USS Garfield County

USS Garfield County (LST-784) was an LST-542-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named after counties in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Utah, and Washington, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

History
United States
Name	USS LST-784
Builder	Dravo Corporation, Pittsburgh
Laid down	18 June 1944
Launched	29 July 1944
Commissioned	1 September 1944
Decommissioned	March 1946
Renamed	USS Garfield County (LST-784), 1 July 1955
Honours and awards	2 battle stars (World War II)
Fate	Unknown
General characteristics
Class and type	LST-542-class tank landing ship
Displacement	1,625 long tons (1,651 t) light 4,080 long tons (4,145 t) full
Length	328 ft (100 m)
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Draft	Unloaded : 2 ft 4 in (0.71 m) forward 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) aft Loaded : 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m) forward 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m) aft
Propulsion	2 × General Motors 12-567 diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Boats & landing craft carried	2 LCVPs
Troops	16 officers, 147 enlisted men
Complement	7 officers, 104 enlisted men
Armament	1 × single 3"/50 caliber gun mount 8 × 40 mm guns 12 × 20 mm guns

LST-784 was laid down on 18 June 1944 at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by the Dravo Corporation; launched on 29 July 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Michael Ruzic; and commissioned on 1 September 1944.

Service history

During World War II, LST-784 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater and participated in the assault and occupation of Iwo Jima in February and March, 1945 and the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto in April through June, 1945. Following the war, LST-784 performed occupation duty in the Far East until mid-September 1945. She was decommissioned in March 1946 and assigned to the Columbia River Group of the Pacific Reserve Fleet. On 1 July 1955, the ship was redesignated USS Garfield County (LST-784). Her final fate is unknown.

LST-784 earned two battle stars for World War II service.

See also

• List of United States Navy LSTs

References

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• "LST-784". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Retrieved 15 June 2007.
• "LST-784 Garfield County". Amphibious Photo Archive. Retrieved 15 June 2007.