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Arthur P. Gorman was laid down under a
Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1179) on 11 August
1943 at Baltimore, Md., by the Bethlehem Steel Co.,
renamed Tutuila on 8 September and designated ARG-4 launched
on 12 September, transferred to the Navy when 80
percent complete for conversion to an internal combustion
engine repair ship on 18 September, converted by the Maryland
Drydock Co., and commissioned there on 8 April 1944, CDR.
George T. Boldizsar in command. Tutuila underwent
shakedown in Hampton Roads from 20 April to 24 May before
sailing for the Panama Canal and proceeding via San Diego,
Pearl Harbor, and Eniwetok to the South Pacific.
Early in August, the repair ship
joined Service Squadron (ServRon) 10 based at Purvis Bay, in
the once hotly contested Solomon Islands. Tutuila served the
Fleet as a floating advance base as it swept its way across
the Pacific toward Japan. For the final year of the war, the
repair ship engaged in round-the-clock work schedules which
seldom slackened.
Tutuila aided in the build up for the
operations which led to the liberation of the Philippines
from the Japanese yoke. Upon completion of this campaign,
American task forces set their sights on islands closer to
the Japanese homeland. Iwo Jima and Okinawa fell to the
telling power of American shells, bombs, and troops which
stormed ashore supported by a great Allied armada.
Soon, the Allied navies were within shelling distance of the
Japanese home islands themselves.
During this time, the repair ship
operated first out of Manus, in the Admiralties, before
moving to Ulithi in the Carolines. In the wake of the
liberation of the Philippines, Tutuila arrived at Leyteon 24
May 1946 and provided repair services there to a wide
variety of ships and smaller craft from the date of her
arrival until the end of hostilities.
Yet, Tutuila's work was far from over. As American and
Allied forces prepared for occupation of the Japanese
homeland, the ship joined those forces headed north for duty
off Nippon's shores. On 30 August, Tutuila (in company with
Jason (ARH 1), Whitney(AD-4)and 11 smaller ships) set out on
the first leg of the voyage northward. One day out a typhoon
lashed at the convoy, forcing the slower repair ship to
remain with the "small boys" while Jason and Whitney
received orders to run for Japan. On 2 September, having
weathered the storm and shepherded her charges to safe
harbor, Tutuila dropped anchor in Buckner Bay, Okinawa.
From there, Tutuila proceeded with a
33-ship convoy, bound for Korea, making port at Jinsen (now
called Inchon) on 24 September 1946. She operated there as a
maintenance vessel for ships engaged in the repatriation of
Japanese prisoners of war. She continued this work after
moving to Taku, China, where she arrived on 26 January 1946.
Departing Taku on 30 March,
the ship steamed to Shanghai, China, where she dropped
anchor on 2 April. Six days later, she sailed for the United
States. The ship transited the Panama Canal and arrived at
New Orleans on 20 May. Following repairs, she moved to
Galveston, Tex., on9 June 1946 for deactivation and was
decommissioned there six months later, on 7 December 1946.
She lay basking in the Texas sun until
the summer of 1950, when North Korean troops crossed the 38th
parallel and invaded South Korea. As the United States armed
forces mobilized to support the United Nations effort, Tutuila received the call to return to active service. Towed
to Orange, Tex., she was reconditioned with new shop
machinery which replaced her 5-inch and 40-millimeter guns
and their magazines. On 7 May 1951 the ship was
re-commissioned and assigned to the Service Force, Atlantic
Fleet.
Tutuila arrived at Norfolk on 30 May
1951 and served there until 13 October, when she proceeded
to Baltimore for one week before returning to Hampton Roads
where she remained from 23 October 1951 to 16 June 1952.
Calling briefly at Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, from 20 to 23 June, she operated out of Norfolk again
from 28 June to 15 August and from 22 August to 30 October,
with a stint at New York in between. She continued this
routine of east coast operations from 1952 through 1957,with
occasional calls at Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Havana, Cuba; and
Guantanamo Bay.
In 1957, the ship paid good will calls
to Bermuda in June and Nova Scotia in August, with groups of
Explorer Scouts embarked for each cruise. In October 1958, Tutuila again visited Havana and then proceeded to
Philadelphia, where she took part in a special project for
reclaiming material from ships in reserve before returning
to Norfolk. She underwent a major overhaul at the Norfolk
Navy Yard from 31 October 1958 to 21 January 1959 before
proceeding to Guantanamo Bay late in March. But for a
round-trip cruise to Port-au-Prince from 10to 12 April, the
ship served there until summer when she returned to the
Virginia capes for antisubmarine exercises. The ship
continued her operations out of Norfolk until the autumn of
1962.
