Reclassified APA-31 (Attack Transport) on 1943-02-01, Monrovia conducted shakedown and amphibious training exercises in Chesapeake Bay through the winter months of 1943.
World War II Atlantic Service
On 10 May, she departed Norfolk, with Army passengers, for the Mediterranean and her first assault assignment. After hurried conversion to accommodate equipment needed by a flagship, accomplished in 2 weeks by USSDelta(AR-9) at Mers el Kebir, she took on Army nurses as passengers for transport to Algiers. There, on 1943-06-20, Vice Admiral Hewitt and his staff came on board, and were joined 10 days later by Lt. Gen. George S. Patton On 6 July, she departed for Sicily where she served as the command ship of the Western Task Force for Operation Husky. Arriving off the assault area on the 10th, she suffered slight damage to her engine room on the 11th when a Stuka loosed bombs which straddled the vessel with two near misses. After repairs at Algiers, she returned to the United States with Italian POWs, mooring at Portsmouth, Virginia, 4 August.
World War II Pacific Service
Reassigned later in the month, the attack transport took on Marines and headed for the Pacific. On 9 October she arrived at Wellington, New Zealand, departing, on the 27th, for Efate, the staging area for the Tarawa assault. By 20 November she stood off that atoll as flagship of TransDiv 18. Afterward, with casualties, elements of the remaining units of the 2nd Marine Division, and several POWs, she returned to Hawaii.
During December and January 1944, she conducted training exercises in the Hawaiian area with Marine and Army personnel. On 22 January she sailed for her third amphibious operation, Kwajalein, participating in the assault there on the 31st, and returning casualties and POWs to Pearl Harbor in February. She then sailed on to San Diego, arriving 17 February for availability and 2 months of training off southern California.
Underway for the combat area again in June, she participated in the assault on Saipan, again landing personnel of the 2nd Marine Division, in spite of reefs, mortar fire, and aerial resistance. After the Battle of the Philippine Sea, she once more transported casualties and POWs to Hawaii, whence she sailed, 9 July, for Guam with units of the 77th Infantry Division. Arriving on the 22nd, she remained in the assault area for 7 days before returning, with casualties, to Pearl Harbor for a brief availability.
In September, with 96th Infantry Division troops embarked, the transport sailed west again, arriving at Manus, the staging area for the upcoming Philippine offensive, 3 October. By dawn, 20 October, she was off Leyte. Unloaded by 1800, on the 21st, she got underway in time to clear the gulf before the arrival of Japanese naval units en route from the Sulu Sea. Heading southeast, she steamed to New Guinea, whence she lifted elements of the 11th Airborne Division to Leyte. She then sailed to New Britain, took on units of the 40th Infantry Division and returned to Manus to stage for the assault on Luzon.
Departing 31 December, she encountered aerial resistance in Lingayen Gulf, 1945-01-09, and, on the 10th, endured a Japanese suicide swimmer attack before departing for Leyte to take on 1st Cavalry Division troops for transport to the Luzon beaches. Monrovia then returned to the Solomons, took on units of the 6th Marine Division, and, as flagship, TransDiv 36, conducted amphibious exercises in preparation for Operation Iceberg, the invasion of Okinawa. From the Solomons, she proceeded to Ulithi to join other ships assigned to TF 53, the northern attack force, and headed for the Hagushi beaches. By dusk on 1 April, she had landed all her marines, but, because of nightly retirements, did not complete discharging her cargo until the 5th. She then steamed eastward, arriving at Portland, Oregon, on the 28th for overhaul.
Monrovia returned to the western Pacific after the Japanese surrender and immediately commenced transporting occupation troops and supplies to China and Japan, returning to the United States with battle weary veterans. She continued to transit the Pacific, between the west coast and Japan, as a cargo and personnel carrier until the spring of 1946, when she was ordered to the east coast for inactivation. On 1946-07-31, she reported to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, at Norfolk, decommissioning there 1947-02-26.
Cold War Service
Following the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, Monrovia was recalled to active service. Recommissioned 1950-11-30, she joined the Atlantic Fleet's Amphibious Forces the following spring, 1951, to train for fall operations off Greenland. On 27 December, she departed Norfolk, Virginia for the first of her annual deployments to the Mediterranean, which continued, with few interruptions, until 1967.
Assigned to PhibRon 8, she carried Marines while deployed with the Sixth Fleet and conducted amphibious exercises with them while operating along the east coast and in the Caribbean. The maintenance of a defensive readiness throughout this period enabled her to react positively during the many intervening crises such as occurred at Beirut, Lebanon, July 1958; Cuba, October, 1962; and the Panama Canal Zone, January 1964. In 1967 she served in amphibious assault training for Marines in Little Creek, Virginia. Boot camp troops were assigned on board, berthed in sagging old canvas bunk racks spaced 18" apart. Trainees then clambered down cargo netting into LCVP boats and "assaulted" the Virginia coast. In 1968, Monrovia was again ordered deactivated. Decommissioned 31 October, she was struck from the Naval Register the following day and was sold for scrap.
Awards
Monrovia earned seven battle stars during World War II.
Related Research Articles
USS Neville (AP-16/APA-9) was a Heywood-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919 and from 1940 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1957.
USS Fuller (AP-14/APA-7) was a Heywood-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1941 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1957.
USS Haskell (APA-117) was the lead ship of her class of attack transports, built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was of the VC2-S-AP5 Victory ship design type. Haskell was named for the Haskell Counties of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
USS Sumter (APA-52) was a Sumter-class attack transport that served with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946. She was subsequently sold into commercial service and was scrapped in 1978.
USS Highlands (APA-119) was a Haskell-class attack transport built and used by the US Navy in World War II. She was a Victory ship design, VC2-S-AP5. She was named after Highlands County, Florida, United States.
USS Deuel (APA-160) was a Haskell-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946 and from 1950 to 1956. She was scrapped in 1974.
USS DuPage (AP-86/APA-41) was a Bayfield-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946. She was then sold into commercial service and was scrapped in 1973.
USS New Kent (APA-217) was a Haskell-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1949 and from 1951 to 1954. She was scrapped in 1972.
USS Cambria (APA-36) was a Bayfield-class attack transport acquired by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II. She was named after Cambria County, Pennsylvania
USS Kershaw (APA-176) was a Haskell-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1982.
USS Sandoval (APA-194/LPA-194) was a Haskell-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946, from 1951 to 1955 and from 1961 to 1970. She was scrapped in 1983.
USS Lubbock (APA-197) was a Haskell-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1975.
USS Alpine (APA-92) was a Bayfield-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946.She was sold into commercial service in 1947 and was scrapped in 1971.
USS Fremont (APA-44) was a Bayfield-class attack transport that served with the US Navy during World War II.
USS Henrico (APA-45) was a Bayfield-class attack transport that served with the United States Navy in World War II, and subsequently in the Korean War, Cold War and Vietnam War.
USS Knox (APA-46) was a Bayfield-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. in 1947, she was sold into commercial service and was finally scrapped in 1971.
USS Sarasota (APA/LPA-204) was a Haskell-class attack transport that saw service with the US Navy in World War II, Korean War Era and after. She was of the VC2-S-AP5 Victory ship design type. Sarasota was named for Sarasota County, Florida.
USS Pierce (APA-50) was an Ormsby-class attack transport that served with the US Navy during World War II.
USS Sheridan (APA-51) was an Ormsby-class attack transport that served with the US Navy during World War II.
USS President Adams (AP-38/APA-19) was a President Jackson-class attack transport of the United States Navy, named for Founding Father John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams, the second and sixth Presidents of the United States.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
United States 
