USS Jefferson County ( LST - 845 ) USS " Jefferson County " ( LST - 845 ) was an built for the United States Navy during World War II . Named after counties in 25 states , she was the only U . S . Naval vessel to bear the name . USS " LST - 845 " was laid down by the American Bridge Company , Ambridge , Pennsylvania on 23 October 1944 ; launched on 7 December 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . B . F . Fairless ; and commissioned at New Orleans , Louisiana on 1 January 1945 with Lieutenant C . E . Lowe in command . World War II . After shakedown off the Florida coast , " LST - 845 " departed New Orleans for the West Coast on 7 February . Steaming via the Panama Canal , she loaded cargo at San Diego and San Francisco , then sailed on 15 March for the Hawaiian Islands . She touched at Maui on 24 March to unload cargo ; reached Pearl Harbor the 26th ; and returned to Maui on 4 April for amphibious training operations . While beached on 6 April , she broached in heavy surf and sustained heavy damage to her hull . Towed out to sea on 9 April , she underwent repairs at Pearl Harbor from 10 April to 27 July before resuming amphibious training . Carrying troops and cargo , " LST - 845 " departed Pearl Harbor in convoy for Japan on 29 August . She arrived Sasebo on 22 September and supported occupation landings before sailing for the Philippines three days later . Steaming via Subic Bay , she reached Lingayen Gulf on 7 October to embark more occupation troops for transportation to Japan . Between 12 and 19 October she sailed to Sasebo ; and , during the next month , she supported occupation operations along the western coast of Kyushu Island . Departing Sasebo late in November , she steamed via the Marianas to Pearl Harbor where she arrived 20 January 1946 . Inter - war years . " LST - 845 " operated out of Pearl Harbor until 29 April when she sailed for the Far East . Sailing via Okinawa , she arrived off Shanghai , China , on 30 May . During the next two months , she operated from Nanking to Hankow in the Yangtze River , carrying men and military cargo and supporting Chiang Kai - shek ' s Chinese Nationalist troops during their struggle with the Chinese Communist forces for control of the Chinese mainland . She departed Shanghai on 24 July ; and , after steaming on cargo runs to the Philippines and Okinawa , she returned to Tsingtao , China , on 3 September , loaded with military cargo . Then , from 9 to 28 September , she sailed to Pearl Harbor . Departing 4 December for the West Coast , she touched at San Francisco the 15th and reached San Diego on 20 December . During the next two years she took part in amphibious training operations out of San Diego . Between 10 January and 4 March 1949 she transported cargo to Juneau and Kodiak , Alaska . Departing San Diego on 16 May , " LST - 845 " made a cargo run to the mid - Pacific , carrying military supplies to bases in the Marshall Islands and the Mariana Islands . After returning to San Diego on 17 July , she operated off Southern California during the next 12 months . Korean War . In response to the invasion of South Korea by North Korean troops on 25 June 1950 , " LST - 845 " departed San Diego on 10 August and sailed to the Far East to bolster the American effort to repel this Communist aggression . Arriving Kobe , Japan , on 6 September , she embarked combat troops and departed on 10 September for amphibious landings at Inchon , Korea , which were designed to thwart the Communist advance through South Korea and spearhead an Allied offensive northward . Standing off Inchon , she boated troops for the assault ; and , following the successful landings , she remained off Inchon during the next mouth to unload military cargo . She departed Inchon on 15 October and steamed to the eastern coast of Korea to carry cargo from Pusan to Wonsan and Hŭngnam . Following the entrance of Communist China into the Korean War , " LST - 845 " supported the evacuation of Hŭngnam and made three runs south to Pusan . On 24 December she helped evacuate the remaining military forces before sailing via Pusan to Japan where she arrived Yokosuka on 31 December . During the next few months " LST - 845 " continued to carry cargo between Japan and ports in South Korea . She departed Yokosuka on 25 April 1951 , sailed via Pearl Harbor , and reached San Diego on 23 May . " LST - 845 " took part in amphibious training operations for the better part of a year ; and , after overhaul , she departed San Diego on 26 May 1952 to again support U . N . forces in Korea . Arriving Sasebo , Japan , on 10 July , she spent more than six months in Japanese and Korean waters bolstering the naval supply line to South Korea . She departed the Far East on 4 February 1953 , arrived San Diego on 5 March , and operated off Southern California during the remainder of 1953 . Post - war . Departing San Diego on 25 January 1954 , " LST - 845 " steamed on her third deployment with the 7th Fleet in the Far East . She reached Yokosuka on 25 February ; and during the next five months cargo runs and amphibious exercises sent her from Japan to Iwo Jima , Okinawa , and Inchon . On 14 August she departed Yokosuka for Haiphong , North Vietnam , to provide support for " Operation Passage to Freedom . " She reached Haiphong on 27 August and made four runs to Tourane , South Vietnam , during the several weeks . In addition to transporting military cargo , she carried civilian refugees seeking to escape from Communist domination in North Vietnam . After returning to Yokosuka on 20 October , " LST - 845 " sailed for the United States on 7 November and arrived San Diego on 12 December . While operating out of San Diego , " LST - 845 " was renamed USS " Jefferson County " ( LST - 845 ) on 1 July 1955 . She trained along the California coast until 13 August 1957 when she again departed for the western Pacific . She arrived Yokosuka on 13 September and resumed cargo runs and amphibious exercises which carried her along the Japanese coast to Okinawa , Hong Kong , and the Philippines . Departing Dingalan Bay , Luzon on 1 March , she arrived San Diego on 1 April . " Jefferson County " sailed for the Marshall Islands on 9 October ; and , after arriving at Kwajalein on 2 November , she operated during the next three months supporting the establishment of Air Force stations in the Marshalls . She returned to San Diego on 4 March 1959 . Following amphibious training out of San Diego , she departed for the Far East on 1 October 1959 . She reached Yokosuka on 3 November and resumed training and readiness exercises along the coast of Japan . Sailing for the United States on 12 April 1960 , she arrived San Diego on 5 May . Decommissioning and sale . " Jefferson County " was decommissioned at San Diego on 28 November 1960 and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet . Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 February 1961 . She was sold for scrapping to Zidell Explorations , Inc . of Portland , Oregon on 22 August 1961 . Awards . " LST - 845 " received five battle star s for Korean War service .