USS Admiral W . S . Benson ( AP - 120 ) USS " Admiral W . S . Benson " ( AP - 120 ) began as an unnamed transport , AP - 120 , that was laid down on 10 December 1942 at Alameda , California by the Bethlehem - Alameda Shipbuilding Corp . , under a Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 678 ) . She was named " Admiral W . S . Benson " ( AP - 120 ) on 20 October 1943 and launched on 22 November 1943 ; sponsored by Miss Dorothy Lucille Benson , granddaughter of the late Admiral William S . Benson . She was accepted from the Maritime Commission on 23 August 1944 and commissioned the same day , Capt . Francis H . Gardner in command . After fitting out and provisioning at the Naval Supply Depot , Oakland , California , " Admiral W . S . Benson " stood out of San Francisco Bay on 1 September 1944 for San Pedro , to commence shakedown training . During the next two weeks , the transport carried out daily exercises and gunnery runs in the vicinity of Santa Catalina , San Nicholas , and San Clemente islands . Upon completion of this training , the ship underwent post - shakedown availability at the Todd Shipyard in Wilmington , Los Angeles , before she commenced work at the Small Craft Training Center , Terminal Island , serving a tour of temporary duty in connection with the training of attack transport ( APA ) crews . Over the next two weeks , the ship operated locally with crews from , , and . " Admiral W . S . Benson " returned to Todd ' s Wilmington yard on 15 October 1944 for major alterations , and upon completion of this yard period reported to Commander , Western Sea Frontier and Commander , Naval Transport Service , for duty . On 23 November , " Admiral W . S . Benson " got underway and moored at the Army embarkation pier at Wilmington , and embarked a total of 4 , 376 Army troops on 28 and 29 November before sailing for Bombay , India , on the morning of 30 November , on the first of two troop lifts to that port . Stopping briefly at Melbourne , Australia , en route , for provisions from 16 to 18 December , the transport continued on her destination , spending Christmas at sea . Two British destroyers , and , rendezvoused with the transport on 27 December , and assumed antisubmarine screening stations . Three days later , on 30 December 1944 , " Admiral W . S . Benson " reached her destination and stood into Bombay Harbor . After embarking passengers for the return voyage — civilians as well as military personnel ( including among the troops 60 Chinese naval officers and 108 Chinese aviation cadets ) — " Admiral W . S . Benson " got underway for Melbourne on 5 January 1945 , " Roebuck " and " Relentless " again screening the ship out of dangerous waters until 8 January . Debarking some of her troop passengers — 127 Australians and New Zealanders — upon her arrival at Melbourne on 16 January , the transport embarked 352 additional passengers on the 19th , and sailed for the United States , ultimately reaching Los Angeles on 2 February 1945 . Given a yard overhaul upon her return , " Admiral W . S . Benson " completed embarkation of 4 , 792 troops and passengers at San Pedro on 26 February ; she sailed for Bombay the following morning . Stopping again at Melbourne en route , from 14 to 16 March 1945 , the transport reached her destination on 27 March , escorted locally by and . Embarking 1 , 363 troops and passengers ( of whom 107 were civilians ) , Admiral W . S . Benson sailed for Melbourne on 2 April . Diverted to Brisbane , Australia , en route , " Admiral W . S . Benson " reached that port on 14 April and debarked 85 passengers . Embarking an additional 1 , 358 passengers , the transport proceeded on to Nouméa , New Caledonia , on 16 April , and reached that port on the 18th . Embarking an additional 1 , 410 passengers there , she got underway for Espiritu Santo , New Hebrides , on the afternoon of the 21st , and reached her destination on the 22nd . There , the transport debarked 75 sailors and took on board an additional 174 for passage to the United States . Underway on the same day , 22 April , Admiral W . S . Benson brought her second round - trip voyage to a conclusion on 3 May 1945 . Drydocked at Terminal Island for repairs and the replacement of a damaged starboard screw , " Admiral W . S . Benson " eventually left the repair yard on 11 May and shifted to a pier where she loaded stores and provisions for her next voyage . Underway from Wilmington on 17 May , the transport sailed for Marseilles , France , via the Panama Canal . Transiting the isthmian waterway between 23 and 25 May , the ship was then rerouted to the French port of Le Havre , where she arrived on 3 June 1945 . The following afternoon , she commenced embarking troops , a task which she completed very early the following morning . Among the 5 , 026 passengers were repatriated allied military prisoners ( RAMPs ) . Standing out of Le Havre at 0800 on 5 June , " Admiral W . S . Benson " anchored off Staten Island on the evening of the 11th , and then stood up the North River early the following morning . Despite the early hour , the RAMPs on board " Admiral W . S . Benson " , received a hearty reception ; the transport " dressed ship " and exchanged whistle signals with passing ships . After disembarking her passengers and undergoing repairs and alterations , " Admiral W . S . Benson " cleared New York on 6 July 1945 for Marseilles . Arriving at