USS ''Merrick'' (AKA-97/LKA-97) was an named after

Merrick County, Nebraska Merrick County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,668. Its county seat is Central City. Merrick County is part of the Grand Island, NE Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the N ...

. ''Merrick'' (AKA–97) was laid down as

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 ...

hull 219, on 19 October 1944 by

Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company was a United States shipyard, active from 1917 to 1948. It was founded during World War I to build ships for the United States Shipping Board. During World War II, it built ships as part of the U.S. Gov ...

Kearny, New Jersey Kearny ( ) is a town in the western part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Newark. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 40,684,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 ...

on 15 May 1945 for training 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 R ...

and duty transporting cargo, landing craft, and troops among the

Marshalls Marshalls is an American chain of off-price department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 1,000 American stores, including larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store, covering 42 states and Puerto Rico, and 61 stores in Canada. M ...

and

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 Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...

until the close of

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 ...

. She then carried occupation troops from the

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 ...

and 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 ...

to Japan and brought veterans, including Marine war dogs, back to Norfolk, arriving on 3 December. After nine months of east coast operations, ''Merrick'' sailed in October 1946 with TG 68.1 for

Port Hueneme, California Port Hueneme ( ; Chumash: ''Wene Me'') is a small beach city in Ventura County, California, surrounded by the city of Oxnard and the Santa Barbara Channel. Both the Port of Hueneme and Naval Base Ventura County lie within the city limits. P ...

, to load cargo for " Operation Highjump", the largest American Antarctic expedition at that time. She set course south on 5 December, and entered the

Ross Sea The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land and within the Ross Embayment, and is the southernmost sea on Earth. It derives its name from the British explorer James Clark Ross who ...

on 31 December. The group reached the

Bay of Whales The Bay of Whales was a natural ice harbour, or iceport, indenting the front of the Ross Ice Shelf just north of Roosevelt Island, Antarctica. It is the southernmost point of open ocean not only of the Ross Sea, but worldwide. The Ross Sea ex ...

on 15 January 1947 and there established Little America IV, the base for the expedition's significant scientific achievements. Threatening ice conditions forced the retirement of the communications and supply ships on 8 February. Three days later ''Merrick's''

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

suffered ice damage; , a

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

icebreaker, took her in tow, but before they had cleared the ice, her rudder was completely sheared off. The perilous tow ended at

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, New Zealand, on 22 February. After repairs, ''Merrick'' departed for

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

on 22 March, battled boiler failures and fuel shortages during her passage, and reached San Francisco. Here she decommissioned on 25 June 1947 and entered 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 ...

1952–1969

Berthed at Suisun Bay, California, until recommissioning on 19 January 1952 for service in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, ''Merrick'' reported at

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

, Japan, on 2 July to carry cargo and men among the Japanese home islands until returning to

on 7 October for overhaul and training. Her second Far Eastern tour, on 3 July on 1953 to 22 April 1954, included two months in " Operation Big Switch", the post-armistice prisoner exchange. She carried more than 6,400 prisoners from

Koje-do Geojedo or Geoje Island (also McCune–Reischauer: Kŏje Island) is the principal island of Geoje City, on the southern coast of Gyeongsangnam-do province, South Korea. It is joined to land by two bridges from nearby Tongyeong. Gohyeon is the ...

and Cheju-do to

Inchon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

, then trained

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 ...

and

Marine Corps 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 (refl ...

troops in amphibious exercises in the

and at Iwo Jima. Through 1963, ''Merrick''s annual deployments were with the

7th Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of ...

in the western Pacific, other than in 1955 and 1957, when she sailed to supply military and sealing stations in the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

. As the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

intensified, ''Merrick'' served her first tour in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...

in 1963, returning annually through 1969. Support for the forces of South Vietnam included troop lifts from

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 ...

and the

to South Vietnam as well as participation in landings at

Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...

and

Chu Lai Chu Lai is a seaport, urban and industrial area in Núi Thành District, Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam. The city is served by Chu Lai International Airport. It is also the site of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone (Vietnamese: ''Với Khu Kinh T� ...

(1965) and on the

Saigon River The Saigon River ( vi, Sông Sài Gòn) is a river located in southern Vietnam that rises near Phum Daung in southeastern Cambodia, flows south and south-southeast for about and empties into the Soài Rạp, which in its turn empties into the ...

Delta (1966). The latter marked the Navy's first extension of

amphibious combat Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted ...

capability on an inland waterway since the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Between deployments she maintained her readiness through training and necessary overhauls on the west coast. She received seven

campaign 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 ...

for service in Vietnam. She was reclassified as LKA–97 (LKA being the designation for an Amphibious Cargo Ship) on 1 January 1969 and was decommissioned on 17 September 1969. ''Merrick'' was transferred to the Maritime Administration on 15 December 1969, for lay up in the

, Suisun Bay Group, Benicia, California.

Fate

''Merrick'' was struck from the Naval Register on 1 September 1976 and withdrawn from reserve on 19 December 1979 for trade-in and exchange to States Marine Lines (as the SS ''Santa Ana''). She was delivered to Apolina Ltd., Hong Kong for disposal. She was scrapped by Fubian Steel Enterprises Corp., Taiwan, on 13 March 1980.

Awards

''Merrick'' was one of the most decorated cargo ships in the Navy's history. Her service included three wars, the quarantine of Cuba and Operation Highjump in the Antarctic. *

Combat Action Ribbon The Combat Action Ribbon (CAR, ), is a high precedence United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States Marine Corps military decoration awarded to United States sea service members "who have actively participated in ground or ...

* American Campaign Medal * Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal * World War II Victory Medal * Navy Occupation Service Medal with "ASIA" clasp * National Defense Service Medal (2 awards) * Korean Service Medal * Antarctic Service Medal * Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (3 awards) * Vietnam Service Medal with six campaign stars * Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation * United Nations Service Medal * Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive) * Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal

References

External links

*
Military.com: USS ''Merrick''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merrick (AKA-97) Andromeda-class attack cargo ships Merrick County, Nebraska Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey 1945 ships World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Cold War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Vietnam War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States