USS Warrick ( AKA - 89 ) USS " Warrick " ( AKA - 89 ) was an named after Warrick County , Indiana . She served as a commissioned ship for 18 years and 8 months . " Warrick " — originally named " Black Prince " — was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 1189 ) on 7 April 1944 at Oakland , California , by the Moore Dry Dock Co . , launched on 29 May 1944 , sponsored by Mrs . C . Wells Maren , and acquired and simultaneously commissioned by the Navy on 30 August 1944 , at the Moore Dry Dock Company ' s west yard , Lt . Comdr . Ernest J . Grey , USNR , in command . Service history . World War II , 1944 – 1945 . After loading stores at the Naval Supply Depot , Oakland , " Warrick " underwent a two - week shakedown out of San Pedro , California , concluding that necessary period of familiarization and training on 25 September . She subsequently conducted practice landings at San Clemente Island before undergoing repairs and alterations between 13 and 20 October . Taking on cargo at Wilmington , California , on the 24th , " Warrick " departed the west coast at 1430 the following day , bound for Manus in the Admiralties . The ship visited Manus , Hollandia , Finschhafen , and Langemak Bay , New Guinea ; and Manus a second time before she returned to Hollandia to offload the 333 tons of general Army cargo . She then again shifted to Finschhafen , arriving at 1635 on 1 December . There , she loaded 1 , 137 tons of Army equipment — mostly vehicles — and , on the day after Christmas , embarked 17 officers and 210 enlisted men ( Army ) at Langemak Bay . After fueling on the 27th , " Warrick " sailed for Manus , joined en route , and rendezvoused with Task Group ( TG ) 77 . 9 on the 28th . " Warrick " stopped at Manus from 29 December 1944 to 2 January 1945 , before getting underway on the latter day for Lingayen Gulf , on the northern coast of the island of Luzon , in the Philippines . En route , her convoy ' s escorts picked up three submarine contacts and depth charged them without obtaining results . No air attacks came the way of TG 77 . 9 , fortunately , as American amphibious forces converged on Lingayen Gulf . " Warrick " reached her destination at 0500 on 11 January and came to anchor at 0830 . One hour later , she commenced offloading her cargo , some two days after the first of the Army troops under the overall command of General Douglas MacArthur had splashed ashore at Lingayen . " Warrick " continued her unloading of cargo over the next day . Landing craft , LCVP ' s and LCM ' s , from assisted in the unloading , continuing that task until 2200 , when the operation ceased due to two factors : contact with her beach party had been lost and the beach itself was reportedly coming under shellfire . After resuming the unloading on the 13th , " Warrick " completed her assigned duties by 1015 . Taking the boats on board from 1040 , " Warrick " got underway for Leyte Island , joining Task Unit ( TU ) 78 . 11 . 3 formed around at 1745 . She reached Leyte on the 16th . The attack cargo ship took on board two LCVP ' s from the attack transport to replace boats which she had lost at Lingayen Gulf on the 17th . She departed the Philippines on the 19th , bound for the Carolines . Reaching Ulithi on 23 January , " Warrick " fueled from on 1 February , five days before she headed for the Marianas . Arriving at Guam on 8 February , the attack cargo ship began loading cargo and embarking troops two days later . Her load was a varied one : a transportation company , a tractor - trailer platoon , an engineer company , a war dog platoon , medical companies , ordnance repair units , replacement drafts of personnel , plus water , fuel , rations , and other supplies . With elements of the 3rd Marine Division thus embarked , " Warrick " got underway for Iwo Jima on 17 February . As part of TU 51 . 1 . 1 , the attack cargo ship participated in the Iwo Jima assault as part of TG 51 . 1 , the Joint Expeditionary Force Reserve . Screened by four destroyers and two destroyer escorts , " Warrick " sailed for that soon - to - be - famous island in company with Transport Divisions 31 and 33 . She arrived at point " Equity " on the 19th and , during ensuing days , cruised in operating area " Porch " in keeping with her reserve status . She moved in closer to Iwo Jima on the 22nd , but was still lying to , awaiting orders , on the following day . The attack cargo ship finally commenced unloading operations on the 24th in the transport area four miles off the southeastern coast of Iwo Jima . " Warrick " hoisted out her boats at 0750 and commenced lowering them soon thereafter . She dispatched