Kenton (APA 122) - Naval Cruise Book

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Ut IIISTUHY UF THE MIGHTY K A fcoutinuedjiompage 21 . f After fulfilling all the requirements of BuShips. the Kenton was permitted to get under way and she participated in a brief shake- down cruise and training period wifi the coast of California. UH the 18th of December the Xlightv K left Long Beach. California. f0I' Seattle, XVashington, and her first assignment. The Christmas holidays were spent in that hospitable North- western port, while the Kenton was being loaded with troops and supplies. On December 1-, iota. the Nliglity K's crew members took a parting look at the friendly shores of the United States, a look required to last six months. Our destination xt as l e.irl llarlior. .Xleanwhile the Navy, ever busy training its men for future operations. had some units of the Kenton attending fire-ligliting school and airplane recognition, and her beach party and boat group spent tr-x ing days undergoing spe- cialized operations at Xkaiiuaiialo. ilihen txune intensive training ofi .Xlaui and other llawaiian shores, in eomp.my w ith similar trans- ports. ln that period caine the an .ireness that the growing pains period was nearly at an end. .Xll li.mds xx ere eager to reach maxi- mum elliciency, lim' despite utmost secrecy there was no question that something big was brew ing and the Kenton would have a part in it. , The something big was the invasion ofUkin:1wa. and on lieb- ruary 18, ioag, withsome :ooo membersofthc :oth Army aboard and laden with invasion equipment. we headed westward from Pearl llarbor in convoy. The Kenton headed for liniwetok and is from there to the Phili i wines. sto u vine at Palau en route. . .and on gow. l l l l : I a ' U '- Gio 1 March 27 she headed for the 'main event. Laster Sunday was li-ti?'.iai1thegily hat morning the Kenton broke from her Convoy N A 2 ju' b 0. . . . ' N ansport group and steamed for Kerana Rhetto, an atoll zo miles west of Okinawa, having a rendezvous there with two other navy vessels. She returned later to Ukinawa, where her boat group went into immediate action hauling troops and supplies ashore. The Mighty K remained at Okinawa until April I 1, doing her share in the work of taking that war-torn island. Her sick bay and troop oflicers' quarters were jammed the Kenton steamed from Okinawa to taken to navy hospitals awaiting them. Froni, went back to Leyte to deliver some I equipment. From there to Ulithi, where she awaited which came after some delay, urging the Kenton to ship and help evacuate wounded from the hospitals ing them back tothe States. K K During her stay in San Francisco the Mighty K had a command. Captain Victor B. Tate, USN, was replaced mander Gerald B. Ggle, USN, who had just finished a tour as lifxecutive Officer of the battleship New jersey. -Q If ' Her destination was again the Philippines, and though was scheduled to be her final stop, on arrival at Leyte vetted the troops and cargo at that port and the Kenton back home. This task of unloading was accomplished 48 hours and the Mighty K won praise as having the most 4 crew ever to unload a ship in Leyte Harbor. On her States the Kenton received the news of japan's was over, but not so the work of the Mighty K. Now, ever before, she was needed to bring the conquering So off again to Manila, but once more her course was she was ordered to bring the 97th Division, veterans pean conflict, which was being used as an army of T Japan. The Kenton arrived in Yokohama on After five days during which all hands were A tunity of observing the devastation wrought by in the Mighty K started back to the U.S.Ai. with the carrying the first troops sent home from Japan charge, after years spent lighting for victory. The tinue to sail on until the last of these men are and then only can she sail into P0112 for her last T lant Captain in turning her over to the Merchant able to say, Mission Accomplished. i A

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