USS Beckham ( APA - 133 ) USS " Beckham " ( APA - 133 ) was a acquired by the U . S . Navy for the task of transporting troops to and from combat areas . " Beckham " ( " APA - 133 " ) was laid down on 27 July 1944 at San Pedro , California by the California Shipbuilding Co . , under a Maritime Commission contract ( MCV hull 49 ) ; launched on 14 October 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . Frank J . Connolly of Los Angeles , California ; and commissioned at San Pedro , California , on 10 December 1944 , Capt . Albin R . Sodergren in command . World War II service . On 18 December 1944 , the attack transport commenced her shakedown in the San Pedro area and , on 3 January 1945 , proceeded to San Diego , California . From 6 to 19 January , she carried out amphibious training in Coronado Roads , off San Clemente Island , and at Oceanside , California . After availability at San Pedro , " Beckham " shifted to the San Francisco , California , area , loaded cargo at Oakland , California , and got underway on 8 February for the Marshall Islands . The ship reached Eniwetok atoll on Washington ' Birthday and — after discharging cargo for the U . S . Marine Corps garrison on Engebi Island — lingered there awaiting onward routing . Assigned to Task Unit ( TU ) 12 . 6 . 2 , " Beckham " departed Eniwetok on 2 March in a convoy bound for the Volcano Islands . At night her men could hear airplane engines as Boeing B 29 " Superfortresses " winged their way toward Japan to carry out some of the first massed raids on Tokyo . The convoy proceeded to , and then marked time in , a rendezvous area approximately 100 miles southeast of Iwo Jima . Supporting Iwo Jima operations . On the night of the 13th , " Beckham " and her consorts moved into their assigned places off Iwo Jima . " Beckham " stood offshore , witnessing the 25th Marines ' mop - up of the last pocket of enemy soldiers in an area studded by caves and emplacements . By 1030 on 16 March , Major General General Harry Schmidt ( USMC ) , V Amphibious Corps commander , announced an end to " all organized resistance " on Iwo Jima . Crowded conditions off the island ' s east coast prompted " Beckham " to shift her anchorage a number of times before 18 March when she began taking on board elements of the 4th Marine Division . Underway on 20 March in convoy with task unit TU 51 . 29 . 2 , " Beckham " headed for the Marianas . She reached Apra Harbor , Guam , on 22 March , transferred landing craft to the Pacific Amphibious Forces Replacement Boat Pool , and embarked additional marines . Pushing on via Eniwetok , the ship reached Pearl Harbor on 4 April . Sailing for the Marshall Islands . After disembarking the marines at Kahului on Maui , she returned to Pearl Harbor on 7 April and devoted the next few days to ship ' s work and taking on fuel , water , and supplies . She got underway again on 20 April for a week of intensive amphibious exercises at Maalea Bay , Maui . Another few days back at Pearl Harbor followed , and then " Beckham " shifted to Honolulu harbor on the morning of 4 May . There , she embarked several Army units and sailed on 8 May for the Marshalls in convoy PD - 399T . Disembarking troops at Okinawa . " Beckham " fueled at Eniwetok before resuming her voyage on 20 May . Reaching Ulithi on 24 May , " Beckham " and her passengers awaited orders which finally came on 20 June . Underway that day , she headed for the Ryūkyūs in convoy WOK - 27 , arrived off Okinawa ' s Hagushi beachhead on the afternoon of 24 June , and commenced disembarking troops and unloading cargo . Under attack by kamikaze . Kamikaze attacks posed a serious threat to the " fleet that came to stay " as it supported the conquest of Okinawa . That evening , she went to general quarters and started her smoke generators as part of an effort to blanket the area with a chemical fog to conceal the fleet . The next night , " Beckham " again set Condition I watches ; and , at 0030 on the 26th , a kamikaze crashed into the sea close aboard the amphibious command ship , 1 , 000 yards off " Beckham ' s " starboard beam . End - of - war operations . " Beckham " weighed anchor on 28 June and joined convoy OKS - 10 , bound for the Marianas . Arriving at Saipan on 2 July , she disembarked casualties from Okinawa . Then , after taking on Army and Army Air Force men bound for Pearl Harbor , she got underway for Hawaii . After her escort was detached on the 10th , " Beckham " zig - zagged her way to Pearl Harbor where she arrived on the 13th . Shifting to Honolulu on the 23d , the attack transport embarked passengers and loaded cargo and stores before getting underway for Eniwetok on 26 July . Ending the first leg of this voyage to the western Pacific on 3 August , " Beckham " sailed with task unit TU 96 . 