From: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships

Basilan is an island in the Philippines.

(AG-68: dp. 5,371; l. 441'6"; b. 56'11"; dr. 23'; s. 12.5 k.: cpl. 181; a. 1 5"; cl. Basilan)

Basilan (ARG-12) was reclassified AG-68, 14 March 1944; launched 21 March 1944 by Delta Shipbuilding Corp., New Orleans, La., under a Maritime Commission contract as Jacques Phillipe Villere; sponsored by Mrs. Percy H. Brown; transferred to the Navy 21 April 1944; placed in reduced commission the same day; placed out of commission 24 April for conversion to a miscellaneous auxiliary by Waterman Steamship Co., Mobile, Ala.; and recommissioned 10 October 1944, Lieutenant Commander L. A. Parks, USNR, in command.

Basilan departed for the Pacific 8 December 1944 and, after stops at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and in the Canal Zone, arrived at San Francisco 10 February 1945. During April and May she served at Ulithi, Caroline Islands, as a supply and repair ship. On 20 May she departed for Leyte where she continued her supply and repair duties until September 1945. In September she left the Philippines and proceeded to Shanghai, China, via Okinawa and Korea. She remained on occupation duty until 9 December 1945 when she departed for Seattle, Wash. Following pre-inactivation overhaul, she was decommissioned 22 April 1946, and returned to the Maritime Commission 14 May 1947.