USS ''Agawam'' (AOG-6) was a acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of transporting gasoline to warships in the fleet, and to remote Navy stations. The second warship to be named ''Agawam'' by the Navy, ''AOG-6'' was laid down on 7 September 1942 at

Savage, Minnesota Savage is a suburban city south-southwest of downtown Minneapolis in Scott County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city is on the south bank of the Minnesota River in a region commonly called ''South of the River,'' comprising the southern ...

, by Cargill, Inc.; launched on 6 May 1943; sponsored by Mrs. George F. Jacobs; and commissioned at

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, on 18 December 1943.

World War II service

After a period of alterations and fitting out, the gasoline tanker left

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

, on 24 January 1944, bound for the Pacific Ocean. She arrived at

Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region o ...

on 1 March and continued on to

Tulagi Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island——in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 18 ...

. As a member of

Service Squadron A Service Squadron (ServRon) was a United States Navy squadron that supported fleet combat ships and US Navy Auxiliary ships. Service Squadrons were used by the US Navy from their inception in 1943 to as late as the early 1980s. At the time of th ...

(ServRon) 8, ''Agawam'' was based at that island in the Solomons for the next 10 months servicing Allied facilities located throughout the island group.

Supporting the Philippine invasion

In September, ''Agawam'' began a 27-day availability at

and resumed her operations at

on 25 October. The

gasoline tanker A tanker (or tank ship or tankship) is a ship designed to transport or store liquids or gases in Bulk liquids, bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and gas carrier. Tankers also carry commodities such as ve ...

was detached from ServRon 8 on 28 January 1945 and got underway for

Lingayen Gulf The Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central. The Agno River and the Balili ...

, Philippines. Upon her arrival there on 1 March, she was assigned to Service Force,

U.S. 7th Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of th ...

, and for the next month engaged in routine operations between

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, Subic Bay, and

On loan to the U.S. Army

On 1 April, ''Agawam'' was transferred, on loan, to the U.S. Army for the support of its land-based forces. She delivered aviation and motor gasoline to Army forces for two months in lower Lingayen Gulf and subsequently performed the same services at Manila for three months.

Post-war activity

A fortnight after

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

capitulated, the tanker was ordered to Tokyo. Routed via

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, she reached

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

on 18 September and spent the next month there fueling Army installations ashore. On 25 October, the ship reported to Shanghai, China, for fueling operations at bases located along the

Huangpu River The Huangpu (), formerly romanized as Whangpoo, is a river flowing north through Shanghai. The Bund and Lujiazui are located along the Huangpu River. The Huangpu is the biggest river in central Shanghai, with the Suzhou Creek being its maj ...

. She got underway to return to Japan on 26 November and moored at

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

on the 28th. The gasoline tanker remained actively engaged in logistic support of the occupation forces in Japan through January 1946. The ship was then returned to Navy custody and got underway on the 28th for the voyage back to the United States.

Stateside overhaul

Upon her arrival at

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; Spanish: " St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...

, ''Agawam'' entered a shipyard for overhaul. Back in top shape, she sailed for

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

on 1 July and served as a station ship at that island until June 1949. During this period she made voyages to various ports in Japan; to

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

; to

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...

; to Shanghai, China; and to Truk.

Based out of Pearl Harbor

In June 1949, ''Agawam'' switched her base of operations to

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

. She carried gasoline to

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

and various islands in the Central Pacific. On 13 November 1953, the tanker sailed for the Philippine Islands and served in that

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

through April 1954. ''Agawam'' then returned to Pearl Harbor and continued operating from that base supporting American installations throughout the Central Pacific. On 22 November 1956, ''Agawam'' left Hawaii, bound for San Diego.

Inactivation and decommissioning

Upon her arrival, she began a pre-inactivation overhaul. ''Agawam'' was placed out of commission, in reserve, at San Diego, on 31 January 1957. Her name was struck from the

Navy list A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

on 1 July 1960, and the ship was transferred to the Maritime Administration, and she was placed in the

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States of America, mostly merchant vessels, that have been "mothballed" but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies ...

and laid up at

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. European ...

. She was sold to Levin Metals in October 1975, presumably for scrapping.

Military awards and honors

''Agawam''s crew was eligible for the following medals: *

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal * World War II Victory Medal *

Navy Occupation Service Medal The Navy Occupation Service Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was "Awarded to commemorate the services of Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard personnel in the occupation of certain territories of the enemies of the U.S. durin ...

(with Asia Clasp) * National Defense Service Medal * Philippine Liberation Medal

References

External links

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive – AOG-6 Agawam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agawam Patapsco-class gasoline tankers Ships built in Savage, Minnesota 1943 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States