USS Hesperia (AKS-13) was an ''Acubens''-class

general stores issue ship General stores issue ship is a type of ship used by the United States Navy during World War II and for some time afterwards. The task of the general stores issue ship was to sail into non-combat, or rear, areas and disburse general stores, such a ...

commissioned by the

U.S. 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 o ...

for service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. She was responsible for delivering and disbursing goods and equipment to locations in the war zone. ''Hesperia'' (AKS-13), built as the

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...

SS ''Sam Dale'', was launched under

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

contract by Delta Shipbuilding Co.,

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, 18 November 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Marie Owen; converted to Navy use by Norfolk Naval Shipyard and commissioned 1 April 1945.

World War II service

Following a period of training and shakedown, ''Hesperia'' loaded her cargo of general stores for the fleet and sailed 16 May 1945. Transiting the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

, she arrived

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 R ...

13 June 1945. The stores ship then proceeded to the western Pacific for the important job of supplying operating units with some of the thousands of items—from clothing to spare parts—necessary to a modern fighting ship. She arrived

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 larges ...

6 July and after issuing stores to the ships present sailed with a convoy for

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 ...

, site of the Pacific's largest amphibious assault just 3 months earlier. ''Hesperia'' anchored in

Buckner Bay is a bay on the southern coast of Okinawa Island on the Pacific Ocean in Japan. The bay covers and ranges between to deep. The bay is surrounded by the municipalities of Uruma, Kitanakagusuku, Nakagusuku, Nishihara, Yonabaru, Nanjō, a ...

, 21 July and began issuing supplies of all kinds to the fleet and shore installations. She continued to function as a mobile supply base, interrupted only by occasional enemy air attacks, until after hostilities ended in mid-August. Having issued her entire stock the ship departed

26 August for Manus. She arrived 7 September, loaded another full stock of replacement items, and sailed 22 September.

Surviving a dangerous typhoon

''Hesperia'' encountered the great

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

which had devastated

during her voyage to

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, but after altering course temporarily continued to

Jinsen Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

, arriving 17 October. During the next month she serviced nearly 100 ships and small craft engaged in the Korean and

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

occupations, operating from Jinsen, and later

Taku Taku may refer to: Places North America * the Taku River, in Alaska and British Columbia ** Fort Taku, also known as Fort Durham and as Taku, a former fort of the Hudson's Bay Company near the mouth of the Taku River ** the Taku Glacier, in Al ...

, China. After this vital support duty, allowing the ships to remain on station for longer periods of time, she returned 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 ...

for a fresh issue 29 November 1945. Loading completed, she sailed 20 December to

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

, Japan, and after her arrival 6 days later issued stores to over 500 ships and small craft and the shore activities connected with the occupation of Japan.

Post-war activity

Her job in Japan temporarily completed, ''Hesperia'' got underway 2 March 1946 for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, and arrived

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, 30 March. During the next months she made two more voyages to supply the fleet, one to Pearl Harbor, the other to Pearl Harbor and

Kwajalein Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civil ...

Decommissioning

Returning to San Francisco 23 December 1946, she decommissioned 27 February 1947, was delivered to the

, and joined 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 ...

. She was berthed at present at Suisun Bay, California. Final Disposition: she was scrapped in 1973.

Military awards and honors

''Hesperia’s'' crew was eligible for the following medals: *

China Service Medal The China Service Medal was a service medal awarded to U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard personnel. The medal was instituted by Navy Department General Order No. 176 on 1 July 1942. The medal recognized service in and around China before ...

(extended) *

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 The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The Wo ...

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)

References

External links

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - AKS-13 Hesperia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hesperia (AKS-13) Liberty ships Acubens-class general stores issue ships Ships built in New Orleans 1944 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States