Bexar (APA 237) - Naval Cruise Book

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I am the UniteaStates Ship BEXAR (APA-237). I was built by the Oregon Shipbuilding Cooperation ' Portland, Oregon. I was commissioned in Portland, Oregon, on October 9, 1945. Even though I was built too late to participate in actual combat in World War 11, I supplied Occupation troops in Japan and returned American troops to the States from the Pacific Islands. I am an Attack Transport, the letters APA standing for Auxiliary Personnel Attack. My keel is 455 feet long (one and a half times the length of a football field), and I wear a 63 foot size beam (actually, I ' m pretty trim looking for a transport). My crew uses close to 20,000 gallons of water daily, and my generators put out enough power to supply a city of 15,000 population. I am a world traveler and well should be, for I could steam around the world without refueling. I was named after Bexar County in Texas, which received its name from Duke de Bejar, a Spanish nobleman, (in Spanish, the x and j are interchanged) My mission in wartime is to transport troops to enemy shores and put them ashore by means of boats to establish a beach head. While a battleship ' s main striking force is her guns and a carrier her planes, my main striking forces is my boats. I have 24 boats which I carry aboard, including 19 LCVP ' s, 2 LCM ' s 2 LCPL ' s and 1 LCPR. I am capable of carrying 1500 troops complete with provisions and mechanized equipment. Although I spend a lot of time at sea, my crew enjoys many conveniences found in a modern city. Contained within my hull is a post office, barber shop, infirmary, tailor shop, laundry, ship ' s store, soda fountain, library, and varied recreational facilities. In the early part of 1946 I took aboard electronics experts and equipment and took part in the first Bikini Atom Bomb Test-Operations Crossroads. After returing to the States and training Marines I joined Amphibious Group TWO and took part in Operation Frigid in Newfoundland. After a short Mediterranean cruise I returned to the States in February 1948. During the Christmas Holidays I received my first overhaul in a Naval Shipyard. Shortly after this I was the winner of the Meatball or Battle Efficiency Pennant in the annual fleet exercises. After participating in several operations I started on July 31, 1950, for a six weeks ' tour of the Mediterranean. My orders were suddenly changed and I was loaded, with Marines and proceeded to Korea. Once there I was active in the Inchon and Wonsan landings and the evacuation at Chinampo and Inchon. I returned to the States in January, 1951. In March and April I was in Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, San Francisco. I then departed on a nine months cruise to the Far East.

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ROUND-UP ' 59 i Featuring ... the Western Pacific Cruise April to November 1959 of the USS BEXAR (APA-237) sf

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w My next cruise to WestPac was in July, 1953, where I served as Flagship for Opera- tion Bigswitch, the movement of prisoners from Kojebo to Inchon. April 1954 found me again undergoing overhaul in the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. After extensive refresher training I again departed for Inchon, Korea, with replacement troops for landing units stationed in Inchon. February 1955 found me engaged in the evacuation of Chinese Nationalists from the Ta ' Chen Islands to Formosa. After returning to the States I took part in many exercises and training cruises preceded by an extensive yard overhaul. Shortly after this I won the Red E for engineering efficiency. On the 21st of August, 1957, I once again set sail for WestPac. While on this cruise I participated in operation Strongback , one of the largest post-war Amphibious exercises to be held in the Philippines. After returning to the States in March, 1958, I participated in various operations and training exercises. During this period I wan not only the Assault Boat Coxswain Award for proficiency in Amphibious warfare, but also the Battle Efficiency Award for overall battle readiness and a hash mark for my red E . In October, I saw Seattle for the first time and served as a home for Army troops on Operation Rocky Shoals . In December 1958 I entered Moore ' s Shipyard in Oakland, California, for overhaul which was completed in February, 1959. After extensive training 1 left the States on the 16th of April, 1959. I stopped first in Pearl Harbor before proceeding on my 6th cruise to WestPac. There I served as the temporary home for various marine battalions during the first three months of this cruise. Although I enjoyed a short stay in Yokosuka, my first WestPac port, it was not long before I was on my way to pick up marines for Operation Saddle-Up. After the heat of Borneo and Subic Bay, Hong Kong was a pleasant r st for all hands. An exchange of marines in Okinawa proceeded my trip to Sasebo for R R. My return to Okinawa was just long enough to pick up more troops for the first operations off Numazu, Japan. During these two operations I enjoyed visits in Shimizu and Yokosuka. My two weeks ' upkeep in Yokosuka seemed to pass very quickly, and soon it was time for a helilex off Numazu again. After that I proceeded to Wakayama, Osaka, Hirshima, and Beppu, before sailing south past Keelung, Formosa, to Subic Bay for a dependents cruise and two weeks upkeep prior to my return to good old USA.