On one occasion, the repair ship
encountered merchantman SS William Johnson in distress while
en route to Norfolk and, within a short time, Tutuila sent
over a repair crew to correct the engineering casualty.
American reconnaissance planes flying
over Cuba in the fall of 1962 noticed unusual activities
there, and, when photographic prints were developed, the
unusual items and activities were found to be Russian-built
missiles and missile sites. In reaction to this threat
President John F. Kennedy ordered the Navy to throw a cordon
around Cuba, instituting a "quarantine" of the island. In
this tense climate, Navy destroyers and patrol planes formed
a picket line, turning back Russian ships carrying missiles.
Tutuila proceeded to Morehead City,
N.C., where she rendered services before stopping at Norfolk
to load cargo and proceed south to support the quarantine
line. Basing out of Roosevelt Roads and Vieques, Puerto
Rico, the ship provided supplies and services for the ships
engaged in blockading Cuban sea lanes.
After the Soviet Government complied
with President Kennedy's demand for the withdrawal of the
missiles and all of their associated technicians, sites, and
the like, tensions eased. Tutuila proceeded north
toward Norfolk but encountered a storm (much like the one
weathered in 1945, with 80-knot winds and heavy seas) which
caused a three-day delay in her returning to home port.
Operating out of Norfolk and
Charleston, S.C., through 1964, the ship provided repair
services during Operation "Springboard" in January of 1965.
Visits to San Juan and Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico,
Frederiksted and St. Croix, in the American Virgin Islands;
and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; provided the crew with
sightseeing and recreational activities in between her
regular duties out of the east coast ports of Norfolk and
Charleston. In March1965, Tutuila participated in a program
to reclaim materiel and special equipment installed on radar
picket destroyers which were currently being decommissioned
at Bayonne, N.J.
As flagship of ServRon 4, Tutuila
returned to Norfolk before heading south to the strife-torn
Dominican Republic. While performing repair and support
duties during the months of April and May, the ship
conducted a special series of operations geared toward
supplying needed petroleum products to light and power
facilities in Santo Domingo after rebel gunfire had
prevented normal tanker deliveries.
For the remainder of the year 1965,
she continued operations out of Norfolk following the
Dominican intervention, calling at San Juan and Guantanamo
Bay for refresher training after her annual Portsmouth
overhaul. During March and April 1966, Tutuila underwent
extensive preparation for overseas deployment, as repair
shops, berthing and messing spaces were air-conditioned, and
new communications equipment was procured and installed.
The repair ship sailed from Norfolk on 9 May and transited
the Panama Canal on 18 May. After brief stops at Pearl Harbor
and at Subic Bay in the Philippines, the repair ship arrived
at An Thoi, Phu Quoc Island, in the Gulf of Siam, to support
Operation "Market Time" off the coast of South Vietnam.
Relieving Krishna (APL-28) on 19 July,
Tutuila commenced servicing the nimble and hard-hitting
PCF's, or "Swift" boats, attached to Division 11. WPB's of
the Coast Guard's Division 11 were based on
Tutuila as well. The following month found Tutuila's LCM's
and their crews participating in Operation "Seamount," an
Army directed landing operation to clear the southern Phu
Quoc Island of enemy forces. Landing South Vietnamese troops
at four locations, Tutuila's boats also carried supplies and
ammunition to the Allied ground forces while helicopters
evacuated casualties to the repair ship for medical
attention.
Krishna returned to An Thoi on 8
October to relieve Tutuila, which then steamed to Bangkok,
Thailand, for rest and relaxation for her crew. The repair
ship then arrived back off the Vietnamese coast, reaching
Vung Tau, off Cape St. Jacques, on 18 October. Here she
supported Operations "Market Time," "Game Warden," and
"Stable Door" through the end of 1966.
The opening days of the new year,
1967, saw the repair ship taking up support duties for the
Mobile Riverine Force established at Vung Tau for operations
in the Mekong Delta. Here, she assisted in the
preparation of ASPB's and other small patrol craft until
Askari(APL-30) arrived and took over the major repair and
maintenance work.
Tutuila conducted in-country
availability for the first time on Hisser (DER-100)on 9
January. Her repair crews finished another difficult job in
just five days; the overhauling and repairing of the
troublesome diesel generators of Benewah (APB 35).
