Named after a
star, the 6,737-ton USS Chara
(AKA-58) was an Andromeda Class
amphibious cargo ship that was built by the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock
Company at Kearny, New Jersey, and was commissioned on 14 June 1944. The ship
was approximately 459 feet long and 63 feet wide, had a top speed of 17 knots,
and had a crew of 380 officers and men. Chara
was armed with one 5-inch gun, four twin 40-mm guns, and 18 20-mm guns, and
could carry roughly 4,450 tons of cargo.
Chara left Norfolk, Virginia, on 22 July
1944 and headed south to the Panama Canal. After transiting the canal, Chara steamed to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii,
for training exercises. The ship entered the combat zone on 20 October when she
entered Leyte Gulf in the Philippines and landed troops and cargo on Leyte
during the battle for that island. After unloading her cargo, Chara went to New Guinea to obtain more
critical supplies which she brought back to Leyte on 18 November. On 8 January
1945, Chara participated in the
amphibious assault on Lingayen, a major port on the island of Luzon in the
Philippines. A large Japanese kamikaze assault was made on the task force Chara was in and the attack damaged an
escort carrier. During the battle, three of Chara’s
crewmembers were wounded (one fatally) as a result of the heavy anti-aircraft
fire thrown up by the task force to shoot down the Japanese planes. Basically,
all of the lead that was thrown up at the attacking planes eventually cascaded
down on the ships in the task force and injured many crewmembers on several
ships. This is one of the major examples of American crewmen being killed or
wounded by their own anti-aircraft fire. The actual assault on Lingayen was
made on 9 and 10 January, with Chara
managing to land her troops and cargo successfully despite heavy surf
conditions. In fact, the rocky beach was so inhospitable that the Japanese never
anticipated an amphibious assault on that location. Chara remained in the Leyte area until 26 March, when she left the
Philippines for the invasion of Okinawa, Japan.
Chara landed her troops and supplies on
Okinawa on 1 April 1945. She remained off Okinawa until 6 April. She fought off
numerous kamikaze attacks, but was not damaged. Chara then steamed to the United States for a badly needed
overhaul, but was sent back to Okinawa with more cargo on 5 July. The ship
returned to the United States and docked at San Francisco, California, where
she was loaded with more cargo and supplies, this time for the troops in the
Philippines. After arriving back in the Philippines, Chara stayed there until the war ended. After the formal Japanese
surrender on 2 September 1945, Chara
was used to supply American occupation forces in Japan for several months. Chara came back to the United States in
December 1945, but continued to support American troops in the Far East until
1950.
After the
Korean War started in June 1950, Chara
began its new role as an ammunition ship. She was assigned the dangerous task
of transporting and transferring all types of ammunition to warships at sea. Chara left San Francisco on 16 September
1950 to replenish and re-supply Task Force 77 in the Far East and supported the
evacuations of Hungnam and Wonsan, Korea, before returning to San Francisco for
an overhaul on 26 March 1951. During her second tour of duty off the coast of
Korea, which lasted from 19 July 1951 to 18 May 1952, Chara joined the Mobile Logistics Support Force in operations off
Wonsan and Songjin, Korea. Chara
continued providing at-sea replenishment of ammunition to other warships until
the war ended in July 1953.
Chara later alternated duty in the western
Pacific with training and upkeep on America’s west coast. In December 1954 and
January 1955, she participated in the evacuation of non-communist troops and
civilians off the Tachen Islands, located near the coast of China. Chara remained active until the end of 1958,
but was decommissioned and placed in reserve at Astoria, Oregon, on 21 April
1959.
Chara remained in reserve until she was
re-commissioned as AE-31 on 25 June 1966 for use as an ammunition ship during
the Vietnam War. Chara performed her
duties brilliantly, supplying ships with vital ammunition from November 1966 to
November 1971. Chara completed her
missions so well that she received a Meritorious Unit Commendation from the Chief
of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., for her outstanding service
off the coast of Vietnam, specifically from 24 April 1971 to 27 November 1971.
The commendation stated that:
“USS CHARA
distinguished herself by providing outstanding mobile logistic support to naval
units engaged in combat operations against enemy forces in the Republic of
Vietnam, and contributed materially to the success of these operations by
transferring over 9,300 tons of ammunition to destroyer, cruiser, attack
carrier, and other type units during 106 underway replenishments. Through their
continuous display of professionalism, determination, resourcefulness, and
sheer aggressiveness, the officers and men of USS CHARA contributed
immeasurably to the United States mission in Southeast Asia, thereby upholding
the highest traditions of the United States Navy Service.“
Chara was decommissioned for the last time
in March 1972. She was transferred to the Maritime Administration for final
disposal and on 12 November 1972 was sold for scrapping. A veteran of three
wars, USS Chara earned four battle
stars for her service in World War II, seven battle stars for her service
during the Korean War, and eight campaign stars for her service during the
Vietnam War.
