USS ''Stokes'' (AKA-68) was a in service with 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 ...

from 1944 to 1946. She was sold into commercial service and scrapped in 1971.

History

''Stokes '' was named after

Stokes County, North Carolina Stokes County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,520. Its county seat is Danbury. Stokes County is included in the Winston-Salem, N.C., Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ...

. She was laid down as a Type C2-S-AJ3 ship on 26 June 1944 by the

North Carolina Shipbuilding Company North Carolina Shipbuilding Company was a shipyard in Wilmington, North Carolina, created as part of the U.S. Government's Emergency Shipbuilding Program in the early days of World War II. From 1941 through 1946, the company built 243 ships in all ...

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

; launched on 31 August 1944, sponsored by Mrs. W. D. Woodall; acquired by the Navy from the

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 ...

on a loan-charter basis; and commissioned on 12 October 1944.

World War II, 1944–1945

After a brief shakedown and yard availability period, ''Stokes '' loaded general cargo at

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

and sailed for the Pacific on 11 December. She transited 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 conduit ...

on 21 December 1944 and 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 ...

early in January 1945. The attack cargo ship was then assigned to Transport Division 48 which was preparing to participate in the assault against Iwo Jima. She moved to

Hilo, Hawaii Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. It is the fourth-largest settlement i ...

; loaded troops and equipment; and sailed with the division to the staging area in the

Marianas The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...

. The ships stood out 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 ...

on 16 February for Iwo Jima. ''Stokes '' arrived off Iwo Jima on 19 February as the assault waves of U.S. Marines landed on the beaches and, for the next two weeks, supplied them with rockets, ammunition, and gasoline. She then loaded combat casualties for evacuation to the base hospital at Saipan. After disembarking the wounded there, the ship moved 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 replace many of her small boats that had been lost or disabled at Iwo Jima. ''Stokes '' then sailed to

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 ...

and loaded troops and equipment for the upcoming assault on the Ryūkyūs. Since her passengers were part of the floating reserve, the ship did not arrive at

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 ...

until 10 April. On the 19th ''Stokes'' proceeded, via

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 ...

, Guam, and Pearl Harbor, to the West Coast of the United States. She called at

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 ...

before moving up the coast to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

for loading. ''Stokes'' sailed for Iwo Jima and on to

Post-war activities, 1945–1946

After the war ended, the ship then operated between the

Philippine Islands 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 ...

, Guam, and

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 ...

until routed back to the West Coast. She returned to Seattle in January 1946 and was routed to the East Coast for inactivation and disposal.

Decommissioning and civilian service

She arrived at Norfolk on 29 May and was decommissioned on 9 July. 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 19 July 1946 and she was returned to the

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime Co ...

. Ex-''USS Stokes'' had a tumultuous civilian career, being sold, re-sold, and re-possessed numerous times over the next 25 years. Initially purchased from the Maritime Commission by the Oceanic Steamship Company, she was renamed SS ''Sierra'' on 9 May 1947. She operated under that name until 3 March 1961 when Oceanic sold the vessel to Matson Navigation Co, who renamed her SS ''Hawaiian Banker''. The 1961 date may be in error, as the ship appears in the background in a 1951 movie called 'The Mob' starring Broderick Crawford, bearing the 'Hawaiian Banker' name. Later that year (8 September) Matson renamed the ship SS ''Fanwood''. Matson sold the ship to Sea-Land Services, Inc. on 15 September 1961. Sea-Land Sold her to Georgelis Mid-America Lines, Inc. on 20 April 1964 where she served under the name SS ''A&J Doctor Max'' until being repossessed by Sea-Land on 10 July 1964 and named back to SS ''Fanwood''. On 13 May 1965 Sea-Land transferred the title on the ship to the Maritime Administration under the exchange program; MARAD promptly leased the ship back to Sea-Land the same day. The lease expired about a year later (22 April 1966) and the ship was returned to MARAD who sold her to Waterman Industries Corp the same day. Waterman sold the vessel to Gatx/Boothe Corp on 15 May 1969. Gatx/Boothe maintained the ship for a little over two years until selling her one last time to Kenematsu-Gosho, Ltd. of Japan on 4 September 1971. The old ship was broken up in Taiwan shortly thereafter.

Awards

''Stokes '' received two battle stars for her 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 opposin ...

References

External links

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51 Years of AKAs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stokes (AKA-68) Tolland-class attack cargo ships Stokes County, North Carolina World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Ships built in Wilmington, North Carolina 1944 ships