USS ''Fremont'' (APA-44) was a that served with the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

during World War II. ''Fremont'' was launched 31 March 1943 by

Ingalls Shipbuilding Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States, originally established in 1938, and now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries, HII. It is a leading producer of ships for the United States Navy, and at 12,500 ...

, Pascagoula, Mississippi; as ''Sea Corsair'', placed in partial commission between 30 May 1943 and 11 June 1943, and commissioned in full 23 November 1943.

Operational history

Conversion to command ship

''Fremont'' arrived at

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 ...

14 March 1944 for conversion to a staff and

command ship Command ships serve as the flagships of the commander of a fleet. They provide communications, office space, and accommodations for a fleet commander and their staff, and serve to coordinate fleet activities. An auxiliary command ship features ...

for amphibious operations, and during the remainder of the war was to carry such distinguished commanders as Rear Admiral

William H. P. Blandy William Henry Purnell Blandy (28 June 1890 – 12 January 1954), known to close associates as "Spike", was an admiral in the United States Navy during World War II. Biography Born in New York City 28 June 1890, Blandy graduated first in his cla ...

, Rear Admiral

William M. Fechteler William Morrow Fechteler (March 6, 1896 – July 4, 1967) was an admiral in the United States Navy who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower administration. Biography Fechteler was born in San Rafael, California, on Mar ...

, Rear Admiral Ralph O. Davis, and Major General

Graves B. Erskine General Graves Blanchard Erskine (June 28, 1897May 21, 1973) was a United States Marine Corps officer who led the 3rd Marine Division (United States), 3rd Marine Division during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. Early life and education ...

, USMC.

Saipan

''Fremonts first assault landing was at

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 ...

on 16 June, and for 10 days she lay off the island, landing troops and receiving casualties by day, and retiring seaward at night.

Palau Islands

Back in Pearl Harbor from 12 July 1944 to 12 August, ''Fremont'' sailed then for rehearsal landings in the Solomons, and on 8 September she sortied for the Palau Islands operation. During the initial landings on Peleliu 15 September, ''Fremont'' conducted a diversionary demonstration off Babelthaup, then moved into the transport area to land troops on Angaur 17 September. On 23 September ''Fremont'' landed men in the unopposed occupation of

Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest i ...

, then returned to

Hollandia Hollandia may refer to: * HVV Hollandia, Dutch football team * Hollandia Victoria Combinatie, defunct Dutch football team * ''Hollandia'' (1742 ship), a ship of the Dutch East India Company, wrecked in 1743 on her maiden voyage * Jayapura, a city ...

and Manus for training with soldiers.

Casualties at Leyte

''Fremont'' cleared Manus 12 October 1944 for the initial landings in

Leyte Gulf Leyte Gulf is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the south of the bay is Mindanao Isl ...

20 October, and remained in the Gulf until 18 November, embarking Admiral Fechteler as senior officer present afloat. She came under enemy air attack on several occasions, and on 24 October, during the decisive Battle for Leyte Gulf, a small caliber shell which exploded on her bridge injured seven men. Returning to Hollandia 22 November, ''Fremont'' embarked men and equipment for rehearsal landings in preparation for the assault on

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

. During these exercises, ''Fremont'' aided in splashing a lone attacking aircraft.

Luzon

Arriving in

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 ...

for the initial landings 9 January 1945, ''Fremont'', with the job done, sailed 11 January for

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

, then sailed on to

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 ...

to embark

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

for the

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. ...

operation.

Iwo Jima

Again combining her key services as command ship with skillful landing of troops, she arrived off Iwo Jima 19 February, put the Marine command party ashore 24 February, and began landing troops and cargo. She returned to Saipan 9 March with casualties and

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

, then sailed for repairs and rehearsal landings off

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

. On 16 May ''Fremont'' returned to Leyte Gulf with troops and sailors, and there received men for transportation to the west coast, where she began an overhaul 26 June 1945.

After hostilities

Two voyages to Pearl Harbor, and two more to Pacific islands and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

to bring servicemen eligible for immediate discharge home kept ''Fremont'' at sea between 9 October 1945 and 12 August 1946. On 11 January 1947 she cleared Port Hueneme,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, to join the Atlantic Fleet at

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

26 January.

Postwar career

In the years from 1947 through 1960, ''Fremont'' completed seven tours of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, participating in amphibious exercises with marines and ships of other

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

navies. The

Lebanon Crisis The 1958 Lebanon crisis (also known as the Lebanese Civil War of 1958) was a political crisis in Lebanon caused by political and religious tensions in the country that included a United States military intervention. The intervention lasted for aro ...

broke out during her 1958 tour of duty, and she joined in landing Marines at

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

17 July to 6 August, returning to reembark troops in September. While based at

Norfolk Navy Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...

in 1951, she prominently appeared in the film '' You're in the Navy Now''. Her operations when not deployed found ''Fremont'' taking part in amphibious operations from

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, and for much of each year, she trained marines along the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

coast near Camp Lejeune, as well as in the Caribbean. In 1962, she served as the

of Amphibious Squadron Four, Task Force 61 before returning to Italy. In 1968, the Fremont was anchored at

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, Florida, to serve as living quarters for some 200 federal agents and Army EOD operators providing security for the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

as all hotel space was taken up by the convention. She sailed in 1969 for decommissioning at

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

. Fremont received five

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

s for World War II service.

References

*
AP-88 APA-44 ''Fremont''
Navsource Online
USS Fremont APA-44 homepage
- complete history, photos, crew list, and reunion information.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fremont (APA-44) Bayfield-class attack transports Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi 1943 ships World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Cold War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Fremont County, Colorado Fremont County, Idaho Fremont County, Iowa Fremont County, Wyoming