|
|
Throughout World War II, an Attack transport ship named Hendry County to honor Hendry County, Florida served with distinction in the Pacific Theater. Hendry County also had many men who served with distinction in the United States Navy and all other branches of military service during this period, but as far as can be learned, none served aboard the vessel named for their home county.
In the Navy Department at Washington, the following record of the ship is given:
HISTORY OF THE USS HENDRY (APA 118): Placed in commission in late 1944, the attack transport USS HENDRY earned two Battle Stars for participating in the initial assaults on Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Named for a country in Florida, the ship was built by the California Shipbuilding Corporation at Wilmington, California for the Maritime Commission.
Acquired by the Navy on 28 September 1944, she was placed in commission the following day and turned over to Captain R.C. Welles, U.S.N., as her first commanding officer.
After a rigorous shakedown cruise, the transport got under way on her maiden voyage on 23 October 1944 bound for Pearl Harbor. Here she began her amphibious training until 11 December, when she sailed for Midway, returning to Pearl Harbor on the 20th. On 27 January (1945), she again sailed westward pausing at Eniwetok and Saipan before joining the invasion fleet for her first amphibious assault on Iwo Jima.
Shortly after dawn on 19 February 1945, the assault forces arrived off the southeast beach of Iwo Jima and began pouring troops ashore. During six days in the combat area, USS HENDRY unloaded cargo and troops during the day and retired at night to the open sea. Air attacks were frequent and on the evening of the 21st the escort carrier BISMARK SEA and the larger carrier SARATOGA were hit and the escort carrier went down.
When her troops and equipment had been put ashore, the transport sailed on 25 February for Saipan, arriving three days later. Preparations for one of the biggest invasions of the war began almost immediately, and on 27 March the USS HENDRY COUNTY joined over 1,200 other ships for the landings on Okinawa scheduled for Sunday, 1 April 1945.
For ten days the ship stood off the shored of Okinawa braving the Kamikaze attacks daily to complete her unloading. As at Iwo Jima she came through with no casualties either on board or in her beach crew. On 10 April withdrew, arriving at Saipan on the 14th.
In early June the ship left Saipan for Tulagi and Espirito Santu, returning to Eniwetok by 1 July 1945. After ten days in port she steamed to Guam and 21 July she set out for the United States, arriving in San Pedro, California on 6 August, eight days before the cessation of hostilities.
1 Star/Iwo Jima Operation
(Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima - 19-25 February 1945)
1 Star/Okinawa Gunto Operation
(Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto - 1-11 April 1945)
STATISTICS
Overall length - 455 feet
Bean - 62 feet
Speed - 18 knots
Displacement - 6,873 tons
Complement - 28 officers, 285 men
Landing Boat Group - 12 officers, 121 men
|
