USS Atascosa ( AO - 66 ) USS Atascosa ( AO - 66 ) was an " Atascosa " - class fleet oiler acquired by 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 areas in both the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean . " SS Esso Columbia II " was built at Chester , Pennsylvania , by the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co . for the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey ; launched on 7 September 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs . Harold G . McAvenia ; renamed by the Navy " Atascosa " and designated AO - 66 on 16 September 1942 ; purchased by the Navy on 12 October 1942 : and commissioned on 9 November 1942 , Lt . Comdr . Melvin H . Bassett in command . World War II North Atlantic operations . Following her commissioning at Baltimore , Maryland , the oiler sailed to Hampton Roads , Virginia , where she arrived on 19 November . At the conclusion of a month of trials , she got underway on 19 December for Port Arthur , Texas , where she took on a cargo of fuel oil and gasoline and then returned to Norfolk , Virginia , on 3 January 1943 . After a two - day respite , " Atascosa " left the U . S . East Coast , bound for Bermuda . She spent one week there before sailing back into Norfolk on 16 January . " Atascosa " made another run to Port Arthur for more oil and discharged that cargo at Norfolk before entering a drydock at the Norfolk Navy Yard for a brief period of repairs . When the oiler was refloated , she began preparations for a deployment to the Pacific . Transfer to the Pacific Fleet . " Atascosa " left Norfolk on 19 March and , after stops at Galveston , Texas , and Baytown , Texas , transited the Panama Canal on 4 April . Her ultimate destination was Noumea , New Caledonia , which she reached on 28 April . The oiler discharged her cargo and then loaded more fuel oil and aviation gasoline to be taken to Samoa . She arrived at Pago Pago on 4 May , but left the next day , bound for the United States , and reached San Pedro , California , on 28 May . There , she took on a cargo of petroleum and aircraft for transportation to Suva , Fiji Islands , and Nouméa , New Caledonia . More shuttling between the U . S . West Coast and these ports and the west coast occupied June , July , and August . In early September , " Atascosa " left Noumea and set course for Espiritu Santo , New Hebrides . She arrived there on 9 September and began her duties fueling various ships of the fleet . In October , the oiler added Tulagi and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands to her fueling stops . She broke this routine somewhat by a trip to Nandi Bay in the Fiji Islands , where she arrived on Christmas Eve 1943 . After delivering fuel and supplies , she again got underway on 11 January 1944 to return to Espiritu Santo . Searching for survivors in the water . " Atascosa " put to sea on 15 February to rendezvous with Rear Admiral Merrill ' s Task Force ( TF ) 39 . She fueled three cruisers and four destroyers at sea before returning to Purvis Bay . A second fueling rendezvous with TF 39 took place on 6 March . The oiler stopped briefly at Purvis Bay , then went to Espiritu Santo on 15 March to begin preparations to rendezvous with a part of TF 58 . The meeting occurred at sea on 26 March . Shortly after midnight on the morning of 28 March , " Atascosa " was informed that a Liberator bomber had gone down in the vicinity of the fueling group , and she began a search for its crew . Observers on the oiler spotted a life raft , but it proved to be unoccupied , and " Atascosa " soon terminated her rescue efforts . Approached by a Japanese aircraft . On 29 March , she was servicing units of Destroyer Divisions 93 and 94 when a Japanese plane closed the group . After " Atascosa " fired two rounds at the intruder , the plane quickly departed . The rest of her mission passed without incident , and " Atascosa " retired to Espiritu Santo on 5 April . Stateside overhaul . On 21 May , " Atascosa " left New Caledonia , bound for the west coast . She arrived at Terminal Island , California , on 7 June to undergo a routine overhaul and repairs . The yard work was completed on 22 July , and the ship got underway to return to her wartime duties . She touched briefly at Pearl Harbor before finally arriving at Eniwetok on 11 August . There , she unloaded her deck cargo and serviced a number of destroyers . Standing out to sea on the 17th , the ship fueled battleships " Iowa " ( BB - 61 ) , " Indiana " ( BB - 58 ) , and " Alabama " ( BB - 60 ) . At a rendezvous with the fast carrier task force between Rota and Guam on 4 September , " Atascosa " serviced several destroyers and aircraft carrier " Enterprise " ( CV - 6 ) . Fueling during adverse weather . Air alerts interrupted the oiler ' s routine at Saipan between the 5th and the 9th , before she steamed to Guam . During September " Atascosa " fueled many units of task force TF 38 . She made stops at Saipan and Eniwetok before arriving at Ulithi on 13 October . She got underway again on 21 October to rendezvous with TG 30 . 8 in an area east of Luzon . The oiler was fueling task force TF 38 . 3 in early November when she encountered high , seas and increasingly strong winds . During the operation , hose lines between ships were carried away several times . On 7 November , while fueling " Langley " ( CVL - 27 ) , the steel manifold on the after port 6 - inch connection was carried away , forcing the suspension of operations . Six members of " Atascosa ' s " crew were injured while making and tending gasoline connections . The weather abated on 9 November , allowing the oiler ' s crew to make temporary repairs so that fueling could be resumed . " Atascosa " put into port at Ulithi on 17 November . She sailed on 10 December to meet fast carrier forces off Cape Engaño and again encountered heavy seas . This soon developed into a typhoon ; and , by 18 December , visibility was reduced to zero . The next day , the weather had improved enough to allow fueling to resume . " Atascosa " returned to Ulithi on 23 December for the Christmas holidays . Fueling the fleet at Okinawa . During January and February 1945 , " Atascosa " supported the operations of TG 30 . 8 and made several meetings with TF 58 . She dropped anchor at Ulithi on 3 March for repair work . The ships of TF 58 left Ulithi several days before " Atascosa " departed on 19 March to support their attacks on the Japanese homeland . Her next assignment was to fuel the ships of TG 50 . 8 , which were anchored off Okinawa . " Atascosa " returned to Ulithi on 1 May to undergo repairs and to replenish supplies . In mid - June , " Atascosa " set her course for Okinawa , where she remained for a month . After a brief supply stop at Ulithi , the oiler put to sea on 8 August to rendezvous with TF 38 off southern Honshū . While engaged in this mission , she received word of Japan ' s capitulation . End - of - war activity . " Atascosa " returned to Ulithi on 31 August . However , her service in the Pacific had not yet ended , as she left on 8 September to steam to Tokyo Bay . She remained in Japan until 24 September , then sailed to San Pedro , California . The oiler arrived back in the United States on 8 October . Post - war decommissioning . " Atascosa " was decommissioned on 21 January 1946 at Mare Island , California ; her name was struck from the Navy list on 7 February ; and she was transferred to the Maritime Commission on 1 July 1946 . Sold to the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey in 1947 and renamed SS " Esso Syracuse " , she transferred to Panamanian registry in 1950 but continued serving as SS " Esso Syracuse " until scrapped at Genoa 1960 . forward part grafted to after part of SS " Esso Buffalo " which became bulk carrier SS " Spitfire " and was scrapped 1973 . Military honors and awards . " Atascosa " was authorized the following campaign medals :