USS ''Harry Lee'' (APA-10) was a ''Harry Lee''-class

attack transport Attack transport is a United States Navy ship classification for a variant of ocean-going troopship adapted to transporting invasion forces ashore. Unlike standard troopships – often drafted from the merchant fleet – that rely on ...

that saw service with the

US 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 ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. She served in the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vas ...

, as well as in North

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

operations, and safely returned home post-war with seven

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 ...

to her credit. She was the only ship in her class. ''Harry Lee'' was built as the passenger ship SS ''Exochorda'' by

New York Shipbuilding The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (or New York Ship for short) was an American shipbuilding company that operated from 1899 to 1968, ultimately completing more than 500 vessels for the U.S. Navy, the United States Merchant Marine, the United ...

Co.,

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 20 ...

, in 1931 and operated in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

area for

American Export Lines American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines, New York, was the leading US-flag shipping company between the U.S. east coast and the Mediterranean from 1919 to 1977, offering both cargo ship and passenger ship services, until it declared bankruptcy and was ...

. Acquired by the Navy 30 October 1940, she was converted at Tietjen and Lang Dry Dock Co.,

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 ...

, and commissioned ''Harry Lee'' (AP-17) 27 December 1940. ''Harry Lee'' was redesignated ''APA-10'', 1 February 1943.

Pre-World War II North Atlantic operations

''Harry Lee'' spent the first few months of her commissioned service transporting U.S. Marine combat units to the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

for training exercises, helping to build the amphibious teams which were to find such great success in the later stages of

. After a stay at

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 B ...

, the transport was assigned in July to the

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

route, carrying troops and supplies to that country from Norfolk and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

World War II operations

After making two such passages, she returned to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, 22 December 1941 to take part in additional training exercises. With America then in the war, ''Harry Lee'' spent the next 18 months in amphibious maneuvers in the

area. During this time the ship carried out many valuable experiments with

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

and boat control procedures, all of which bore fruit in the dangerous months to come.

Supporting the North Africa invasion

Returning to Boston 6 April 1943, ''Harry Lee'' was designated for use in the upcoming offensive in the

, and sailed 8 June for

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. She anchored at

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

22 June to prepare for the landing and found herself off the southwest coast of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

10 July with Vice Admiral Hewitt's Western Naval Task Force. During this giant invasion ''Harry Lee'' debarked her troops through the heavy surf at

Scoglitti Scoglitti ( scn, Scugghitti) is a fishing village and hamlet () of Vittoria, a municipality in the Province of Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. In 2011 it had a population of 4,175. History Scoglitti found a niche in history after being selected by the A ...

and withstood several Axis air attacks before retiring 2 days later.

Transferred to the Pacific Fleet

After the success of the Sicilian operation, the transport returned

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

to 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, arriving Norfolk 3 August. It was then decided that her amphibious prowess was needed in the Pacific, and she sailed 24 August for

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...

, New Zealand, 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

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 17t ...

, California, arriving 12 October 1943. At Wellington ''Harry Lee'' loaded Marines in preparation for the big push of the invasion of the

Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands ( gil, Tungaru;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this n ...

The invasion of Tarawa

She proceeded to

Efate Efate (french: Éfaté) is an island in the Pacific Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in Vanuatu. It is also known as Île Vate. Geography It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanu ...

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides, Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the isla ...

, 1 – 7 November and for the next few weeks held amphibious practice landings in preparation for the landings on

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

attack and air attack and sailed the next day for Pearl Harbor.

Invasion of the Marshall Islands

''Harry Lee'' participated in rehearsal landings in Hawaiian waters after her arrival at Pearl Harbor 7 December 1943, and sailed 23 January 1944 for the invasion of the Marshall Islands, next step on the island road to Japan. She arrived off Kwajalein 31 January. She effectively carried out her role in this complicated operation by landing troops on two small islands in the atoll; they met little opposition. ''Harry Lee'' remained off Kwajalein until departing for Funafuti 5 February. From there she sailed to Noumea 24 February and by 14 March was anchored off Guadalcanal to load troops and continue her amphibious preparations.

