USS Madera County (LST-905) was a built for the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Named after Madera County, California

Madera County, California

Madera County is a county of the U.S. state of California, located in the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada north of Fresno County. It comprises the Madera-Chowchilla, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census the population was 150,865...

, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

Originally laid down as LST-905 by the Dravo Corporation

Dravo Corporation

Dravo Corporation was a shipbuilding company with shipyards in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware. It was founded by Frank and Ralph Dravo in Pittsburgh during the 1890s.-Facilities:...

 of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

 on 19 November 1944; launched on 30 November 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Paul Gulling; and commissioned on 20 January 1945.

World War II, 1945–1946

After commissioning, the ship was fitted out at New Orleans and then underwent brief training exercises along the gulf coast. In February 1945 she departed for the Pacific, arriving the next month at Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...

. Following further training, she departed Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 on 16 April for the Marianas. By mid-May she was at Guam

Guam

Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

 where she joined a convoy then gathering to get underway for Okinawa. She arrived at Okinawa Gunto on 8 June, remaining until the 28th. She continued to operate in the western Pacific, shuttling cargo and passengers among the island groups until returning to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in 1946. On 11 September 1946 she was deactivated and assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet.

While still inactive the LST was given the name USS Madera County (LST-905) on 1 July 1955.

1963–1965

On 30 March 1963 Madera County recommissioned, retaining her reserve status. With a crew of volunteers from the Pacific Fleet's Amphibious Force, she underwent shakedown training at San Diego and then began preparations for a voyage to a new home port at the Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, Virginia. Arriving there on 19 June, she came under the control of the Commander, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Her mission as part of this Fleet was to be able to support, on short notice, any military operation in the Atlantic-Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 area. The next year and a half was spent on extensive amphibious training exercises and shipyard periods to insure this ability.

On 22 March 1965 she proceeded to Cape Kennedy, Florida to stand by during the recovery phase of the first manned

Gemini 3

Gemini 3 was the first manned mission in NASA's Gemini program, the second American manned space program. On March 23, 1965, the spacecraft, nicknamed The Molly Brown, performed the seventh manned US spaceflight, and the 17th manned spaceflight overall...

 Project Gemini

Project Gemini

Project Gemini was the second human spaceflight program of NASA, the civilian space agency of the United States government. Project Gemini was conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, with ten manned flights occurring in 1965 and 1966....

 shot. On 27 April the ship again departed Little Creek for southern waters, this time transporting equipment to Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

. The next day the Dominican Republic crisis arose, and upon delivery of her cargo at Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico

Roosevelt Roads Naval Station

Roosevelt Roads Naval Station is a former United States military air base in the town of Ceiba, Puerto Rico. The site is run today as José Aponte de la Torre Airport, a public use airport.-History:...

 she headed for San Juan

San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...

 where she went on four-hour standby duty. In May she made one trip to Little Creek, returning to the Caribbean within two weeks with Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 units aboard. On 8 June, she debarked these units at Puerta de Andres, Dominican Republic and loaded other Army units for a voyage back to the east coast. She returned to Little Creek on 15 June, but before the end of the year completed three more Caribbean deployments; 13 August to 15 September, 25 October to 10 November, and 18 November to 8 December. On 11 December the LST was assigned active status and then underwent overhaul in preparation for extended sea duty.

Vietnam War, 1966–1969

Ordered to the western Pacific, Madera County steamed out of Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...

 on 11 February 1966 en route to the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. She entered Subic Bay

Subic Bay

Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...

 on 1 May and the next week commenced logistic support of Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

ese operations. During the ensuing months she transported ammunition and construction materials to the Republic of Vietnam, off loading at ports such as Qui Nhon

Qui Nhon

Qui Nhơn , also Quy Nhơn, is a coastal city in Binh Dinh province in central Vietnam. It is composed of 16 wards and five communes with a total of 286 km². Quy Nhon is the capital of Bình Định province. As of 2009 its population was 280,900. Historically, the commercial activities of the city...

, Da Nang

Da Nang

Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...

, Chu Lai

Chu Lai

Chu Lai is a sea port, urban and industrial area in Dung Quat Bay, Núi Thành district, Quang Nam province of Vietnam. The city is served by Chu Lai Airport.-Vietnam War:...

, and Nha Trang

Nha Trang

Nha Trang is a coastal city and capital of Khanh Hoa province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the North by Ninh Hoà district, on the East by the South China Sea, on the South by Cam Ranh town and on the West by Diên Khánh district...

. She also called at ports in the Philippines, on Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

 and in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. Upkeep and maintenance periods were held at Sasebo

Sasebo, Nagasaki

is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...

 during July and December 1966. Following her December overhaul, Madera County returned to Subic Bay and support of combat operations in South Vietnam

South Vietnam

South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...

, continuing this role through 1969.

Madera County was attached to Landing Ship Squadron 2 (LANSHIPRON 2) and classifed as an "in-country" activity, her crew made up of sailors who volunteereed for service in Vietnam. She operated under orders from Naval Support Activity, Vietnam (NAVSUPPACT), and the Military Sea Transport Service (MSTS). During 1967-1969 she operated primarily in the Mekong Delta providing personnel/equipment transport and logistical support to the PBR Base at Binh Thuy and Mobile Riverine Force bases up and down the river.

In 1967-68 a typical run started from Saigon (Newport LST piers)then to Vung Tau and across Vung Tau Bay to the mouth of the Mekong River near My Tho. From the My Tho area the trip continued up river to a turn through point near Vinh Long into the Bassac River. The run continued down the Bassac to the PBR base LST ramp at Bien Thuy. After off-loading cargo the Madera proceeded on the Bassac River to the Vung Tau anchorage and then back to Saigon for another load.

During the same period the ship made several trips up the coast of South Vietnam, beaching at Nha Trang and Da Nang. From Da Nang the ship loaded with trucks and transported Marines and supplies to Cua Viet on the DMZ (Demilitrarized Zone).

During the TET Offensive the Madera County sailed into Saigon on February 2, 1968 and anchored at the Newport Beach LST slip. Because Army personnel were not present the ship's LCVPs were lowered, a line handling party put on the pier and the ship was docked by her own crew. Later that evening an NFL tour group, stranded at the Capitol Hotel in Saigon, was brought back to the ship. The players included Jack Kemp, Bobby Bell, John David Crow and Bill Brown.

In June of 1968 the Madera County began logistical support operations with the Mobile Riverine Force (MRF). That assignment continued until she was turned over to the Philippine Navy in 1969.

The motto of the USS Madera County (LST 905) was: "Any Beach in the World" and included a few places that weren't beaches at all!

Decommissioning and transfer

Decommissioned (date unknown), the tank landing ship was transferred (leased) to the Republic of the Philippines on 29 November 1969 and renamed RPS Ilcos Norte (LT-87). Struck from the Naval Vessel Register

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

 on 15 September 1979, she was sold to the Philippines on 1 March 1980. The ship was struck from the Philippine Navy

Philippine Navy

The Philippine Navy is the naval arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines . Its official name in Filipino is Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, literally, "Sea Force of the Philippines"....

 in 1992; her final fate is unknown.

Awards

LST-905 earned one battle star for World War II service, and as Madera County ten campaign stars for Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

service.