her destination on Bastille Day ( 14 July ) , the transport embarked 4 , 828 men slated for duty in the Pacific theater , before clearing that French port on 17 July . Transiting the Panama Canal on 2 July , " Admiral W . S . Benson " stopped briefly at Balboa before getting underway for the western Pacific on the following morning . Passing Eniwetok seven miles ( 11 km ) to starboard on 13 August , the ship was diverted en route to Ulithi , in the Western Carolines , that day , and arrived on the morning of 15 August , arriving in the midst of VJ Day celebrations . Fueling at Ulithi , the transport sailed for the Philippines , accompanied by the destroyer , ultimately releasing her escort off Homonhon Island . Joined by the destroyer escort on the evening of 19 August , the transport proceeded toward Lingayen , arriving there on 20 August and anchoring in San Fernando Harbor . There she debarked 1 , 073 troops and passengers , and that same evening took departure for Manila , again accompanied by " Metivier " . Heavy seas and limited transportation facilities rendered debarkation difficult , the ship remaining moored in the outer harbor until the 25th , when she shifted moorings to a wrecked ship near the breakwater . Shifting again , this time to a pier to commence debarkation and embarkation , " Admiral W . S . Benson " commenced this task on 27 August and concluded it on the 29th , sailing with a total of 4 , 382 passengers . Arriving off Homonhon Island on the afternoon of the 30th to await routing instructions , " Admiral W . S . Benson " got underway in convoy at noon the following day , escorted by the destroyer escort and proceeding in company with the Dutch motorship Weltevreden . Reaching Ulithi on 3 September , the transport embarked 100 Navy enlisted passengers and got underway the same evening , ultimately arriving at San Francisco on the morning of the 14th . Following voyage repairs at the Bethlehem Shipyard at San Francisco , from 17 to 26 September , " Admiral W . S . Benson " provisioned at the Naval Supply Depot , Oakland , before proceeding to Pier 38 at San Francisco on 27 September , where she embarked 3 , 495 Navy officers and enlisted passengers . On the evening of the 28th , the transport sailed for Buckner Bay , Okinawa . " Admiral W . S . Benson " arrived at her destination on 11 October 1945 , just two days after a typhoon had wreaked havoc there . The disruption it caused rendered it impossible for the ship to disembark her passengers in the normal fashion . That day , she received on board 140 officers and enlisted men from the minelayer , which had gone aground during the typhoon . Two days later , the situation ashore having apparently been improved to permit it , the transport began disembarking her passengers , debarking 30 officers and 613 enlisted men from Navy construction battalion ( CB ) units . Later that morning , she also debarked " Weehawken " s men as well . Due to limited housing facilities on the " beach " , " Admiral W . S . Benson " served as receiving ship , and commenced debarking passengers on the 18th directly to various fleet units in the Buckner Bay area , transferring 951 men to 44 Mine Force units in two days . Underway for Japanese waters on 20 October , escorted by the destroyer , " Admiral W . S . Benson " reached Sasebo , Japan , on 22 October , and again took up her duties as a receiving ship . Departing Sasebo for Matsuyama on 25 October after debarking replacement sailors to the ships at Sasebo , " Admiral W . S . Benson " sailed in company with the destroyer , and anchored at her destination on the 16th . She transferred 153 enlisted men to eight ships as replacements before she sailed for Hiro Wan , for further debarkation of passengers and transferred in the following three days 750 enlisted men and embarked 20 naval enlisted men for passage to the United States . Underway on 30 October for Wakayama in company with the destroyers , , and , " Admiral W . S Benson " reached her destination on the 31st , the passage enlivened by the sighting , and quick sinking , of a mine . Transferring men as replacements for ships in the area , the transport embarked 30 officers and 678 enlisted men before getting underway for Nagoya , escorted by the destroyer , on 3 November . Arriving the following day , the ship embarked further passengers before sailing for Okinawa on the morning of 6 November . By 6 November , all of the men she had transported from San Francisco had been disembarked , with the exception of 76 enlisted men whose points for discharge had accumulated on the outbound trip and were to return to the United States with the ship for separation . Anchoring off Hagushi Beach , Naha , Okinawa , on the morning of 8 November , " Admiral W . S . Benson " there embarked 246 Army officers , 3 , 646 Army enlisted men , making a total passenger lift ( including the naval passengers embarked in Japan ) of 4 , 752 . On the morning of 10 November , the transport got underway for Seattle , Wash . , at which port she arrived on 21 November . Completing the debarking of passengers on the same day , the transport shifted to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard , where , three days later , she commenced a period of repairs and alterations . Among the latter modifications was the removal of all of her guns with the exception of a pair of 20 - millimeter guns , forward . The ship herself experienced a 30 % cutback in personnel , which called for a reorganization of all shipboard departments . As on her previous voyages to Le Havre and Marseilles , " Admiral W . S . Benson " sailed without passengers , bound for Okinawa on 14 December 1945 . Spending her second Christmas at sea , the transport reached Buckner Bay on New Year ' s Day , 1946 . Completing embarkation of 4 , 840 Army officers and enlisted men , including 75 patients , by noon on 8 January , " Admiral W . S . Benson " got underway for Seattle , taking a modified " great circle route " to avoid storms in the vicinity . Diverted to San Pedro en route , the ship reached her revised destination on the morning of 21 January . Shifting to a berth off Long Beach soon thereafter , the ship underwent voyage repairs at Terminal Island . Decommissioned on 3 June 1946 , and turned over to the Maritime Commission for disposal , " Admiral W . S . Benson " was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 3 July 1946 . Transferred to the Army Transport Service , the ship was renamed " General Daniel I . Sultan " in honor of the late General Daniel Isom Sultan , USA . After operating with the Army Transport Service as USAT " General Daniel I . Sultan " , the ship was reacquired by the Navy on 1 March 1950 and reinstated on the Naval Vessel Register on the same day . Assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service ( MSTS ) as USNS " General Daniel I . Sultan " ( T - AP - 120 ) , the transport , operating out of San Francisco , supported United Nations operations in Korea which came as a result of the North Korean invasion in June 1950 . She sailed from Sasebo for Pusan , South Korea , arriving on 31 July 1950 , on her first run to that new war . She then returned to Yokohama , and sailed thence to San Francisco , reaching that port on 12 August . She commenced her second trip to the Far East during the Korean War on 1 September , and conducted two additional voyages during the fall and into the winter . On one voyage , from Hungnam to Pusan , from 12 to 15 December , " General Daniel I . Sultan " carried , among her embarked troops , a Navy corpsman , Hospitalman Richard De Wert , attached to the 1st Marine Division . On 5 April 1951 , Hospitalman DeWert would later win the Medal of Honor while serving with Company " D " , 2d Battalion , 7th Marines . The Navy would honor his heroism in naming a guided missile frigate , , in his honor three decades later . During 1951 , " General Daniel I . Sultan " conducted nine voyages between San Francisco , the Hawaiian Islands , Marshalls , Guam and the Philippines ; she maintained regular service to Far Eastern and Pacific ports — in Japan , Okinawa , Guam , Formosa and the Philippines — into the mid - 1960s . Highlighting this period of service was the ship ' s coming to the aid of the typhoon - ravaged island of Guam . While en route from San Francisco to Japan with 1 , 100 Army troops on board , " General Daniel I . Sultan " arrived at Apra Harbor on 13 November 1962 , in the wake of Typhoon Karen . The transport had been scheduled to drop off her regularly scheduled passengers and sail for Japan the following day , but the devastation wrought by Karen called for a change - in - plans . While the troop passengers donned fatigues and boots and pitched in ashore , the ship stood by to provide power and light to the waterfront and ship repair facility . Thirty electricians and diesel engineers labored daily to alleviate the island ' s power shortage . " General Daniel I . Sultan " provided tools , lights , and batteries to the Naval Hospital , and spare parts and equipment to the communication station . Engineers , mechanics , burners , and welders proved instrumental in restoring the sewage system in Asan village . Power lines were restrung across the island . The ship ' s sick bay became a miniature hospital , while one medical team assumed obstetrics duty in the naval hospital on shore , delivering 22 babies during their stay . As part of the Navy ' s preventative medicine campaign , doctors and medics administered typhoid vaccine . The ship ' s chief radio operator and his men maintained a 24 - hour schedule , handling all communications for the island as well as for the ship . They copied world news , thus enabling the ship ' s military department to publish a newspaper which carried news of the outside world . During 1965 , with increased American involvement in the war in Vietnam , the transport conducted troop lifts from San Francisco to Danang , South Vietnam , via Okinawa and Formosa . She departed her first troop lift on 2 August 1965 , clearing San Francisco on that date and ultimately arriving at Danang on 28 August . Returning to San Francisco on 11 September , she conducted two more lifts before the year was out : the first to Vũng Tàu and the second to Qui Nhơn . Over the first seven months of 1966 , General Daniel I . Sultan made cruises to ports in Japan , Okinawa , Taiwan and the Philippines . Transferred to the custody of the Maritime Administration ( MarAd ) on 7 November 1968 , for lay - up at the Suisun Bay reserve facility , " General Daniel I . Sultan " was transferred to that agency on 31 August 1969 , and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 9 October 1969 . She was still as Suisun Bay , in the National Defense Reserve Fleet , into August 1987 .