USS Berrien ( APA - 62 ) USS " Berrien " ( APA - 62 ) was a " Gilliam " - class attack transport that served with the US Navy during World War II . " Berrien " was named after counties in Georgia and Michigan . She was launched 20 March 1944 under a Maritime Commission contract by the Consolidated Steel Corporation at Wilmington , California ; acquired by the Navy on 7 October 1944 ; and commissioned on 8 October 1944 , with Lieutenant Commander John Murray Gallagher USNR in command . The ship was nicknamed the " Mighty B " and the " Blue Bitch " . Operational history . World War II . Invasion of Iwo Jima . She departed Pearl Harbor for operations in the Pacific on 27 January 1945 . " Berrien " arrived in time to participate in the invasion of Iwo Jima . It was during this campaign , on the night of 21 February 1945 , that the ship was hit with a shell on her after deckhouse . Seventeen of the crew were wounded and all received the Purple Heart . Invasion of Okinawa . Approximately one month later , the ship was again on her way into enemy territory with Transport Squadron 15 as part of the invasion of Okinawa . On Easter Sunday morning , the " Berrien " and other ships of the task force appeared off the southwest shores of Okinawa as part of a feint to throw enemy forces off balance and help pave the way for the main landings on the western beaches of Hagushi . On that morning , 2 ships were hit with kamikaze planes . The feint succeeded and was used again the next day . This worked well and losses were minimal . The ship cruised offshore for about a week , awaiting orders to proceed to Hagushi to unload her cargo . She was sent into enemy waters instead , accompanied by a destroyer escort and the destroyers USS " Ammen " and USS " Brown " . While en route , " Berrien " encountered a mine and had a near miss with 4 torpedoes from a Japan ese submarine . She arrived at Okinawa and stayed there for 10 days . While there , she was under constant attack from shore batteries and kamikazes . She received a hit near her stacks which wounded a radioman , making him the 18th man of the " Berrien " to receive the Purple Heart . Air - sea rescue . From Okinawa , she sailed back to Saipan , and then received orders to head to the South Pacific . The ship had her crew initiated from ' pollywogs ' into respectable ' shellbacks ' at the Equator . From Tulagi she steamed to Noumea , New Caledonia , then back to the Mariana Islands . On the morning of 3 July , on the way into Guam , she participated in the air - sea rescue of 10 Army fliers . From Guam she returned to the US . While in San Francisco , the cease fire order was given on the Pacific front . After hostilities . " Berrien " returned to the Pacific and headed to Manila , then to Aomori , Japan as part of the initial allied landings in northern Honshū . From there , she steamed north to Otaru , in Hokkaidō , northernmost of the main Japan ese home islands , for another initial landing on Nippon soil . At this point , the crew was asked if they wished to take part in the Bikini Atoll tests . There were not enough volunteers to man the ship , so she received orders to sail from Otaru into Tokyo Bay to load up with Marines and sailor s returning to their homes in the states . She docked in Seattle , Wa . where she received many new crew members to replace ones going home , and a new captain . She returned to the Orient and was in Shanghai , China on the Huangpu River in February , 1946 . She returned to the States shortly after . She had 166 plank owner s , and of 321 enlisted , 173 were with her from commissioning , and 20 of the 31 officers . Decommission . She was decommissioned in May 1946 , returned to the Maritime Commission on 12 August 1947 , and placed in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet . She participated in the Fleet Repair Program from 11 July 1955 to 28 October 1955 until returned to Suisun Bay . She was sold as scrap to Zidell Explorations , Inc . on 17 May 1966 and delivered 16 August 1966 . Decorations . " Berrien " received two battle star s for World War II service in the Pacific Theatre . References . USS Berrien ' News Of The Day ' paper . 15 Dec . 1945 USS Berrien Navy Day paper , 27 Oct . 1945 Personal diary of S1c William Laughlin 24 May , 44 - 4 46 June