USS Barrow ( APA - 61 ) USS " Barrow " ( APA - 61 ) was a " Gilliam " class attack transport serving in the United States Navy during World War II . The unnamed attack transport APA - 61 was laid down on 28 January 1944 at Wilmington , California , by the Consolidated Steel Corporation , under a Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 1854 ) ; named for Barrow County , Georgia , on 11 March 1944 ; launched on 11 May 1944 ; accepted by the Navy on 27 September 1944 ; and commissioned on 28 September 1944 at San Pedro , California , Lieutenant Commander Herman Jorgensen , USNR , in command . She was named for a county in north central Georgia World War II Career . After fitting out at Terminal Island , California , the attack transport conducted her shakedown between 8 and 18 October near San Clemente and Santa Barbara Island s . She departed the west coast on 23 October with , , and , bound for Hawaii . Arriving in Pearl Harbor on the 29th , " Barrow " then conducted amphibious exercises at Maui with elements of the Army ' s 381st and 389th Regimental Combat Teams through the end of November . After embarking two Navy construction battalion s at Pearl Harbor , " Barrow " sailed for the Marianas on 15 December in company with , , and . " Barrow " and her two escorts - " Flint " left the convoy soon after departure — steamed by way of Eniwetok in the Marshalls and reached Apra Harbor , Guam , on the 27th . Later that day , " Barrow " moved on to Tinian where she arrived on the 28th . She disembarked the two construction battalions the next day and headed back to Guam , arriving in Apra on the 30th . She loaded elements of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing and got underway for Hawaii in company with and on the last day of 1944 . The attack transport reached Pearl Harbor on 9 January 1945 and disembarked her passengers . The following day , she shifted berths to prepare for her first major operation — the assault on Iwo Jima , a small island in the Volcano Islands chain situated midway between Japan and American B - 29 bases in the Marianas . Ideally suited to serve both as a base for fighter escort and as an emergency landing area for B - 29 ' s , Iwo Jima also figured prominently in Japanese defense plans . " Barrow " took on board a cargo of 8 inch ammunition to replenish the heavy cruisers supporting the landings . She embarked elements of the 5th Amphibious Corps , both at Pearl Harbor and at Maui , and then conducted four days of intense training at Maalaea Bay at Maui . Afterward , she spent nine days of logistics and rehabilitation at Pearl Harbor . Iwo Jima . " Barrow " left Hawaii on 27 January 1945 , bound via the Marshalls for the Marianas . She reached Eniwetok on 5 February , fueled from and provisioned before resuming the voyage to the Marianas on the 7th . She reached Saipan on 11 February . Bad weather postponed her scheduled practice landings for two days so that only a single rehearsal was carried out off Tinian ' s western shores on the 13th . The voyage to the Volcano Islands proved uneventful . " Barrow " - attached to Transport Group " Baker " ( Task Group ( TG ) 53 . 2 ) - reached the immediate vicinity of Iwo Jima at dawn on D day , 19 February 1945 , and lowered her first boats to the water at 0645 . Soon , she sent the medical section of her beach party to the hospital configured tank landing ship , LST ( H ) - 930 , before transferring 76 marines to and sending nine of her boats to " Lowndes " . " Barrow " then remained in Transport Area " Baker " , while the first assault waves landed at 0900 . Surprisingly little fire greeted the initial landings , but soon the well dug in Japanese defenders began laying down a withering barrage from a variety of weapons . Before the day was out , 566 Americans were dead and 1 , 755 wounded . At 1452 , " Barrow " embarked her first casualty , a man wounded by a shell fragment , the first of 169 that the ship would treat over the ensuing days . Five died of their wounds while still on the ship . That evening , the attack transport retired seaward , a movement that set the pattern for her service off Iwo . While the bloody fighting went on ashore over the next few days , " Barrow " waited offshore for the order to unload . Reports of enemy planes abounded , but none approached the attack transport near enough for her crewmen to see them or fire on them . At 1445 on the 21st , the ship finally received instructions to land the advance echelon of her embarked headquarters company , and she