USS Chepachet ( AO - 78 ) USS " Chepachet " ( AO - 78 ) , originally named SS " Eutaw Springs " , and later known as USNS " Chepachet " ( T - AOT - 78 ) until disposition , was a " Suamico " - class fleet oiler , of the T2 - SE - A1 tanker hull type , serving in the United States Navy during World War II . Originally a namesake of the Battle of Eutaw Springs when laid down 1 November 1942 , she was renamed for the Chepachet River located in a village of Glocester , Rhode Island bearing the same name . Service history . Launch and commission . " Chepachet " was launched on 10 March 1943 after being built at Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co . , Chester , Pennsylvania , under Maritime Commission contract MC 340 as hull number 278 and USMC number 353 . Sponsored by Mrs . I . G . Klemmer , the ship was commissioned by the US Navy on 27 April 1943 with Lieutenant Commander H . R . Adams in command , and reported to the US Atlantic Fleet . Initial service . Between 27 July 1943 and 19 June 1944 , " Chepachet " supported military and naval operations in North Africa and the Mediterranean by crossing the $ 3 in convoys , carrying oil from West Indian and Gulf ports to Casablanca and Oran . In July , " Chepachet " took departure for Aruba , NWI , a Dutch island off the coast of Venezuela , and a transshipment and refining center for Venezuelan crude oil , in company with the oiler , and the destroyer escort s and . " Abercrombie " and " Walter C . Wann " shepherded the two oilers into port at Aruba late in the evening on 15 July 1944 . Two days later after the oilers loaded cargo , the convoy put to sea again , laden with oil , and on 17 August reached Humboldt Bay , New Guinea , for duty fueling combatant ships , small craft , and merchantmen at the Panama Canal . Liberation of the Philippines . Assigned a key support role in the invasion of the Philippines , " Chepachet " was part of Task Unit ( TU ) 77 . 7 . 1 which included the oilers , , and , the ammunition ship , and the merchant ship . The TU was joined on 12 October by the destroyer escort s and ( out of Blanche Harbor ) , steering for Kossol Roads and final preparations for assault . Other escorts were and . " Chepachet " traveled with TU 77 . 7 . 1 until released late on 13 October under " Willmarth " s escort , with " Pueblo " , to Kossol Passage , in the Palaus , arriving there at 18 : 21 on 14 October . " Willmarth " patrolled for three days before getting underway with " Chepachet " again during the forenoon on 20 October , screening sortie for the Philippines , also including " Ashtabula " , " Saranac " , " Salamonie " , " Mazama " , and . The TU convoy proceeded north , while American troops splashed ashore on the beaches of Leyte to commence the liberation of the Philippines . " Chepachet " arrived in Leyte Gulf on 23 October , three days after the main landing began , the destroyer escort anchored off Leyte midway between the northern and southern transport areas while " Chepachet " and fellow oilers brought vital assistance to the ships from Task Group ( TG ) 77 . 2 which fought the Japanese to a decisive victory in the Battle for Leyte Gulf ( 23 – 26 October ) . During the fury of the days that followed , " Chepachet " transferred fuel to 34 different ships , some of them several times , as her men manned anti - aircraft gun s as well as fueling lines . On the evening of the 23rd , around 18 : 25 , steaming eastward toward a night anchorage , " Chepachet " s destroyer escort observed anti - aircraft fire over the northern transport area . Underway again off Homonhon Island early the next morning , the destroyer escort received a report of enemy aircraft orbiting over the northern transport area . As she steamed along the convoy ' s flank , the escort commenced making black smoke at 08 : 44 to lay a protective screen in anticipation of the enemy ' s arrival . While the radio crackled with reports of ships under attack , no enemy planes were spotted nearby , only many puffs of " flak " splattering the skies to the westward of the refueling group . With the receipt of a " flash white " at 13 : 43 , the oilers resumed refueling TG 77 . 2 . " Willmarth " shifted to Samar Island shortly before 17 : 00 before going to general quarters at 17 : 06 upon receipt of a " flash red . " After waiting for well over an hour for the enemy to make an appearance , the convoy stopped and prepared to anchor for the night . At 18 : 43 , however , three " Jills " roared in low from the east , torpedo es slung menacingly beneath their bellies . " Willmarth " s guns opened fire on two just before they released their " fish . " One torpedo holed " Ashtabula " and forced her to a halt , dead in the water . While the oiler ' s repair parties controlled the flooding and patched the hole , the convoy passed out of Leyte Gulf and reformed in the wake of the attack . Eventually , " Ashtabula " , repairs effected , rejoined at 22 : 30 . The convoy remained underway throughout the evening , maneuvering on various courses and speeds in Leyte Gulf until the first rays of sunlight streaked the eastern skies . After going to general quarters at 04 : 58 , the destroyer escort remained at battle stations throughout the day . Less than an hour