USS Theenim ( AKA - 63 ) USS " Theenim " ( AKA - 63 ) was an " Andromeda " class attack cargo ship said to be named after a star in the constellation " Eridanus . " ( Eridanus has no star of that name , but " does " have one named " Theemin " ; possibly the ship ' s name is a misspelling . ) " Theenim " was one of a handful of AKA ' s manned by a Coast Guard crew in World War II . She served as a commissioned ship for 16 months . " Theenim " ( AKA - 63 ) was laid down under Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 215 ) on 18 July 1944 at Kearny , New Jersey , by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co . , launched on 31 October 1944 , sponsored by Mrs . Joseph Midder , and commissioned on 22 December 1944 , Comdr . G . A . Littlefield , USCG , in command . Service history . On 6 January 1945 , " Theenim " got underway for Hampton Roads , Virginia , and a brief shakedown in the Chesapeake Bay - Virginia Capes area . After loading at Norfolk , the attack cargo ship got underway for the $ 3 on the 27th . The ship proceeded via the Panama Canal and Hawaii to the Solomon Islands , arriving at Guadalcanal on 5 March . Assigned to Amphibious Squadron 5 , " Theenim " loaded troops and equipment and headed for the Marianas on 15 March . She sortied from the Saipan staging area on 27 March with Task Group 51 . 2 , Demonstration Group " Charlie , " for the assault on Okinawa . " Theenim " arrived oif the Hagushi Beaches on 1 April , but did not land her troops until the 3rd , when she began offloading mobile equipment and debarking Marines . Three days later , she helped to splash a " Val " some 1 , 000 yards off her stern . On the 12th , her gunners shot down a " Zeke " that passed about 60 feet over her bridge . On the 15th , her gunners aided in the destruction of an " Oscar . " The next day , " Theenim " joined a convoy that was retiring to the Marianas , and she arrived at Saipan on 19 April . On 4 June , she stood put of Tanapag Harbor to return to the Solomons to pick up cargo and carry it to Guam where she arrived on 3 July . For the next three months — the last phase of the fighting and the early days of the occupation — the ship shuttled supplies between Saipan , Manus , Guadalcanal , Espiritu Santo , Leyte , Hokkaidō , and Honshū . On 5 November , she departed Tokyo Bay for the United States . " Theenim " arrived at Portland , Oregon , on 17 November and moved down the coast to San Francisco on 9 December . On 27 December , the ship left the west coast for the Philippines and arrived at Subic Bay on 17 January 1946 . She operated in the Philippine Islands until 19 March when she got underway for San Francisco . Upon her arrival on the west coast , the ship was ordered to report to the Atlantic Fleet for disposition . She reached Norfolk on 19 April . " Theenim " was decommissioned and returned to the War Shipping Administration on 10 May and was struck from the Navy List on 12 May 1946 . Renamed " American Inventor " in 1948 the ship carried on in merchant service under the house flag of the United States Lines , being renamed again , to " Pioneer Surf " , in 1958 . Renamed " Australian Surf " in 1965 , she operated under the flag of Farrell Lines , Inc . , into the late 1960s . Awards . " Theenim " received one battle star for World War II service .