Ormsby APA-49

Ormsby
(APA-49: dp. 7,300; 1. 459'3"; b. 63', dr. 24', s. 17 k., cpl. 524; trp. 1,548; a. 2 5", 8 40mm; T. C2-S-B1)

Ormsby (APA-49) was originally laid down by Moore S. B. Co., Oakland, Calif. 21 July 1942 as SS T10ilight, M. C. hull 288; authorized for acquisition as Ormsby AP-94 5 October 1942; launched 20 October 1942; Reclassified APA-49 on 1 February 1943; acquired 10 March 1943; and commissioned 28 June 1943, Captain Leonard Friseo, USNR, in command

Upon completion of her conversion and shakedown in July 1943, Ormsby sailed from San Francisco enroute to San Diego to load Marines and cargo for Pearl Harbor. From Pearl she loaded more Marines, Sea Bees and equipment and departed 14 August for Nukufetau in the Elliee Islands.

Continuing southward, she stopped in Pago Pago, Somoa and then sailed on to Wellington, New Zealand, arriving on 11 September. There she embarked Marines and carried out amph~bious warfare training until the end of October.

From Wellington, New Zealand Ormeby steamed via Efate to Tarawa, Gilbert Islands and landed her troops there for that historic battle on 20 November 1943.

Returning to Pearl Harbor on 7 December she again loaded troops and supplies and conducted training through January 1944.

On 31 January Ormsby participated in another amphibious assault landing her troops at Kwajalein in the Marshalls. Following this operation, she moved on to Guadaleanal in February and trained Army units until 28 March, when she landed reinforcements at Bougainville and continued to to Milne Bay, New Guinea. In April she sailed to Buna, Finsehafen and then to Aitape, New Guinea where on the 23rd army assualt troops were landed. A reinforcement voyage to Aitape followed on 3 May.

Returning to the Russell Islands and Guadaleanal, Ormsby loaded Marmes of the First Provisional Brigade, trained then in May, and landed them on Guam 21 July. While at Guam she suffered her only casualties of the war when one officer and an enlisted man were killed as a shell hit in the bow.

Ormsby trained Marines of the famed First Division at Guadaleanal prior to landing them at Pelilieu, Palau Islands. Proceeding to Hollandia and loading Army units, she made another assault at Leyte in the Philippines on 20 October with a rerun on 14 November.

In the latter part of November Ormsby was finally given a rest and she returned to the States for availability.

Leaving California behind, Ormsby with Sea Bees from Port Hueneme set course for Guam, arriving on 11 April 1945 and then returning to Portland, Oregon on 22 May with a full load of returning service veterans.

Making another "Magic Carpet" run with veterans in June, Ormsby returned to San Francisco via Tinian and Saipan from Guam on 13 July. She departed San Francisco on 31 July enroute to Manila to lift members of the 43rd Division to Tokyo, arriving there on 13 September.

Weathering a typhoon she returned to Guam and embarked troops for Tsingtao China participating in the occupation landings there. underway on the 17th of October, Ormsby sailed first to Manila and then to Haiphong, French IndoChina where she embarked the 62nd Chinese Army for Formosa. She landed the Chinese occupation forces at Port Saei on 18 November and sailed for Manila arriving 21 November.

In December Ormsby made one more "Magic Carpet" voyage to Portland, Oregon, arriving on the 20th. This was her final passage after untiring war effort.

Ormeby decommissioned 15 March 1946 and was struck from the U. S. Naval Register on 17 April 1946. She was delivered to the WSA on 16 May 1946

Ormsby earned six battle stars for service in World War II.