World War II Service
On 18 December 1944, the attack transport commenced her shakedown in the San Pedro area and, on 3 January 1945, proceeded to San Diego, California. From 6 to 19 January, she carried out amphibious training in Coronado Roads, off San Clemente Island, and at Oceanside, California. After availability at San Pedro, Beckham shifted to the San Francisco, California, area, loaded cargo at Oakland, California, and got underway on 8 February for the Marshall Islands. The ship reached Eniwetok atoll on Washington' Birthday and—after discharging cargo for the U.S. Marine Corps garrison on Engebi Island—lingered there awaiting onward routing.
Assigned to Task Unit (TU) 12.6.2, Beckham departed Eniwetok on 2 March in a convoy bound for the Volcano Islands. At night her men could hear airplane engines as Boeing B 29 "Superfortresses" winged their way toward Japan to carry out some of the first massed raids on Tokyo. The convoy proceeded to, and then marked time in, a rendezvous area approximately 100 miles southeast of Iwo Jima.
Read more about this topic: USS Beckham (APA-133)
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