all of her LCM ' s to assist in the unloading of nearby attack transports . She soon learned over the voice radio , however , that the smaller LCVP ' s were showing a tendency to broach and break up on the steep beaches . Beach - masters were accordingly waving off the LCVP ' s so that the beaches would not become fouled with the wrecks of numerous landing craft , thus impeding the flow of supplies necessary to keep the marines advancing against the stubborn Japanese defenders . Thus , with no lighterage , " Warrick " did not start unloading her own cargo until the following day . After returning from the night retirement area , the attack cargo ship hoisted out her boats at 0810 on the 25th . At that time , " Warrick " was noting that a strong sea was running with moderate to heavy swells , which , in connection with a good breeze , made unloading conditions decidedly unfavorable . came alongside at 1245 but , on her attempt , carried away two debarkation ladders and stove in some of " Warrick ' s " hull plating at two spots on her starboard side . At 1315 , on her second attempt , LST - 731 secured alongside and commenced taking on cargo . Over the next two days , beach conditions remained the same , with the small landing craft suffering considerably in the heavy swells , leading to many bans on craft the size of LCM ' s and LCVP ' s being waived off from the beachhead . Accordingly , LST ' s and LSM ' s were utilized as lighters for the cargo . Over the next few days , the ship offloaded her cargo to LCT - 692 and LST - 731 . On 2 March , " Warrick " dispatched three LCM ' s to help unload ammunition from SS " Columbia Victory " . She then completed discharging cargo in ensuing days to LSM - 266 and LSM - 238 . In addition , she embarked 23 Marine casualties from the beach and later transferred them to . On 6 March , after transferring smoke pots to LST - 646 , " Warrick " cleared Iwo Jima , bound for the Marianas . Sailing from thence to the Solomon Islands , the attack cargo ship reached Tulagi on 18 March . For the remainder of hostilities , " Warrick " performed her vital but unglamourous support role . She transported boats from Guam and Manus to Florida Island and New Guinea ; lifted Army cargo and troops from Nouméa , New Caledonia , and New Guinea to Leyte , Cebu , and Manila , in the Philippines ; and took return passengers to Manus . The end of hostilities in mid - August found the ship at Finschhafen , New Guinea . Inter - war years , 1945 – 1950 . Between the end of World War II in the Pacific and the onset of the Korean War — a time span of a little under five years — " Warrick " operated primarily in the western Pacific and in the Far East . Soon after the Japanese surrender , the attack cargo ship made two trips from the Philippines to Honshū , Japan , touching at the ports of Aomori , Sasebo , and Yokosuka , carrying men and materiel to support the occupation of the erstwhile enemy ' s homeland . She participated in " Operation Magic Carpet " — the return of discharged sailors , marines , airmen , and soldiers to the United States — and later supported the occupation of China and Korea , visiting ports that ranged from Tsingtao to Hong Kong ; and Shanghai to Sasebo . In addition , during those " interwar " years , the attack cargo ship lifted cargo to such places as Johnston Island , Tarawa , Ponape , and Kwajalein . Besides performing her vital logistics functions , the ship also took part in exercises with the Fleet . Korea and the Pacific Fleet , 1950 – 1957 . When elements of the North Korean People ' s Army crossed the 38th parallel into South Korean territory at 0400 on 25 June 1950 , they triggered the Korean War . At that time , " Warrick " was in port at San Francisco . She sailed for the Marshalls on 1 July and made port at Eniwetok on the 14th . She subsequently returned , via Pearl Harbor , to the west coast of the United States on 8 August . On 16 July , while deployed to the western Pacific , she received orders to berth at the Naval Supply Center , Oakland , to load as fleet issue ship for the western Pacific . Moored at the supply center from 10 August to 24 August , " Warrick " loaded balanced dry provisions sufficient for 20 , 000 men for 90 days ; ships ' store stock ; clothing and small stores ; general stores material ; and a deck load of bottled gases . When the task was complete , she sailed for the Far East , leaving San Francisco behind on 24 August . Diverted to Sasebo , Japan , en route , " Warrick " arrived at that port on 9 September and , from 10 September to 23 September , carried out duties of fleet issue supply