6 . 17 and reached Ulithi on the 8th . However , the end of the war in the Pacific overtook her in mid - August while she lay in the Western Carolines . Post - war activity . Underway for the Ryūkyūs on the 18th , " Beckham " joined convoy WOK - 49 and reached Okinawa ' s Hagushi beaches on 22 August . She shifted to Buckner Bay on the 27th to fuel . Then , after proceeding via Hagushi to Naha , the attack transport sailed for Jinsen , Korea ( formerly Chemulpo and later Inchon ) , on 5 September as part of amphibious convoy TU 78 . 1 . 15 under Vice Admiral Daniel E . Barbey , Commander , 7th Amphibious Force . The escort carrier provided air cover . Elements of the Army ' s 7th Infantry Division and XXIV Corps were to carry out the landings . Liberating prisoners - of - war in Korea . " Beckham " anchored off Jinsen on 8 September and commenced unloading men and cargo on the 10th . Her landing craft ( LCVP ) not only took her cargo ashore , but brought back former Allied prisoners of war who had been incarcerated there , 138 Americans veterans of Bataan and 30 British , some of whom had been in captivity since the fall of Singapore in February 1942 . Later , 150 British Army officers , also Singapore veterans , were discovered at Seoul and released . Riding out a typhoon with mines nearby . " Beckham " sailed for Okinawa with task unit TU 78 . 12 . 5 on 13 September and dropped anchor off Hagushi on the 15th . The following morning , she put to sea to ride out a typhoon . " Beckham " fought her way out of the western anchorage through storm conditions , with torrential rains drastically limiting her visibility . She and her colleagues also encountered difficulties worse than the typhoon — stray mines not yet swept . The ship next to her struck a mine and had to be towed to port on the 18th after the storm had abated . " Beckham " again dropped anchor off Hagushi that day . The attack transport got underway for the Philippines on 22 September and reached Guiuan Roadstead , off Samar , on the 25th . Underway again on 5 October , " Beckham " skirted another typhoon on the 7th . During her voyage she sighted six floating mines which destroyed . At night , " Beckham " used her searchlights to spot drifting ordnance . The similarities between mines and the many large , rust - colored jellyfish which floated just below the surface of the water taxed her lookouts . China operations . Anchoring in the Gulf of Pohai , China , on 14 October , " Beckham " discharged passengers and cargo for Tientsin before proceeding to the Shantung Peninsula . She disembarked the remainder of her passengers and unloaded cargo at Tsingtao before sailing on the 27th . " Beckham " arrived at Manila on the morning of 3 November and sailed for San Francisco on the 6th with 1 , 970 passengers , a capacity load of military humanity that spilled into the cargo holds and onto the decks . " Beckham " refueled at Midway Island and entered the Golden Gate on 26 November . The attack transport then sailed for Hunters ' Point for " minor repairs and reconditioning of underwater hull " , repairs that continued into December . Stateside activity . " Beckham " then moved to San Francisco whence she transported veterans to San Pedro , California , for further routing to Separation Centers . " Beckham " got underway for the Philippines on 13 December . After brief stops at Midway and Saipan , the ship reached San Pedro Bay , Leyte , on 2 January 1946 . Departing Samar on 7 January with another full load of returnees , she reached Seattle on the 26th . Troop disembarkation and brief repairs preceded the ship ' s sailing on 8 February for San Francisco . Reaching there on the 10th , " Beckham " then shifted to San Pedro , California , four days later . Her last voyage and decommissioning . " Beckham " commenced her last Navy voyage on 16 February 1946 when she sailed for Norfolk , Virginia . Transiting the Panama Canal on the 24th , she reached her destination on 7 March . Decommissioned at Norfolk on 25 April 1946 , " Beckham " was turned over to the War Shipping Administration on 29 April 1946 . Her name was struck from the Navy List on 8 May 1946 , and she was berthed with the Maritime Commission ' s National Defense Reserve Fleet . The former attack transport remained inactive until sold on 5 September 1974 to Sparreboom Shipbrokers to be broken up for scrap . Military awards and honors . " Beckham " ( " APA - 133 " ) received two battle stars for her World War II service .