USS Freestone (APA-167)


USS Freestone was a Haskell-class attack transport acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II for the task of transporting troops to and from combat areas.

World War II service

Freestone was launched 9 October 1944 by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oregon; sponsored by Mrs. Arthur R. Ponto; and commissioned 9 November 1944, Captain C. L. Carpenter in command.

War Diary

All ships were required to keep logs of what they did. Ships also comprised War Diaries'' that were submitted month by month to US Naval command. The following sample images are from the War Diary of the USS Freestone from November 1944.

Image:USSFreestone-WarDiary-Pg01-Nov1944.jpg|USS Freestone - War Diary sample from November 1944. Page 1.
Image:USSFreestone-WarDiary-Pg02-Nov1944.jpg|USS Freestone - War Diary sample from November 1944. Page 2.
Image:USSFreestone-WarDiary-Pg03-Nov1944.jpg|USS Freestone - War Diary sample from November 1944. Page 3.
Image:USSFreestone-WarDiary-Pg04-Nov1944.jpg|USS Freestone - War Diary sample from November 1944. Page 4.

Landing troops on Saipan and on Okinawa

Freestone arrived at Pearl Harbor 14 January 1945 with passengers and cargo from the U.S. West Coast, and 6 days later sailed to land troops from Pearl Harbor on Saipan. Moving on to Ulithi, Freestone loaded U.S. Marines and their equipment and sailed to Leyte for intensive training in preparation for the Okinawa landings. She sortied from Leyte Gulf 27 March, remained in the outer transport area during the assault on 1 April, then moved close inshore to land her men in one of the later waves of landing craft. Next day she splashed a lone enemy aircraft, and on 7 April she was underway with casualties for Guam.

End-of-war operations

Continuing to San Francisco, California, Freestone arrived 11 May 1945 to embark soldiers and sailors for transportation to Manila, arriving 12 June. She voyaged to New Guinea to bring more soldiers to Manila, then sailed for the U.S. west coast with homeward bound servicemen. On two cruises to the western Pacific Ocean between 4 August and 23 December, she redeployed men and equipment in the Philippines and to Japan from various bases, returning from both cruises with servicemen eligible for discharge.

Post-war decommissioning

On 14 February 1946, she sailed from San Francisco for Norfolk, Virginia, where she was decommissioned 17 April 1946, and transferred to the War Shipping Administration 2 days later.

Ship history

On 1 March 1946, a history of the USS Freestone was compiled and submitted to US Naval Command. The following images shows that history.

Image:USSFreestone-History-Page00-1Mar1946.jpg|USS Freestone - Memo submitting history and supplement dated 1 Mar 1946.
Image:USSFreestone-History-Pg01.jpg|USS Freestone - Ship history compiled in 1946 pending decommissioning. Page 1 of 7.
Image:USSFreestone-History-Pg02.jpg|USS Freestone - Ship history compiled in 1946 pending decommissioning. Page 2 of 7.
Image:USSFreestone-History-Pg03.jpg|USS Freestone - Ship history compiled in 1946 pending decommissioning. Page 3 of 7.
Image:USSFreestone-History-Pg04.jpg|USS Freestone - Ship history compiled in 1946 pending decommissioning. Page 4 of 7.
Image:USSFreestone-History-Pg05.jpg|USS Freestone - Ship history compiled in 1946 pending decommissioning. Page 5 of 7.
Image:USSFreestone-History-Pg06.jpg|USS Freestone - Ship history compiled in 1946 pending decommissioning. Page 6 of 7.
Image:USSFreestone-History-Pg07.jpg|USS Freestone - Ship history compiled in 1946 pending decommissioning. Page 7 of 7.

Military awards and honors

Freestone received one battle star for World War II service.