ship . Attached to TF 79 on 11 September , the attack cargo ship sailed for the newly secured port of Inchon , North Korea , on 23 September , less than 10 days after American amphibious forces had attacked that port . After performing her stores issue duties at Inchon from 25 September to 1 October , the attack cargo ship got underway to replenish ships of TF 77 . Making contact with the fast carrier task force built around the carrier , " Warrick " received the flattop alongside at 1143 on 2 October and commenced transferring cargo 12 minutes later . After delivering fleet freight , mail , napalm and drop tanks , " Warrick " set course to rendezvous with other men - of - war in the operating area off Korea ' s western coast . After issuing stores to the veteran destroyer from 2335 on 2 October to 0040 on the 3rd , " Warrick " set a return course for Sasebo and arrived at that port on 4 October . She carried out her duties as stores issue ship there from 5 October to 8 October before returning to Inchon to provide round - the - clock replenishment services to the ships of TF 90 from 11 October to 14 October . " For performing an efficient job under adverse conditions " , " Warrick ' s " commander wrote later , " " Warrick " received a ' well done . ' " Returning once more to Sasebo , the busy supply ship then proceeded to Buckner Bay , Okinawa , where she arrived on the 24th . She replenished stores of the seaplane tender before getting underway for Keelung , Formosa , on the 25th . Shifting to the Pescadores on the 28th , she arrived on the 29th to replenish the small seaplane tender at Shochi Wan anchorage . Underway for Okinawa at 1326 on 29 October , the ship received radio reports en route of the progress of typhoon " Ruby " . Warned of the critical area , the attack cargo ship remained in the Formosa Strait into the early hours of the 30th , trying to ascertain the progress of the storm . When she had accurately plotted the typhoon ' s course — revealing her to be apparently out of danger — the ship resumed her voyage to her original destination . Taking on board cargo at Buckner Bay , " Warrick " returned to Sasebo , making port on 3 November . She unloaded the cargo lifted from Okinawa and discharged the remnants of her fleet issue stores at Sasebo before she got underway on 16 November , bound , once more , for the west coast of the United States . There was little rest for " Warrick " , however . No sooner had she reached home than she received orders to prepare for yet another Korean deployment . She accordingly loaded provisions , clothing and small stores ; ship store items ; general stores ; and consigned cargo between 3 December and 23 December and embarked 135 Army and Air Force personnel for transportation to Sasebo . Departing San Francisco two days before Christmas 1950 , " Warrick " reached Sasebo on 9 January 1951 , mooring alongside stores ship upon arrival . " Warrick " remained at Sasebo , performing her duties as fleet issue ship , into mid - February . After taking on board approximately 800 tons of empty brass shell casings for shipment back to the United States , and unloading her dry provisions and clothing stores at Yokosuka from 16 February to 18 February , " Warrick " sailed for the United States on 19 February . Over the next four years , " Warrick ' s " routine changed little . She operated in the western Pacific in regular deployments , carrying fleet freight , and touched at the familiar ports such as Sasebo and Yokosuka , as well as Hong Kong and Manila . In between , there were the usual stops at Pearl Harbor and San Francisco in the course of the ship ' s transpacific voyages . After having spent her entire active career with the Pacific Fleet , " Warrick " commenced her last cruise to the Orient when she departed San Francisco on 28 January 1957 . Her itinerary on the voyage included Yokosuka , Hong Kong , Sasebo , and Subic Bay , before she returned to San Francisco on 30 March . Decommissioning and disposal . " Warrick " was placed in reserve at Astoria , Oregon , on 4 August 1957 , and the workhorse cargo ship was decommissioned on 3 December 1957 . Struck from the Navy List on 1 July 1961 , " Warrick " was transferred to the Maritime Administration for lay - up at the reserve site at Olympia , Washington . Reacquired by the Navy on 20 April 1971 for use as a target ship , the ship was torpedoed and sunk by attack submarine 100 miles off Cape Flattery , Washington , in 1400 fathoms of water , on 28 May 1971 . Awards . " Warrick " ( AKA - 89 ) received two battle stars for her World War II service and one for the Korean War .