USS ''LST-19'' was a

United States 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 ...

used exclusively in the

Asiatic-Pacific Theater The Asiatic-Pacific Theater was the theater of operations of U.S. forces during World War II in the Pacific War during 1941–1945. From mid-1942 until the end of the war in 1945, two U.S. operational commands were in the Pacific. The Pacific O ...

during

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 opposin ...

and manned by a

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

crew. Like many of her class, she was not named and is properly referred to by her hull designation.

Construction

''LST-19'' was laid down on 22 October 1942, at

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

by the

Dravo Corporation Dravo Corporation was a shipbuilding company with shipyards in Pittsburgh and Wilmington, Delaware. It was founded by Frank and Ralph Dravo in Pittsburgh in 1891. The corporation went public in 1936 and in 1998 it was bought out by Carmeuse for $1 ...

; launched on 11 March 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Frances P. Gott. She was floated down the

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

rivers and entered commissioned service on 15 May 1943.

Service history

During World War II, ''LST-19'' was assigned to the

Asiatic-Pacific theater The Asiatic-Pacific Theater was the theater of operations of U.S. forces during World War II in the Pacific War during 1941–1945. From mid-1942 until the end of the war in 1945, two U.S. operational commands were in the Pacific. The Pacific O ...

. From 1–17 July 1943, she was on the

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 ...

coast en route 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., ...

. She stopped at

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

Mare Island Navy Yard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates th ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, 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 List of Ca ...

, loading cargo and on her top deck, and embarking

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

personnel at the latter location. On 17 July 1943, she was underway out of

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...

, arriving at the Naval Air Station, Woman's Bay, Kodiak, Alaska on 25 July 1943. On 27 July, she was underway in convoy with three Navy escorts and in company with , , , , , and for

Adak Island Adak Island ( ale, Adaax, russian: Адак) or Father Island is an island near the western extent of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Alaska's southernmost town, Adak, Alaska, Adak, is located on the island. The isl ...

in the

Aleutians The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large vo ...

where she arrived on 1 August 1943. Here the Army personnel were disembarked and ''LCT-81'' launched. Beaching exercises were carried out. Practice operations were continued, some in

Great Sitkin Island Great Sitkin Island ( ale, Sitх̑naх̑; russian: Большой Ситкин) is a volcanic island in the Andreanof Islands of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. The island covers a total area of and lies slightly north of a group of islands whi ...

area and cargo was unloaded at Sweeper's Cove. Departing Adak on 14 August 1943, ''LST-19'' took position in a convoy operating with Task Force 16.10. On 16 August, she broke off and proceeded independently, anchoring off

Kiska Island Kiska ( ale, Qisxa, russian: Кыска) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is required ...

. She then entered Kiska Harbor on 19 August, and began unloading Army equipment. Getting underway on 19 August, in convoy with ''LST-69'' and , , , , , and , escorted by , she began proceeding independently on 22 August, and anchored at Adak Island. She departed for San Francisco, on 31 August 1943, but turned back to Adak due to engine problems. ''LST-19'' was at San Pedro, on 4 April 1944. Proceeding to San Diego and San Francisco, she departed for

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 ...

, on 3 May 1944. Proceeding by way of

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 ...

and

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...

''LST-19'' arrived at

Peleliu Peleliu (or Beliliou) is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu, along with two small islands to its northeast, forms one of the sixteen states of Palau. The island is notable as the location of the Battle of Peleliu in World War II. H ...

on D-1 day, 14 September 1944, and was also engaged in the raids on Volocano-Bonia and

Yap Yap ( yap, Waqaab) traditionally refers to an island group located in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, a part of Yap State. The name "Yap" in recent years has come to also refer to the state within the Federated States of Micro ...

. She returned to Peleliu and

Angaur , or in Palauan, is an island and state in the island nation of Palau. History Angaur was traditionally divided among some eight clans. Traditional features within clan areas represent important symbols giving identity to families, clans and ...

on 24 December 1944. On 31 December, she was at

Fais Island Fais Island is a raised coral island in the eastern Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia. Fais Island is located approximately east of Ulithi and northeast o ...

, returning to Peleliu on 15 January 1945. ''LST-19'' arrived at Kossol, on 4 February 1945, and Ulithi on 11 February. She departed Ulithi, on 5 March, for San Francisco via Eniwetok, Pearl Harbor, San Pedro and San Diego, arriving on 28 July 1945. On 5 August 1945, she departed San Francisco for Pearl Harbor, returning on 3 September 1945. ''LST-19'' was redesignated as LST(H)-19 on 15 September 1945. Again departing San Francisco, on 25 September 1945, she proceeded to

Wakayama, Japan is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 944,320 () and has a geographic area of . Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture ...

, via Pearl Harbor and

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, all in ...

, Okinawa, arriving there on 5 November 1945. She returned to San Francisco, in January 1946, via Saipan and Pearl Harbor. She then sailed for

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, via the

Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terri ...

, on 18 January 1946, arriving at Charleston on 14 February 1946.

Post-war decommissioning

She was decommissioned and her Coast Guard crew removed on 20 March 1946. She 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 May 1946. On 5 December 1947, she was sold to Ships and Power Equipment Co., of Barber, New Jersey, for scrapping.

Awards

''LST-19'' earned four

battle stars 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 ...

for World War II service.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:LST-0019 World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Ships built in Pittsburgh 1943 ships LST-1-class tank landing ships of the United States Navy United States Navy ships crewed by the United States Coast Guard Ships built by Dravo Corporation