The second USS ''Mercer'' (APB 39/IX 502/APL 39) is an APL-35-class Barracks ship of the

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 ...

. Originally classified as Barracks Craft APL 39, the ship was reclassified as Self-Propelled Barracks Ship APB 39 on 7 August 1944. Laid down on 24 August 1944 by Boston Navy Yard, and launched on 17 November 1944 as ''APB 39'', sponsored by Mrs. Lillian Gaudette, the ship was named ''Mercer'', after counties in eight states, on 14 March 1945, and commissioned on 19 September 1945.

Service history

New York, 1945–1947

''Mercer'', a barracks ship built on an LST hull, commenced her career of berthing and messing large numbers of naval personnel at New York on 7 November 1945. Transferred to the Inactive Fleet in January 1946, for their first few days after they arrived in New York in March 1946 she served as quarters for the newly assigned 79 member Marine security detachment for the United Nations Organization meetings at Hunter College in The Bronx, she remained at New York until 9 September, when she got underway for

Orange, Texas Orange is a city and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,324. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Houst ...

, and remained in duty there until the spring of 1947. She then headed for Green Cove Springs, Florida, where she was decommissioned on 18 June 1947, but remained in service with the Florida Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet.

Naples, Rhode Island and Argentina, 1951–1956

She was recommissioned on 12 October 1951 and after a brief overhaul sailed for

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 ...

, en route to Naples, Italy, where she served as a

receiving ship A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Hulk may be used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, an abandoned wreck or shell, or to refer to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipmen ...

until 1 July 1952. Returning to the United States on 21 July, she underwent an overhaul and reported to

Davisville, Rhode Island Davisville, Rhode Island is a village in the town of North Kingstown in the U.S. state of Rhode Island that was formerly the home of the Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center, which housed the United States Navy's SeaBees. Village descri ...

, for duty as a barracks ship for Mobile Construction Battalions. On such duty into late 1955, ''Mercer'' was thrice deployed to

Argentia, Newfoundland Argentia ( ) is a Canadian commercial seaport and industrial park located in the Town of Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated on the southwest coast of the Avalon Peninsula and defined by a triangular shaped headland which re ...

from 19 March to 3 October 1953, 14 March to 18 October 1954, and 27 February to 25 July 1955. Her Seabee duty was interrupted when she sailed to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, to berth midshipmen of the United States Merchant Marine Academy taking part in President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

's 1953 Inaugural Parade. Upon returning from her 1955 Argentina deployment, ''Mercer'' sailed to New York for a pre-inactivation overhaul, and on 7 November she sailed for Green Cove Springs where she was decommissioned 17 February 1956, and once again entered the Reserve Fleet. Eleven years later she was reactivated and taken to

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

for modernization.

Vietnam, 1968–1969

She was recommissioned on 11 May 1968 and on 2 June reported for duty with the Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet, at San Diego. Within the month she was en route to her ultimate assignment,

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

where she arrived at Vung Tau on 31 July. Well into 1969 she supported

Mobile Riverine Force In the Vietnam War, the Mobile Riverine Force (MRF) (after May 1967), initially designated Mekong Delta Mobile Afloat Force, and later the Riverines, were a joint US Army and US Navy force that comprised a substantial part of the brown-water n ...

fighting Viet Cong and

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...

forces operating in South Vietnam. ''Mercer'' left Vietnam in August 1969.

Sasebo, 1975–1980s

Decommissioned and reclassified as Miscellaneous Auxiliary IX 502, a messing and berthing barge, she was placed in service on 1 November 1975 at the US Naval Ship Repair Facility,

Sasebo, Japan is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...

1980s and 1990s

IX 502 served during the 1980s as a berthing barge at Naval Station San Diego, providing sleeping quarters, messing, and classroom accommodation for crews of ships undergoing maintenance. The ship was towed in the early 1990s to the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, California, where she served the same function until the shipyard closed in 1997.

Return to Sasebo

Reclassified as Barracks Ship (non-self propelled) ''APL 39'' on 7 March 2001, ''APL 39'' is part of the CincPacFlt Berthing and Messing Program and is berthed at SRF Det. Sasebo, Japan.

Awards

USS ''Mercer'' earned four

campaign 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 Vietnam War service, in addition to the Presidential Unit Citation and the

Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy and U.S. Marine Corps commands may recommend any Navy or Marine Co ...

References

History of the USS ''Mercer'' (APB 39)
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mercer (APL 39) Benewah-class barracks ships Mercer County, Illinois Mercer County, Kentucky Mercer County, Missouri Mercer County, New Jersey Mercer County, North Dakota Mercer County, Ohio Mercer County, Pennsylvania Mercer County, West Virginia Ships built in Boston 1945 ships Vietnam War auxiliary ships of the United States Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Green Cove Springs Group