . Arriving on the 24th , she commenced cargo and passenger runs between the East Coast and the Caribbean . Designated for inactivation in October 1949 , she completed her last Caribbean run , to Port - au - Prince , Trinidad , and Coco Solo , on 19 January - 2 February 1950 , and on the 8th departed Norfolk for the West Coast . Decommissioning and disposal . On 2 March she arrived at San Francisco , where she decommissioned 14 June 1950 and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet . She remained berthed at San Francisco until stricken from the Navy List on 1 October 1958 , and transferred to the Maritime Administration ' s National Defense Reserve Fleet , and was berthed at Suisun Bay , California into 1970 . " President Adams " was scrapped in Taiwan in 1974 . Awards . " President Adams " earned 9 battle star s during World War II .