From: Dictionary of American Fighting Ships

A county in Wisconsin.

(APA - 166: dp. 6,873; l. 455'; b. 62'; dr. 24'; s. 18 k.; cpl. 536; a. 1 5"; cl. Haskell)

Fond du Lac (APA-166) was launched 5 October 1944 by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oreg.; sponsored by Mrs. Giles French; acquired and commissioned 6 November 1944, Captain E. P. Creehan in command.

Fond du Lac sailed from San Francisco 11 January 1945, laden with troops and cargo for Leyte Gulf, where she landed them as reinforcements 17 February. After training for the initial assault on Okinawa Gunto, Fond du Lac stood out of Leyte Gulf 27 March, landed troops and equipment on the assault beaches 1 to 5 April, and sailed with casualties for Guam. She continued to Pearl Harbor and San Francisco to reload, and brought her troops to the Philippines 10 June.

The attack transport transferred men from New Guinea to the Philippines before sailing 14 July 1945 for San Francisco. She returned to the Far East 22 September at Sasebo with Marine occupation troops, and after one voyage to the Philippines to bring additional occupation forces to Japan, sailed home from Guam with servicemen eligible for discharge. Fond du Lac voyaged to the Far East on transport duty again in December, then made her last voyage to Pearl Harbor the next month, sailing from San Francisco 8 February for Norfolk. There she was decommissioned 11 April 1946, and returned to her owner two days later.

Fond du Lac received one battle star for World War II service.

Transcribed by Yves HUBERT (hubertypc@aol.com)