USS Orange County ( LST - 1068 ) USS " Orange County " ( LST – 1068 ) was an built for the United States Navy during World War II . Named for counties in the states of California , Florida , Indiana , New York , North Carolina , Texas , Vermont , and Virginia , she was the only U . S . Naval vessel to bear the name . Laid down as USS " LST - 1068 " on 31 January 1945 by the Bethlehem Steel Company of Hingham , Massachusetts ; the ship was launched on 3 March 1945 , sponsored by Mrs . Alice R . Wilbur ; and commissioned on 27 March 1945 with Lieutenant Clinton E . Voyles in command . Service history . World War II , 1945 – 1946 . After shakedown in Chesapeake Bay , " LST - 1068 " loaded pontoon causeways and LCT sections at Davisville , Rhode Island and embarked men at New York prior to getting underway , on 11 May , for the Pacific via the Panama Canal . On 27 June she departed Pearl Harbor for Guam via Eniwetok . " LST - 1068 " cleared Apra Harbor , Guam with a group of LSTs on 11 August en route to Saipan . From Saipan she returned to Okinawa , arriving on the 28th . She was forced out to sea from her anchorage on 16 September to ride out a violent storm which lasted for three days and nights . On 22 September she loaded elements of the Fifth Air Force for transport to Yokohama , Japan . After discharging the Air Corps personnel on the 27th , " LST - 1068 " sailed on 1 October from Tokyo Bay for the little port of Ominato , where she was to drop off a Port Director Unit . On the 12th she was underway again bound for Manila via Yokohama . Arriving in Manila Bay on 26 October , " LST - 1068 " remained for five days and then moved to Batangas and loaded occupation troops to return to Tokyo . She arrived in Tokyo on 14 November . On 28 November at Saipan , " LST - 1068 " exchanged low - point crew members for high - point personnel of other LSTs and on 14 December she sailed for Pearl Harbor . From Pearl Harbor she was ordered to San Francisco for pre - deactivation overhaul and then to Bremerton , Washington for decommissioning . " LST - 1068 " decommissioned on 9 August 1946 and was placed in reserve at Astoria , Oregon . Korean War , 1950 – 1953 . Recommissioned on 8 September 1950 " LST - 1068 " went through her second shakedown cruise and then sailed to the Far East via San Diego . Her actual departure was delayed , however , while she underwent repairs for a hole torn in her bottom by striking a submerged LCI . Repaired and loaded , she sailed in January 1951 with a scheduled stop at Pearl . In February , " LST - 1068 " arrived in Yokosuka , and the following month she made her first entrance into Korean waters . Through May she was engaged in operations at Inchon , and in June , was on her way back to the U . S . Following overhaul , training and upkeep , which lasted for several months , she returned to the Far East in January 1952 . " LST - 1068 " carried out a rigorous schedule which kept her busy until October , landing troops and supplies and shipping prisoners . She participated in operations at Sokchori , Koje - do , and Wonsan , with brief but frequent trips to Pusan , Cho - do , and Yokosuka , Japan . " LST - 1068 " returned to the U . S . again in October , arriving in San Diego around Thanksgiving . The was signed on 27 July 1953 at the time that " LST - 1068 " was preparing for her third deployment . Pacific , 1953 – 1957 . She departed San Diego on 1 August with the landing craft repair ship and . Arriving in Japan on 21 September , and following a three - week stay at Yokosuka , she proceeded to Kobe , and then to Sasebo . During November , she participated in a series of training exercises at Tokchok - to , Korea , an island near Inchon . In January 1954 " LST - 1068 " conducted training at Okinawa , and in March , at Iwo Jima , she was involved in the largest training operation she had ever experienced . On 17 June she joined with five LSTs of LST Division 13 , for a return passage to San Diego . Upon arrival she was assigned primarily local operations and periods of upkeep . December 1954 and January 1955 were spent in overhaul at San Pedro , California . The ship was renamed USS " Orange County " ( LST - 1068 ) on 1 July 1955 . Decommissioning and sale . " Orange County " continued to provide a vital service to the Navy until she decommissioned on 15 October 1957 . The ship was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 27 September 1957 and subsequently sunk as a target vessel on 18 June 1958 . Awards . " LST - 1068 " earned four battle star s for her Korean War service .