Turned over to the operational control of Commander, Naval
Support Activity, Saigon, in April 1967, the ship commenced
services to LST's engaged in operations off the mouth of the
Mekong River. During this period, the repair ship continued
to provide support and maintenance facilities for craft of
the Mobile Riverine Assault Force and supported Coastal
Division 13 as well. Further, Tutuila's 3-inch guns spoke in
anger for the first time in the Vietnam conflict, as the
ship undertook a shore bombardment in the Rung Sat Special
Zone, providing harassment and inter diction fire into an
area of suspected Viet Cong activity north of Vung Tau.
Returning to An Thoi in October 1967, Tutuila relieved
Krishna and provided support for coastal divisions of Navy
and Coast Guard before proceeding to Kaobsiung, Taiwan, for
five days of upkeep in late November. She returned to Vung
Tau on 7 December to continue supporting coastal
interdiction operations. The repair ship remained at
Vung Tau until taking over duties at An Thoi in April
1968 from Krishna. While remaining on station through the
summer Tutuila also trained South Vietnamese sailors in the
operation of PCF's, four of which had been transferred to
the Republic of Vietnam in August. Tutuila's hard work
earned the Navy Unit Commendation as a result of the labors
conducted at both Vung Tau and An Thoi.
Extensive improvements in habitability
highlighted the yard work conducted at Yokosuka in January
1969, while the main engine, auxiliary pumps, and the three
main generators were all subjected to thorough overhauling.
On 21 March, the ship departed from Yokosuka for sea trials
and refresher training, a virtually new ship both inside and
out. The final week of training completed by 22 April,
Tutuila cleared the Japanese isles on the 27th, bound, once
more, for Vietnam.
After a five-day visit to Hong Kong en route, the ship
dropped anchor at Vung Tauon 14 May. She commenced work
almost immediately, conducting a temporary availability on
Brule (AKL-28) before 1 June and filling 36 work requests
from Mark (ARL12) as well as repair work and availability
requirements for local YFR craft and the Republic of Korea
LSM-610.
On 12 June, Tutuila got underway for An Thoi where she
supported the continuation of "Market Time," as well as "Seafloat"
and "Sealord," while maintaining PCF's, YFU's, APUBI, and
several LST's.
For the months of June and July, the ship also undertook
further training operations; repairing 17 Vietnamese Navy
PCF's and training 39 Vietnamese blue jackets in diesel
engine overhaul. Saint Francis River (LSMR-525)underwent two
weeks of restricted availability, adding to the repair
ship's already busy and round-the-clock schedule. Fulfilling
these and other requests for South Vietnamese, Korean, Thai,
and United States Navy units, Tutuila remained busy for the
remainder of her active career off Vietnam; receiving three
Navy Unit Commendations in the process. Late in 1971, she
was selected for transfer to the Republic of China Navy.
On New Year's Day 1972, Tutuila departed Vung Tau after six
years of combat support duties. Many times she had hoisted
PCF's or other patrol craft onto pontoons alongside for
complete overhauls; her crew had taught their Vietnamese
counterparts the intricacies of diesel power plants and
generators. Her guns had even conducted one offensive shore
bombardment. Vietnam lay behind her as she headed for Hong
Kongon 1 January 1972. Six days of bad weather jostled her
before she finally made port at the British Crown Colony on
7 January.
Her stay at Hong Kong was not all rest and relaxation,
however, as much lay ahead to be done in preparation for the
transfer to the Chinese Navy. Tutuila's crew gave her a
"face lift" which included painting, overhauling engines,
and getting her records and accounts in order. She departed
Hong Kong on 13 January and arrived at Subic Bay two days
later, where upon arrival, the work of off-loading supplies
and ammunition began.
Departing Subic Bay on 29 January, Tutuila made port at
Kaobsiung on 2 February to the accompaniment of a Chinese
military band which played tunes from the dock side. For the
next three weeks, final checks were undertaken to put the
finishing touches on the transfer. Finally, by 21 February
1972, all was in readiness. On that day, Tutuila was
decommissioned and struck from the Navy list. Transferred to
the Nationalist Chinese Navy, she was renamed Pien Tai and
serves as a supply ship into 1979.
Tutuila received seven battle stars, three Navy Unit
Commendations, and
two Meritorious Unit
Commendations for her Vietnam service.
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