- USS Bland (APA-134)
USS "Bland" (APA-134) was a sclass|Haskell|attack transport acquired by the
U.S. Navy duringWorld War II for the task of transporting troops to and from combat areas."Bland" ("APA-134") was laid down under a
Maritime Commission contract (MCV hull 50) on2 August 1944 atWilmington, California , by the California Shipbuilding Corp.; launched on26 October 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Lawrence A. Collins, wife of the editor and publisher of the Long Beach, California, "Independent"; acquired by the Navy on a loan charter basis from the Maritime Commission on14 December 1944 ; and commissioned atSan Pedro, California , on15 December 1944 , Comdr. Laurence E. Eastman,USNR , in command.World War II service
Following her shakedown training in the vicinity of
Los Angeles, California , and amphibious exercises atCoronado Strand , nearSan Diego, California , theattack transport departed San Pedro on5 February 1945 , bound forSeattle, Washington . A strong southeasterly gale forced her to lie to for 15 hours on 7 and 8 February, but she finally reached her destination on the 9th. She then underwent a three-day voyage availability period before embarking 85U.S. Army officers, 1,219 enlisted men, and 42 sailors on16 February for transportation westward. She sailed forHawaii the following day.From Pearl Harbor to Iwo Jima
The ship arrived at
Honolulu on Washington's Birthday and disembarked 835 men and 68 officers before embarking more westward-bound passengers, both military and civilian. She sailed for the Marshalls inconvoy PD-312T. Touching briefly atEniwetok , "Bland" resumed her voyage on13 March in company with an Eniwetok-to-Guam convoy. ReachingApra Harbor on the 13th, she embarked casualties from the invasion ofIwo Jima before heading to Hawaii alone. She arrived inPearl Harbor on the last day of March but returned to sea again on3 April , bound forSan Francisco, California , with a mixed roster of passengers. Diverted to San Diego en route on the 5th, she reached her new destination three days later.The ship did not linger on the
U.S. West Coast for long, but sailed for Hawaii on the 17th with 1,550 passengers and reached Pearl Harbor a week later. Over the ensuing weeks, the attack transport practiced amphibious landings at bothMaui andOahu . "Bland" sailed for the west coast on29 May , reached San Francisco on4 June , and disembarked 430 sailors and marines. On6 June , she got underway for Seattle, Washington, and reached her destination two days later.Delivering troops to Okinawa
Following voyage repairs, "Bland" departed Seattle on
26 June , loaded with cargo and with 1,512 soldiers embarked the previous day. En route toOkinawa , the attack transport reached Eniwetok on8 July and remained there until pushing on for the Western Carolines six days later. Making port atUlithi on the 18th, "Bland" proceeded on to Okinawa, sailing on29 July with Convoy WOK-42. She arrived atNaha on5 August , disembarking her passengers and unloading her cargo by means of her ownlanding craft atHagushi Beach. Three days later, she sailed forSaipan .End-of-war operations
During her time at Hagushi and the ensuing voyage to the Marianas, the
atomic bomb s were dropped onHiroshima (6 August ) and Nagasaki (9 August ). Japan's leaders wrestled with the decision to surrender, and "Bland" completed her voyage, reaching Saipan on14 August . The announcement of the war's end the following day, however, did not signal rest for the attack transport since the occupation of the former enemy's homeland still lay ahead. Ordered to thePhilippines , "Bland" got underway on16 August and arrived in San Pedro Bay,Leyte , four days later. She remained at anchor there for three days before sailing forCebu . At that port, she embarked 78 officers and 1,240 men of the Americal Division and sailed for Japan on1 September .Evacuating prisoners-of-war
Leaving troops and cargo at
Yokohama on 9 and10 September , "Bland" headed back to the Philippines with Task Group (TG) 33.3 on10 September . Diverted once en route to Formosa to evacuate Allied prisoners of war, "Bland" was rerouted again on the 12th back to her original destination, Leyte. After a three-day layover there, the attack transport sailed for Cebu where she arrived on19 September .Providing occupation troops for Hokkaidō
"Bland" sailed for Japan on
25 September with elements of the Army's 77th Division embarked, as part of TG 34.8, and arrived offHokkaidō on the 5th. She reachedOtaru that day and began disembarking troops and discharging cargo lifted from the Philippines. Hers was part of the 10,000 men from the 77th Division and IX Corps put ashore to occupy Hokkaidō. Her part in the operation completed, "Bland" then sailed for Okinawa on the 7th.China operations
After being rerouted once because of a
typhoon , "Bland" reached Hagushi beach, Okinawa, on the 14th and, over the next few days, loaded stores. She then proceeded to an anchorage offNaga Wan , Okinawa, where she embarked men and cargo of the 1st Marine Division bound for the occupation of North China between 16 and21 October . Underway on21 October , "Bland" sailed forTientsin and arrived offTaku Bar on the 24th. She commenced disembarking her marines the following day, but did not start discharging cargo until the 29th. She completed the entire process by1 November and then began her "Operation Magic Carpet " duties by embarking men to be returned to theUnited States .Mission of mercy at sea
Underway for
Korea on5 November , "Bland" reachedJinsen (Inchon ) the following day and embarked more dischargees before sailing for Japan on the 7th. Reaching Sasebo on the 9th, she took on additional homeward-bound servicemen and sailed for Okinawa two days later. Arriving inBuckner Bay , Okinawa, on Armistice Day1945 , "Bland" got underway for San Francisco three days later. While en route back to the United States, "Bland" rendezvoused with the Liberty Ship "SS Leonidas Merritt" on20 November to take on board a man "in dire need of medical care" and diverted briefly toMidway Island the following day before resuming her homeward course. She arrived at San Francisco on3 December 1945 and disembarked her passengers before shifting to Hunter's Point for voyage repairs. On15 December she sailed for the Philippines for her second Magic Carpet run.Post-war decommissioning
"Bland" completed this mission and carried out one more Magic Carpet voyage before departing San Francisco on
7 February 1946 and proceeding, viaPanama , to theU.S. East Coast . She reachedNorfolk, Virginia , on7 March and was decommissioned there on27 April 1946 . "Bland" was turned over to theWar Shipping Administration the next day, and her name was struck from theNavy list on8 May 1946 . Placed in reserve in the James River, she was ultimately sold to the Consolidated Steel Corp. ofBrownsville, Texas , on23 January 1974 , along with sisterships USS|Bandera|AP-131, USS|Buckingham|APA-141, USS|Drew|APA-162 and USS|Eastland|APA-163 for scrap.References
See also
*
List of United States Navy ships External links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b7/bland-i.htm USS Bland]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/03/03134.htm NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive - APA-134 Bland]
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