Garrett County (LST-786)
1944-1976
A county in western Maryland.
(LST-786: displacement 1,780; length 328'; beam 50'; draft 14'1"; speed 11.6 knots; complement 115; armament 8 40 millimeter, 12 20 millimeter; class LST-542)
LST-786 was laid down on 21 May 1944 at Neville Island, Pittsburgh, Pa., by the Dravo Corp.; launched on 22 July 1944; sponsored by Mrs. E. B. Keckler; and commissioned on 28 August 1944, Lt. Eli T. Ringler, USCG, in command.
After shakedown off Florida, LST-786 departed Mobile, Ala., on 30 September 1944, and set course for the Pacific. She loaded cargo and embarked the men of the 112th Navy Construction Battalion (CB, or "Seabees") at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, before arriving at Eniwetok on 28 December, three days after Christmas of 1944. During January 1945, the landing ship made another cruise to Pearl Harbor for supplies, returning to the Marshall Islands on 21 February.
With Iwo Jima having been secured, LST-786 transported a group of Seabees to that tiny volcanic island in late March. While at Iwo she embarked 114 prisoners of war for transportation to Guam, arriving there on 20 April. Eight days later, she sailed with another detachment of Seabees bound for Okinawa. Arriving on 8 May in the area off Green Beach, LST-786 unloaded her cargo under the constant threat from enemy air raids, and sailed on 20 May for the Philippines.
For the rest of the war, LST-786 shuttled troops and equipment among the Philippine Islands and to Okinawa, and on 4 August, her convoy was attacked by an enemy submarine which was sunk by Earle V. Johnson (DE-703) after a three -hour duel.
After V-J Day [15 August 1945], LST-786 operated in the Far East, where she provided transportation services for occupation troops in Japan, Korea, and Okinawa. The tank landing ship departed Sasebo on 8 December 1945 and reached San Francisco on 14 January 1946. LST-786 was Decommissioned at Astoria, Oreg., on 9 July 1946, LST-786 was assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
She was assigned the name Garrett County on 1 July 1955. As the American role in the Far East expanded, the need for landing craft increased to handle the large buildup of U.S. forces in Vietnam. Garrett County was recommissioned on 15 October 1966 for service in the Pacific Fleet. Early in 1967 she sailed for the Far East.
LST-786 received one battle star for World War II service.
