USS Blount ( AK - 163 ) USS Blount ( AK - 163 ) was an " Alamosa " - class cargo ship commissioned by the U . S . Navy for service in World War II . She was responsible for delivering troops , goods and equipment to locations in the war zone . " Blount " ( AK - 163 ) was laid down on 7 August 1944 at Richmond , California , by the Kaiser Cargo Co . , Inc . , under a Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 2108 ) ; launched on 19 October 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . R . E . St . Clair ; delivered to the Navy on 26 January 1945 ; and placed in commission that same day , Lt . William H . Leverett , USNR , in command . World War II Pacific Theatre operations . Following a period of modifications and shakedown training , " Blount " loaded cargo and stood out of San Francisco , California , on 16 March . Three weeks later , on 8 April , she arrived at Manus in the Admiralty Islands . The ship spent three days there discharging cargo before returning to sea on the 11th , bound — via Biak Island — for Morotai in the Netherlands East Indies . Supporting the troops in Borneo and the Philippines . She stopped at Biak from 14 to 16 April and arrived at Morotai on the 19th . There , she issued provisions to ships staging for the assault on Tarakan , Borneo . On 29 May , " Blount " set sail for Borneo and , on 1 June , arrived at Tarakan where she dispensed emergency rations for Australian troops fighting for the island . Two days later , she headed for the Philippines . The cargo ship stopped off overnight on 7 and 8 June at Parang on Mindanao Island to unload supplies before heading back to Morotai . She reached Morotai on 10 June and remained there until the 28th . On that day , " Blount " stood out to sea and , on 3 July , reentered Seeadler Harbor at Manus . Minor collision with a merchantman . The ship remained at Manus for over a month intermittently loading cargo and undergoing repairs for minor damage incurred in a collision with a civilian merchantman that occurred just before she entered the harbor . " Blount " returned to sea on 7 August , bound for the Philippines . Seven days later , she arrived in the harbor at Cebu City on Cebu Island in the southern Philippines . End - of - war activity . On the morning of the 15th , while still at Cebu , she received word of the cessation of hostilities with Japan . The cargo ship departed Cebu on 17 August and entered port at Iloilo on Panay Island on the 18th to provision transports with Japan - bound occupation troops embarked . From there , she moved to Puerto Princesa on Palawan Island where she issued provisions to shore stations . Visits to Brunei Bay , Borneo ; Tawi Tawi in the Sulu Archipelago ; and Tarakan , Borneo , followed . " Blount " departed Tarakan on 8 September ; transited the Makassar Strait ; and reached Balikpapan , Borneo , on the 10th . Two days later , the ship stood out of Balikpapan , bound for the Philippines . She delivered provisions at Zamboanga on Mindanao and at Isabela on Basilan Island before leaving the Philippines on the 24th for the Admiralty Islands . The ship entered Seeadler Harbor , Manus , on 2 October and began voyage repairs . Assigned as general cargo ship . " Blount " remained at Manus until mid - November . During her stay , her mission was changed from that of a fleet issue ship to that of a general cargo ship . She departed Manus on 16 November and arrived at Luzon on Christmas Day 1945 . Return Stateside . On 5 January 1946 , " Blount " began the long voyage back to the United States . She arrived in the Panama Canal Zone on 22 February and , after transiting the canal , got underway for Hampton Roads , Virginia , on 2 March . She remained at Norfolk , Virginia , until 8 April at which time she moved to Baltimore , Maryland . Post - war decommissioning . " Blount " was decommissioned there on 18 April 1946 . She was delivered to the Maritime Commission ' s War Shipping Administration ( WSA ) on 24 April 1946 , and her name was struck from the Navy list on 1 May 1946 . By the spring of 1948 , she had been sold to Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij N . V . which steamship line put her in service as " SS Hecuba " . She later served two other steamship lines as " SS Anna " and SS " Panos " before ending her merchant service sometime between January 1974 and January 1975 . Military awards and honors . The record does not indicate any battle stars for " Blount " . However , her crew was eligible for the following medals :