New Guinea operations

After carrying troops to Bougainville Island, Bougainville and New Guinea in April, ''Harry Lee'' sailed to Aitape, New Guinea, under Rear Admiral Barbey for the Jayapura, Hollandia operation. She arrived 23 April after the initial assault, unloaded her troops, and proceeded to bring reinforcements from other points in New Guinea to the landing area. This accomplished, the transport arrived Espiritu Santo 11 May.

Landing troops on Guam

''Harry Lee'' was next to take part in the invasion of the Marianas. After landing operations conducted around Guadalcanal the ship sailed to Kwajalein and got underway in convoy for Guam 12 June. During this gigantic operation, in which troops were projected over 1,000 miles of ocean from the nearest advance base, ''Harry Lee'' was held in reserve for the Guam landings. She arrived off Agat, Guam, 21 July 1944 and debarked her troops. The transport then remained offshore loading and relanding troops for tactical purposes until 25 July, when she steamed with her fellow transports to Eniwetok. They arrived 29 July, and 2 days later sailed for Pearl Harbor.

Overhaul, and then to the Philippines

Arriving Pearl Harbor 7 August 1944, ''Harry Lee'' set course for California and a much-needed overhaul. She arrived San Pedro, Los Angeles, 18 August and remained in California until departing 21 October with troops for Seeadler Harbor, Manus Island, Manus. Until 31 December the ship conducted practice landings in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, Solomons for the upcoming invasion of Luzon, and departed the last day of 1944 for Lingayen Gulf. En route, Japanese planes attacked the task force savagely with suicide planes and bombers, but ''Harry Lee'' by effective gunfire and luck escaped damage. She entered Lingayen Gulf 9 January 1945 and began landing troops under constant air alert. That night the transports retired off the beaches under smoke screens, returning next day to resume the dangerous job of landing supplies. ''Harry Lee'' sailed 10 January for Leyte Gulf, anchoring 14 January.

Iwo Jima, her last amphibious operation

With troops ashore at Invasion of Lingayen Gulf, Lingayen, ''Harry Lee'' departed 19 January for Ulithi and arrived 2 days later. She soon was back in action, however, sailing 17 February for Iwo Jima and her last amphibious operation of the war. The transport arrived via Guam 22 February, 3 days after the initial landings, and after sending a reconnaissance unit ashore 24 February disembarked her troops. The ship remained off Iwo Jima until 6 March acting as a hospital evacuation vessel. She then sailed with casualties to Saipan 6 – 9 March. ''Harry Lee'' spent the rest of her time in the Pacific transporting troops and supplies, as the American thrust at Japan neared its final phase. She touched at Tulagi, Noumea, New Guinea, Manus, and the Philippines, bringing reinforcements and vitally needed supplies. The ship was at Leyte Gulf 20 July when ordered back to the

, and she arrived for a brief stay 8 August. It was during this time that news of Japan's surrender reached the veteran transport.

End-of-war activity

The ship reached Manila 16 September at aid in the occupation of Japan, and after loading troops at various points in the Philippines arrived Tokyo Bay 13 October 1945. Assigned to Operation Magic Carpet, and the huge job of bringing American veterans home from the Pacific, ''Harry Lee'' arrived San Francisco 4 November, and made another round trip to the Philippines and back, arriving 20 January 1946. From San Francisco she sailed 23 January for New York, via Norfolk.

Post-war decommissioning

The ship arrived 9 February 1946 and decommissioned at Brooklyn Navy Yard 9 May 1946. After a period in Reserve Fleet, she was sold to Turkey in April 1948. Renamed ''Tarsus'', she was burned in the Bosporus after a rare three-ship collision 14 December 1960.

Military awards and honors

''Harry Lee'' received seven

for

service.

References

Footnotes

External links

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive – AP-17 / APA-10 ''Harry Lee''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harry Lee (AP-17) Passenger ships of the United States Ships built by New York Shipbuilding Corporation 1930 ships Unique transports of the United States Navy Attack transports of the United States Navy World War II auxiliary ships of the United States