USS ''Aurelia'' (AKA-23) was an 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 scrapped in 1972.

History

''Aurelia'' (AKA-23) was laid down under a

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 (MC hull 1884) on 5 February 1944 at Providence, R.I., by the Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc.; launched on 4 July 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Roy P. Mills; and acquired and commissioned on 14 October 1944. Her name is Latin and means ''The Golden One''.

1944

In early November 1944, the attack cargo ship got underway for shakedown training in the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

. She arrived at Norfolk, Va., on the 23d to embark troops and load cargo, sailed on the 28th for

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

– via 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 ...

– and reached

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 ...

on 17 December.

1945

''Aurelia'' got underway on 5 January 1945 to carry troops and cargo to

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 i ...

and

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 ...

. She returned to Hawaii on 5 February to embark more troops. On the 13th, the ship sailed, via Eniwetok, for 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 ...

. She dropped anchor at

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 ...

on 4 March and began unloading her cargo the next day. On 6 March, she embarked combat troops scheduled to assault Okinawa and got underway for training maneuvers. Three weeks later, the attack cargo ship headed for the

Ryukyus The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...

. On 1 April, D day for the landings on Okinawa, she entered the transport area and began lowering her boats. ''Aurelia'' continued to operate in that embattled area until 14 April when she headed for Saipan. On the 16th, she continued on toward Hawaii. After a four-day stay in Pearl Harbor, the ship sailed for the California coast and arrived at

Alameda An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile ...

on 12 May. The vessel moved to

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 eighth most populous city in the United State ...

on 7 June for amphibious training exercises. She began loading her cargo at San Pedro on 24 June and put to sea on the 30th. Aurelia reached Pearl Harbor on 6 July and, 10 days later, sailed for Saipan, via Eniwetok. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 12 August. While she was in port there, word of Japan's capitulation on 15 August reached the ship. ''Aurelia'' embarked

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 ...

slated for occupation duty and got underway on 1 September for Japan. The ship debarked her passengers at

Sasebo 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 ...

and sailed on 26 September for the

to pick up

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 ...

troops and equipment for transportation to Sasebo. The vessel reached Sasebo on 21 October and was then assigned to the

Magic Carpet A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet and common trope in fantasy fiction. It is typically used as a form of transportation and can quickly or instantaneously carry its users to their destination. In literature One o ...

fleet. She received on board Marine Corps personnel for passage back to the United States and delivered them to

San Francisco 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 ...

on 13 November. She stood out to sea on the 29th for her last round-trip voyage to the Orient, embarked another contingent of veterans in Japan, and arrived back in San Francisco on 16 January 1946.

Decommissioning and fate

On 24 January, ''Aurelia'' sailed, via the Panama Canal, for the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

. She reached

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, La., on 7 February and was decommissioned at

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 Hous ...

, on 14 March 1946. The ship was then transferred to the Maritime Commission, and her name was struck from the Navy list on 19 June 1946. She was sold for scrap in 1972. ''Aurelia'' earned one battle star for

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 ...

service.

References

External links

NavSource Online: AKA-23 ''Aurelia''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aurelia (AKA-23) Artemis-class attack cargo ships World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Ships built in Providence, Rhode Island 1944 ships