carried out the order later that day . " Barrow " transferred powder charges , projectiles , detonating fuzes , and service primers to on the 24th , and then disembarked portions of a medical unit and an antiaircraft unit . Later that day , she shifted berths closer to shore and commenced unloading more 5th Amphibious Force material and supplies . The next day , she replenished ' s supply of 8 inch ammunition . Following her retirement for the night of 26 and 27 February , " Barrow " discharged cargo to LST - 787 on the 27th and then unloaded the rest of her stock of 8 inch ammunition to . After anchoring off Iwo Jima ' s southeastern shore overnight , " Barrow " got underway on 1 March to pick up empty powder cans from the destroyer s in the vicinity . Then , after unloading the last of her cargo to LSM 207 , she cleared the area for the Marianas in company with her fellow attack transports " Lowndes " , " Pickens " , " Logan " and " Sanborn " . Reaching Saipan on 4 March , " Barrow " disembarked 58 men wounded at Iwo Jima and soon began to get ready for her next operation — the assault on Okinawa , largest of the Ryukyu Islands . On 6 and 7 March , while in Tanapag Harbor , " Barrow " embarked officers and men of the 2nd Marine Division and loaded 3rd Amphibious Corps cargo . After shifting to Saipan Harbor later that day , the attack transport and her embarked troops spent the period from 7 to 16 March provisioning and preparing for the upcoming operation with emergency drills and disembarkation exercises . " Barrow " then conducted exercises off the west coast of Tinian , rehearsing a " demonstration landing " on the 17th and simulating a " landing in reserve " on the 18th . A heavy sea on the 19th prevented a rehearsal of a full - scale attack scheduled for that day , but it finally took place on the 24th . Okinawa . On the morning of 27 March , " Barrow " - attached to Task Group ( TG ) 51 . 2 for the Battle of Okinawa landings - sailed for the Ryukyus and made landfall early on Easter Sunday , 1 April . " Barrow " ' s men manned their battle stations at 0520 ; and , about an hour later , the ship took her assigned position in a diversionary feint to confuse Okinawa ' s defenders . Six of her LCVP ' s — each carrying 13 marines — took part in the operation . That evening , the task group retired to seaward to return the following morning to carry out another feint . The 1st and 6th Marine Division s landed practically without opposition , and , over the next few days , saw comparatively light resistance . Yet , as they progressed , the Japanese reacted against the invasion fleet . Kamikaze tactics - tested with devastating success in the Philippines campaign - began the first day , inflicting damage to , , and . Dive bomber s claimed hits on a minesweeper , and other planes bombed attack transport . The next day , 2 April , four more attack transports feIt the hot breath of the " Divine Wind " . At 0630 on 2 April , while " Barrow " was returning from her night retirement station , she spotted a Nakajima Ki - 27 " Nate " Army fighter crossing her bow . Two of her 40 millimeter mounts took the plane under fire and scored hits before the plane , obviously damaged , " disappeared in the low clouds off the starboard beam . . . " At 1110 , " Barrow " ' s commanding officer was placed in charge of Task Unit ( TU ) 51 . 2 . 17 , and the ship proceeded to the inner transport area off the western shores of Okinawa . She anchored at 1925 and , two hours later , began unloading vehicles to the tank landing craft , LCT - 1265 . For the next four days , as the number of kamikaze - damaged ships steadily mounted , " Barrow " waited at anchor for orders to unload . Each evening , the ship ' s smoke generators would emit clouds of chemical smoke to hide the ship from enemy aircraft that were reported lurking about . However , Japanese planes did not appear in great number until the 6th , when 355 enemy aircraft swarmed toward the fleet . That day , " Barrow " ' s gunners splashed one bogey that appeared from off the starboard bow , about 3 , 000 yards ahead of the ship , and contributed to the intense barrage sent up by American warships in her vicinity . Shifting her berth later on , " Barrow " took under fire an Aichi D3A " Val " bomber approaching the area at about 4 , 000 yards range . Every gun that " Barrow " could bring to bear swung around and began firing . The ship made several 40 - millimeter hits before her 5 - inch gun scored a direct hit that sent the plane into a steep and