after her crew first closed up at action stations , two " Jills " attacked the convoy from the westward . " Willmarth " immediately opened fire with her and batteries . As one " Jill " roared across the stern of the convoy , it was caught by gunfire from " Willmarth " and other ships of the convoy and crashed in flames far astern . While maneuvering and making smoke to mask the convoy , the destroyer escort spotted a floating mine which she sank with gunfire . Soon thereafter , another " Jill " passed through the area and drew fire from " Willmarth " . Unfortunately , the shells were not observed to hit ; and the plane escaped . The convoy anchored in the fueling area at 11 : 52 , three hours after the last attack . " Willmarth " and the other escorts screened the convoy and provided an anti - submarine screen patrol around the valuable auxiliaries . Later that afternoon , " Willmarth " repulsed an attack made by a lone plane which came out of the sun in a glide - bombing attack at 14 : 20 . The destroyer escort ' s gunfire damaged the plane and caused it to spin into the water about five miles ( 8 km ) away . The convoy departed the fueling area at 16 : 46 . Frequent alerts and enemy planes enlivened the evening hours as the group maneuvered throughout the night in a retirement formation . " Willmarth " s war diarist noted that the Japan ese planes seemed loathe to attack ships in the fueling area during daylight , probably because of the heavy concentration of anti - aircraft fire that could be directed at an attacker . The next day , 26 October , saw a repetition of the same routine that had kept the destroyer escort active since her arrival in Leyte Gulf three days earlier . After maneuvering on screening duties through the night , the warship spotted a lone " Val " dive bomber making an attack at 05 : 50 ; " Willmarth " opened fire from but failed to score any hits . Within minutes , she and her sister escorts were laying smoke screens to cover the convoy for the next hour . Thereafter , they provided anti - submarine screening protection while the oilers conducted fueling operations . After following the same routine on the 27th , " Willmarth " departed Leyte Gulf and headed for the Palaus . At 08 : 00 on 28 October , " Willmarth " — escorting the oilers earmarked to refuel the 7th Fleet ships — rendezvoused with the carriers of Task Group 77 . 4 and screened the refuelling operations for the balance of the day . Detached that afternoon , " Willmarth " screened " Ashtabula " and " Chepachet " as they voyaged to Kossol Roads , in the Palaus . Arriving on 30 October , " Chepachet " reloaded until 4 November , and returned to Leyte Gulf with her badly needed cargo to conduct fueling operations from 7 to 10 November . Later wartime service . Between 14 November 1944 , when she returned to New Guinea , and 27 December , when she sailed for the Philippines , " Chepachet " served at various $ 3 ports as station oiler , receiving oil brought in by naval and merchant tankers , and transferring it to combatants . Arriving at Mindoro , PI , on 8 January 1945 , " Chepachet " sailed on to fueling operations in Lingayen Gulf on 11 January , when she aided those ships which had just carried out the successful assaults there . On 15 January she reported at newly won San Fabian for station tanker duty , which continued there and at Mindanao until 4 June . The oiler then put to sea for the Borneo operation , sailing to Tawi Tawi for staging . From 21 to 25 June " Chepachet " was at sea under escort of fueling the bombardment group which carried out an intensive preparatory pounding at Balikpapan , Borneo and on 30 June , the oiler returned to Balikpapan for the assault the next day . She remained off the Borneo coast until 19 July , supporting the assault and occupation . " Chepachet " returned to Subic Bay for operations in the Luzon area , for example , rendezvous with a fast carrier task group at the end of August under escort of . " Chepachet " followed the Subic Bay movements until the close of the war . Closing of the war . " Chepachet " aided in occupation and redeployment operations throughout the Far East with station duty at Jinsen , Korea ; Hong Kong ; Okinawa ; and Tokyo until 9 December , when she sailed for Pearl Harbor . She returned to Yokohama on 29 January 1946 , offloaded her cargo , and sailed for home on 4 February . Arriving at San Francisco on 21 February , " Chepachet " was decommissioned on 15 May . " Chepachet " earned two battle star s for World War II service . Disposition . Retitled USNS " Chepachet " , she was transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service for service in a noncommissioned status , reclassified as a transport oiler and manned by a contract civilian marine crew . The vessel was placed out - of - service in July 1950 , struck from the Naval Register on 4 January 1980 and transferred to the Maritime Administration for disposal . The last known record was that the vessel was to be disposed of by MARAD , 1 April 1980 . Around 1998 , former crewmembers finally located the village their vessel was named for , and held a reunion in Chepachet , Rhode Island , documented in an article in " The Providence Journal " dated 20 September of that year .