USS Bondia ( AF - 42 ) USS Bondia ( AF - 42 ) was an " Adria " - class stores ship acquired by the U . S . Navy for service in World War II . Her task was to carry stores , refrigerated items , and equipment to ships in the fleet , and to remote stations and staging areas . " Bondia " was laid down on 18 September 1944 at Beaumont , Texas , by the Pennsylvania Shipyard under a Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 2204 ) ; launched on 9 November 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . Les Reil ; delivered to the Navy on 31 March 1945 ; and commissioned on 17 April 1945 , Lt . Milton L . Austin in command . World War II service . Following a period in drydock at Galveston , Texas , the store ship got underway on 29 April for her shakedown cruise in the Gulf of Mexico . She returned to Galveston on 4 May and , after a six - day post - shakedown availability , headed for Mobile , Alabama , on the 10th . From 12 to 17 May , the ship loaded fresh provisions at Mobile . On the 17th , she stood out to sea on her way to the Pacific Ocean . " Bondia " arrived at Cristobal — the northern and Atlantic terminus of the Panama Canal — on 22 May . There , she spent three days dismantling faulty refrigeration equipment . On the night of the 25th and 26th , she transited the Panama Canal and then moored at Balboa to await delivery of additional spare parts for her refrigeration machinery . End - of - war operations . " Bondia " finally received her parts on 1 July , and she got underway for the Philippines that same day . Although difficulties with her main engine plagued her during the voyage , she arrived at Guiuan , Samar , on 11 August and spent the rest of the month issuing small amounts of supplies and provisions at various locations in the archipelago . On the last day of August , the store ship departed Calicoan Island and shaped a course for the Admiralty Islands . She arrived at Manus on 6 September , loaded fresh provisions and dry cargo , and headed back to the Philippines on the 14th . " Bondia " entered Subic Bay on 21 September and began discharging cargo . Post - war activity . Between her return to the Philippines in late September 1945 and the first week in January 1946 , the store ship made two more round - trip voyages to Manus and back . On 1 February 1946 , " Bondia " set sail for the United States . She made a brief stop at Pearl Harbor between 24 and 26 February before arriving in San Francisco , California , on 6 March . She remained on the U . S . West Coast for almost a month and then headed back to the Far East on 3 April . The ship arrived in Tsingtao , China , on the 27th . During the following five weeks , " Bondia " made calls at ports in China , Korea , and Japan . She headed home from Japan on 12 June and arrived in San Francisco on the 28th . Just over a month later , on 29 July 1946 , she was placed out of commission and was transferred to the Maritime Commission . Acquired by the Military Sea Transportation Service . Between 1946 and 1951 , the Maritime Commission operated her as a merchant ship under the name " SS Flemish Bend " . On 27 July 1951 , the Navy reacquired her for service in the Military Sea Transportation Service ( MSTS ) . Though not in a commissioned status , the stores ship reassumed the name " Bondia " and plied the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea for over 20 years in support to American warships . Placed out - of - service and scrapped . She was finally placed out of service in April 1973 , and her name was struck from the Navy list on 1 May 1973 . On 19 November 1973 , the ship was sold to the Chi Shun Hua Steel Co . , Ltd . , of Kaohsiung , Taiwan , for scrapping . Final Disposition : scrapped in 1974 . Military awards and honors . " Bondia ’ s " crew was eligible for the following medals :