fatal glide that ended when the aircraft hit the water and disintegrated . On the 7th , " Barrow " resumed unloading cargo , working with her own LCVP s as well as a variety of amphibious ships and craft . By that afternoon , nearly all of the ship ' s embarked troops had gone ashore ; and , by 2320 on the 8th , all of her cargo had been discharged . On the 9th , " Barrow " left Okinawa and headed for Saipan , having emerged from her second major invasion unscathed . The ship reached Saipan Harbor on 13 April . " Barrow " spent the entire month of May enjoying " rest and rehabilitation " at Saipan . On the 7th , Rear Admiral Jerauld Wright and his staff , embarked in the attack transport , and she served as flagship for Amphibious Squadron 5 until arrived in the area . The admiral disembarked on 4 June , and his staff transferred to the command ships and . " Barrow " departed Saipan on 4 June , set a course for the Solomons and reached Florida Island eight day later . Underway for the New Hebrides on the 15th , the attack transport arrived at Espiritu Santo on the 17th . She waited a week for orders , then loaded cargo from the 26th to the 29th and finally departed the New Hebrides for the Marianas . Discharging cargo and disembarking passengers at Tinian from 7 to 10 July , she then shifted to Guam overnight on the 10th and 11th . Soon , however , she headed on for the United States , reaching San Francisco on 30 July . Operation " Magic Carpet " . The end of the war found " Barrow " on the west coast , undergoing voyage repairs and alterations . Following this yard work , she sailed for the Philippines , disembarking passengers at Samar on 17 September and at Manila on the 22d . Next assigned to Operation " Magic Carpet " - the massive sealift returning servicemen home to the United States for discharge - " Barrow " returned to the west coast of the United States . While en route to Portland , Oregon , " Barrow " assisted the crippled merchantman , , which had lost her propeller . The attack transport embarked the merchantmen ' s passengers and took the ship in tow until the rescue tug , ATR - 73 , arrived on the scene and took over the task . After repairs at Portland , Oregon , " Barrow " got underway on 2 December for the Philippines , but a malfunctioning feed pump in her forward engine room forced her into Pearl Harbor for repairs . " Barrow " put into Pearl Harbor on 13 December and underwent brief repairs alongside between the 14th and the 19th before she resumed her passage to Leyte on 31 December . Her only cargo consisted of 11 cases of Philippine currency ( valued at $ 700 , 000 U . S . ) consigned to the Commander , Philippine Sea Frontier . USS " Barrow " earned two battle star s during World War II . Operation Crossroads . After bringing back her second lift of " Magic Carpet " men to Pearl Harbor — where she arrived on 5 February 1946 – " Barrow " was assigned to the Commandant , 14th Naval District , in connection with " special tests . " " Barrow " remained in Hawaiian waters into the spring of 1946 , being stripped for her final mission , Operation Crossroads . Assigned to Transportation Division ( TransDiv ) 92 , Joint Task Force 1 , " Barrow " conducted a brief period of training before she sailed for the Marshall Islands in company with , , , , and . Arriving on 1 May , " Barrow " was soon fitted out with special items of equipment and cameras to record the effect of an atomic blast . As one of the 84 target vessels , " Barrow " would remain at anchor in Bikini Atoll lagoon for the detonations that were scheduled to take place in July . On 30 June , " Barrow " ' s entire crew was transferred to the attack transport , to be housed during and following the two scheduled detonations , and from this ship witnessed Test " Able " — the detonation at 0900 on 1 July 1946 . " Barrow " lay at anchor 1 , 335 yards from " ground zero " , and austained moderate damage . Reboarded by radiological teams on the 2d , she was regarded as " Radiologically safe " . " Barrow " ' s officers and men reembarked on 3 July , and performed " routine activities " on board until again ordered on board " Bexar " on 24 July . Two days later , anchored 2 , 000 yards from " ground zero " for test " Baker " , " Barrow " sustained heavy radiological damage . Decommissioned at Bikini on 28 August 1946 , " Barrow " was taken to Kwajalein for radiological studies and observation before being scuttled just south of Kwajalein on 11 May 1948 . Her name was struck from the Navy list on 28 May 1948 .