USS Greer County (LST-799)

USS Greer County (LST-799) at the outer breakwater, Long Beach, California c. 1955.
History
Name:	USS LST-799
Builder:	Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Company, Jeffersonville, Indiana
Laid down:	25 August 1944
Launched:	3 October 1944
Commissioned:	21 October 1944
Decommissioned:	22 April 1946
Recommissioned:	26 August 1950
Decommissioned:	18 January 1960
Renamed:	USS Greer County (LST-799), 1 July 1955
Struck:	1 November 1960
Honours and awards:	1 battle star (World War II) 9 battle stars, Navy Unit Commendation & Korean Presidential Unit Citation (Korea)
Fate:	Sold for scrapping
General characteristics
Class and type:	LST-542-class tank landing ship
Displacement:	1,780 long tons (1,809 t) light 3,640 long tons (3,698 t) full
Length:	328 ft (100 m)
Beam:	50 ft (15 m)
Draft:	Unloaded : 2 ft 4 in (0.71 m) forward 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) aft Loaded : 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m) forward 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m) aft
Propulsion:	2 × General Motors 12-567 diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders
Speed:	12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Boats & landing craft carried:	2 or 6 LCVPs
Troops:	140 officers and enlisted men
Complement:	8-10 officers and 100-115 enlisted men
Armament:	8 × 40 mm guns 12 × 20 mm guns

USS Greer County (LST-799) was a LST-542-class tank landing ship (LST) built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Greer County, Oklahoma on 1 July 1955, and the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

Originally laid down as LST-799 by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Company of Jeffersonville, Indiana on 25 August 1944; launched on 3 October, sponsored by Miss Mary R. Whalen; and commissioned at New Orleans, Louisiana on 21 October 1944, with Lieutenant Daniel C. Millet in command.

Following shakedown off Florida, LST-799 loaded construction equipment at Gulfport, Mississippi, and steamed on 29 November for the West Coast. Loading ammunition cargo at San Francisco, California, she departed on 13 February 1945, and arrived at Saipan on 24 March. Two days later she was en route to Okinawa, where the largest amphibious operation of the Pacific war was about to begin. Under the threat of enemy air raids, LST-799 approached the beaches of Okinawa on 2 April, one day after the initial landings. On 3 April LST-599 was hit by a kamikaze and a fire-rescue party from LST-799 assisted in extinguishing the blaze caused by the impact. The landing ship was on General Quarters consistently during the next month as the enemy made a futile effort to stop the accelerating American drive across the Pacific toward Japan. Departing Okinawa on 8 May, LST-799 sailed to Ulithi and for the rest of the war shuttled cargo among the American-held bases.