USS Menkar ( AK - 123 ) USS " Menkar " ( AK - 123 ) was an commissioned by the U . S . Navy for service in World War II , named after Menkar , the alpha star in constellation Cetus . She was responsible for delivering troops , goods and equipment to locations in the war zone . " Menkar " ( AK 123 ) was laid down as " SS John White " under Maritime Commission contract by St . Johns River Shipbuilding Co . , Jacksonville , Florida , 17 November 1943 ; launched 31 December 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Cora E . Owens ; acquired as " Menkar " by the Navy from the War Shipping Administration ( WSA ) under bareboat charter 17 January 1944 ; commissioned the next day , Lt . Comdr . Edward G . Gummer , USNR , in command , to be ferried to Miami , Florida , where she decommissioned 22 January for conversion by Dade Drydock Co . ; and commissioned 2 June 1944 . World War II operations . " Menkar " sailed for Norfolk , Virginia , 20 June and , following shakedown , was temporarily assigned to NTS . In late July she loaded on supplies at Norfolk and got underway for the Panama Canal Zone , via Guantanamo , Cuba , arriving 11 August for duty with the U . S . Pacific Fleet . Transferred to Coast Guard operation . In October 1944 " Menkar " was transferred to the Coast Guard for Long Range Navigation ( LORAN ) work . Construction of stations for LORAN , a navigational system for ships and planes based on the transmission of radio wave pulses , had only begun in the Pacific Ocean a year before ; and a cargo ship was needed to transport material and equipment . Establishing the first Pacific LORAN station . On 31 October " Menkar " , Lt . Comdr . Niels P . Thompsen , USCG , now in command , reached Saipan , Marianas , to unload cargo for the first LORAN station in the Marianas chain . On 11 November she anchored in Apra Harbor and unloaded supplies for the Guam station . She then continued on to Ulithi , Carolines , arriving 13 December . The Marianas stations proved invaluable in the amphibious assault on Iwo Jima in February 1945 and in the bombing attacks on Japan begun in March of that year . Establishing additional LORAN stations . On 5 March 1945 " Menkar " was off Angaur , Palaus , with materials to set up a fixed station . Four days later she was anchored at Pulo Anna , Palaus , unloading her cargo . By the end of March she had supplied the other two stations of the Palau Mortal chain . Menkar shoots down a Japanese Oscar . The cargo ship next helped tighten the LORAN network around Japan with the construction of the Iwo Jima Tokyo Okinawa chain . " Menkar " reached Kangoku Iwa off Iwo Jima 20 April , just 2 months after the U . S . Marines had first landed . Three days later she departed for Ike Shima , arriving 10 May . In the next 4 days she fought off intermittent Japanese air raids while discharging supplies at Okinawa . She continued on to Katchin Wan Harbor , Okinawa , where she again was harassed by enemy planes . On 18 May Menkar retaliated by shooting down an " Oscar " diving directly at the ship . End - of - war operations . Before construction of the third station at O Shima began , " Menkar " steamed for the west coast , via Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , arriving Seattle , Washington , 5 August . She remained there through the Japanese surrender 15 August . Post - war LORAN installations . On 14 September she departed Seattle for Pearl Harbor , embarking 307 passengers on arrival the 24th . She again embarked LORAN units and got underway 9 October for the Marianas , stopping in the Gilberts and the Marshalls before anchoring at Guam 26 October . With the construction of a China Sea LORAN chain planned soon after the cessation of hostilities , she continued on to the East China Sea for LORAN duty into the next year . When the project was abandoned , " Menkar " returned to San Francisco , California , 3 March 1946 . Post - war decommissioning . On 15 April she decommissioned and was delivered to WSA for service under the Maritime Commission as " SS John White " . She was struck from the Navy List ( date unknown ) and scrapped in 1964 at Oakland , California . Military awards and honors . " Menkar ' s " crew was eligible for the following medals :