USS Neches ( AO - 47 ) USS " Neches " ( AO - 47 ) was a in the United States Navy during World War II and the Vietnam War . She was the second U . S . Navy ship named for the Neches River in eastern Texas . The ship was laid down as type T2 - A tanker SS " Aekay " , M . C . hull 148 on 12 June 1941 by Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Co . of Chester , Pennsylvania ; launched on 11 October 1941 ; sponsored by Miss Barbara Vickery of Washington , D . C . ; acquired by the Navy on 20 July 1941 ; and commissioned as " Neches " on 16 September 1942 . Service history . 1942 – 1945 . After shakedown off the Atlantic Coast she steamed for San Pedro , California via the Panama Canal . Her first wartime operations took her to Guadalcanal , where she fueled various fleet units . From 28 November she serviced ships out of Nouméa , New Caledonia . She shifted operations to Havannah Harbor , Efate Island , New Hebrides on 22 January 1943 , and then steamed for San Pedro , California on 6 March , arriving there the 21st . Four days later she was en route to Pearl Harbor to deliver fuel , arriving on 30 March . The next week she was back at San Pedro and , following a ten - day availability there she got underway with , , and six screening destroyers en route to Dutch Harbor , Alaska . Arriving on 1 May , she fueled thirteen ships before she steamed to the Puget Sound Navy Yard on 9 May for two days of repairs . She then returned to Dutch Harbor . The oiler operated in Alaskan waters until late December , when she returned to San Pedro to take on fuel for delivery to Pearl Harbor . After a four - day call at Pearl Harbor she steamed to Majuro Atoll , Marshall Islands , where she provided fueling services for the next three months . She was once again en route to San Pedro when , at 18 : 15 on 21 May 1944 , she struck a mine off the California coast . The explosion tore a by hole in her port side , necessitating a week of drydock repairs at San Pedro . Final repairs were completed in two months , and she was back at Pearl Harbor on 27 July . At Pearl Harbor , Naval Historian Ed Anderson joined the crew , working as an accountant . She then steamed in convoy to Eniwetok Atoll , where she anchored on 10 August and commenced fueling operations . Through October she provided fueling services in the area of the Admiralty Islands . The oiler anchored at Ulithi on 2 November and through that month provided services in the local at sea refueling areas . On 15 November 1944 , she left Ulithi for Leyte Gulf , Luzon , and eventually , the South China Seas , passing between islands that were still held by the Japanese . When she returned in December , the crew learned of the fate of the . When the " Neches " left Ulithi on 15 November , the " Mississinewa " docked in her berth , and was hit by a Japanese Kaiten torpedo . By mid - January 1945 " Neches " was en route to again to Leyte Gulf and the South China Sea , where she fueled ships into February . She returned to Leyte on 18 March and fueled transports in preparation for the invasion of Okinawa . Anchoring off Kerama Retto on 6 April , she set Condition I at 15 : 45 . When Japanese air raiders came in at 16 : 30 her gunners opened fire , and after ten hours of intermittent air attack " Neches " gunners splashed a kamikaze off the starboard quarter . By mid - April " Neches " was again fueling ships out of her Ulithi anchorage . When fleet units first bombarded the Japanese home islands on 10 July , " Neches " was in waters off northern Japan . She steamed into Tokyo Bay on 29 August , becoming the first oiler on the scene . Assigned duties there as station tanker , she fueled 120 ships through September . Departing for San Pedro on 15 October , she arrived the 31st and underwent overhaul in the Naval Shipyard , Terminal Island , San Francisco , until the end of December . 1946 – 1955 . " Neches " continued to operate with the Service Force , Pacific Fleet , for the next two years . She was placed under administrative control of the Naval Transport Service in July 1947 and was shifted to the Military Sea Transportation Service ( MSTS ) two years later . During the post - war period she served as a point - to - point tanker , calling at Hawaii , the Philippine Islands , Japan , Southeast Asia , Arabia , Alaska , and the Canal Zone . She decommissioned on 10 July 1950 and was placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet , San Diego Group . Recommissioned on 3 January 1951 at Oakland , California , she operated as an MSTS tanker and served with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean . She again returned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet for inactivation at Stockton , California , in June 1955 . 1961 – 1970 . After extensive alterations to electronic and dock equipment , including the addition of five rigs for underway replenishment , " Neches " recommissioned on 24 November 1961 at the Naval Supply Depot , Seattle , Capt . John R . Zullinger in command . She then rejoined the Service Force , Pacific Fleet , and was homeported in San Francisco . The oiler commenced regular overhaul 6 May 1963 , and through 1967 she deployed annually to WESTPAC and maintained herself in a state of readiness during training , upkeep , and leave periods in home waters . Her homeport remained at Hunters Point , San Francisco . She steamed on 21 September 1967 for underway replenishment service in WESTPAC , operating on " Yankee Station " and servicing " Operation Market Time " craft in Southeast Asia . Her deployment lasted through 30 March 1968 , when she tied up once again at San Francisco . " Neches " ’ Yankee Station and Market Time operations had been punctuated by calls at Subic Bay , Sasebo , Kaohsiung , and Hong Kong . Through September 1968 " Neches " operated off the West Coast , with a summer call at Portland , Oregon , for the Rose Festival . By the end of the first week of September she was underway for yet another seven - month deployment to WESTPAC . " Neches " began her last deployment on 1 January 1970 from Hunter ' s Point Naval Shipyard . She arrived at Subic Bay later that month . From Subic Bay she left for the coast of Vietnam to support operations there . Off the coast of Vietnam she conducted a number of underway replenishment s with ships of the U . S . and Australian navies , including the . One item of note occurred on 19 March 1970 during an underway replenishment with the , in somewhat heavy seas . The replenishment began smoothly . Suddenly the " Orleck " closed with the " Neches " until the " Orleck " s bow struck the " Neches " aft of the " Neches " starboard midsection , and then continued to scrape along the side of the " Neches " further aft . " Orleck " dropped astern , leaving her port anchor on the tank deck of the " Neches " . There were no casualties on board the " Neches " . After repairs and an investigation at Subic Bay , " Neches " continued to fulfill her mission in support of 7th Fleet ships . She returned to Hunters Point in July 1970 , and was moved up the San Francisco Bay to Vallejo , California for decommissioning soon after that . Her crew departed her for the last time at Vallejo on 1 October 1970 .