USS Kephart ( DE - 207 ) USS " Kephart " ( DE - 207 / APD - 61 ) was a in the United States Navy . She was named in honor of naval aviator Lieutenant William P . Kephart ( 1915 – 1942 ) . Launch and initial operations . " Kephart " was launched on 6 September 1943 at the Charleston Navy Yard , sponsored by Mrs . A . P . Kephart , Lt . Kephart ' s mother , and commissioned on 7 January 1944 , with Lieutenant Commander I . H . Cammarn in command . After shakedown off Bermuda , " Kephart " departed New York on 23 March for convoy escort duty in the Atlantic . During the next three months , she made three runs from New York to Gibraltar and Bizerte , Tunisia . Returning to New York on 30 June for conversion to a " Charles Lawrence " - class high speed transport , she was reclassified APD - 61 on 5 July . World War II operations . " Kephart " departed New York on 30 September and joined the 7th Fleet at Hollandia , New Guinea , on 10 November . As a unit of TransDiv 103 , she departed in convoy on 17 November and arrived at Leyte Gulf , Philippines , on 24 November . After a run to the Palaus , she embarked troops of the 77th Infantry Division at Leyte , and steamed on 6 December with Task Group 78 . 3 for amphibious assault at Ormoc Bay . During landing operations on 7 December , " Kephart " s guns splashed two Japan ese planes in a fierce raid . Returning to Leyte on 8 December , she embarked soldiers of the 19th Infantry Regiment ; she sailed on 12 December for Mindoro , and landed assault troops at San Jose on 15 December , again under heavy enemy air attack . Returning to Leyte on 17 December , she continued on 20 December to Hollandia to prepare for anti - submarine and amphibious operations . Carrying men of the 158th Regimental Combat Team , " Kephart " departed Noemfoor , Schouten Islands , on 4 January 1945 to rejoin the fight to liberate the Philippines . Steaming to Luzon , she arrived at San Fabien , Lingayen Gulf , on 11 January , and landed reinforcements , despite constant harassment from enemy planes emerging from the heavy air attack unscathed . Returning to Leyte on 15 January for three months of anti - submarine patrol , " Kephart " took part in scattered landing operations in the Philippines : at Grande Island , Subic Bay ( 30 January ) ; Puerto Princesa , Palawan ( 28 February ) ; Zamboanga , Mindanao ( 10 March ) ; Cebu City , Cebu ( 26 March ) ; and Cotabato , Mindanao ( 17 April ) . " Kephart " departed Leyte Gulf on 4 May for escort and assault operations in the Dutch East Indies , arriving Morotai on 7 May . After escorting a convoy to Mindanao ( 18 – 20 May ) , she returned to Morotai on 21 May and embarked troops of the Australian Army for an amphibious assault at Brunei Bay , North Borneo . Sailing on 4 June , she landed troops on 10 June amid dwindling enemy resistance ; then she patrolled the South China Sea , hunting submarine s before returning Morotai on 19 June . She sailed on 26 June carrying Australian soldiers to the eastern coast of Borneo , arriving on 1 July for the final major amphibious operation of the war — the landing operations at Balikpapan , Borneo . Continuing escort and anti - submarine duty , " Kephart " departed Morotai on 16 July and reached Leyte Gulf two days later . On 4 August she began amphibious training at Albay and Lagonoy Gulf s , Luzon , in preparation for a possible invasion of Japan . After the fighting ended on 15 August , she sailed from Leyte Gulf on 29 August to Okinawa to embark occupation troops for Korea . She reached Jinsen , Korea , on 8 September ; and then shuttled between the Philippines and Korea . She steamed from Jinsen on 29 October via Sasebo , Japan , and Okinawa to Tsingtao , China , arriving there on 14 November to support the Chinese Nationalist s ' effort to repel Communist aggression on the Chinese mainland . Post - World War II operations . Returning to Okinawa on 22 November , " Kephart " embarked 147 homebound veterans and departed on 26 November for the United States . Steaming via Pearl Harbor , she reached San Diego , California on 16 December . Two days after unloading her passengers , she sailed for the East Coast , and arrived at New York on New Year ' s Day 1946 . Following overhaul , she departed on 8 February for Green Cove Springs , Florida , arriving there on 11 February . " Kephart " was decommissioned on 21 June , and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Orange , Texas . She was struck from the Navy List on 1 May 1967 and transferred under the Military Assistance Program to the Republic of Korea on 16 May 1967 . " Kephart " received five battle star s for World War II service . , no other ship has carried this name . " Kyong Puk " ( PF - 82 ) . " Kephart " was renamed " Kyong Puk " ( PF - 82 ) by the Republic of Korea Navy . She was redesignated APD - 85 in 1972 , renumbered APD - 826 in 1980 , redesignated DE - 826 in 1982 . " Kyong Puk " was purchased outright by the Republic of Korea on 15 November 1974 . " Kyong Puk " was struck by the ROK Navy on 30 April 1985 .