USS La ''Porte'' (APA-151) was a ''Haskell''-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 ...

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 screpped in 1973.

History

''La Porte'' (''APA-151'') 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 15 May 1944 by Oregon Shipbuilding Group,

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

; launched 30 June 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Charles N. Niles; and commissioned 14 August 1944. After shakedown, ''La Porte'' departed

San Francisco, California 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 ...

, 22 October 1944 to join the Pacific amphibious forces. Arriving Milne Bay 8 November for training operations, the

sailed from Manus 2 January 1945 for

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

. ''La Porte'' steamed into Lingayen Gulf 9 days later and debarked troops and equipment despite attacks of enemy aircraft. Her mission completed, she returned

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 ...

16 January to prepare for the invasion of Okinawa. Loaded with 1,500 troops, ''La Porte'' departed San Pedro Bay 27 March as part of the largest amphibious operation of the Pacific war. Troops hit the beach 1 April to begin the invasion which placed an Allied garrison next door to Japan. Two days later a

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending t ...

dived at the sitting transport, but accurate fleet

antiaircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

fire splashed the raider before he reached his mark. Departing

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 ...

5 April ''La Porte'' arrived San Francisco 3 weeks later for a brief replenishment period. Returning to

Ie Shima , previously romanized in English as Ie Shima, is an island in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, lying a few kilometers off the Motobu Peninsula on Okinawa Island. The island measures in circumference and covers . As of December 2012 the island had ...

14 July, the transport unloaded 1,300 Army Engineer replacements before she once again sailed for 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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. She arrived San Francisco 10 August: and, after hostilities with Japan ended, ''La Porte'' prepared for occupation duty in the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

. With 1,146 replacements on board, the transport departed San Francisco for the Far East and debarked troops at

15 September. During the next 2 months, ''La Porte'' operated in the western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

, transferring troops into the occupied territories of Japan and liberated areas of China. She embarked homeward bound servicemen and sailed from

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

25 November, arriving

Seattle, Washington 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 region ...

, 3 weeks later. ''La Porte'' arrived Norfolk, Virginia, 14 February 1946 and decommissioned there 25 March 1946. She was returned to

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 C ...

(WSA) 3 days later. She was placed in the

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States of America, mostly merchant vessels, that have been "mothballed" but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies ...

and was berthed at

James River, Virginia The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

. 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 autho ...

on (date unknown) and is presumed scrapped (date unknown).

Awards

''La Porte'' received two battle stars in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and one battle star in the Philippine Liberation Theater for World War II service.From a report compiled by Elliott L Brainard, Ens D, USNR, from the writing of our Skipper, Marion C Thompson, Captain, US Navy, at Anchorage "C", Hampton Roads, Virginia, and from 6-2-47 Stencil, Ships Section, Office of Public Information, Navy Department

References

External links

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive - APA-151 La Porte
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Porte World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Haskell-class attack transports LaPorte County, Indiana Ships built in Portland, Oregon 1944 ships

History

Awards

References

Further reading

External links