USS Sedgwick County (LST-1123) - World War II and Post-war Service

World War II and Post-war Service

Completing shakedown toward the end of March, LST-1123 loaded cargo at Mobile, Alabama, and sailed for the Pacific on the 29th. She arrived at San Diego in mid-April; transported rescue boats to San Francisco; and departed the latter port on the 22nd loaded with LVTs, vehicles, and fuel oil. On 2 May, she arrived at Pearl Harbor; offloaded her cargo; and then commenced amphibious exercises. On 2 June, with Army Quartermaster Corps and Navy Construction Battalion personnel and cargo embarked, she sailed for the Marshall Islands, Marianas, and Ryukyus.

Arriving off Okinawa on 28 July, she remained there until after the Japanese surrender, then returned to the Marshalls and Marianas. During September, she carried occupation troops from the latter islands to Kyūshū, Japan. Then, in late October and early November, she performed a similar service for units moving from the Philippines to Honshū.

On 9 November 1945, LST-1123 departed Honshu and sailed east. Steaming via the Marianas and the Hawaiian Islands, she arrived at San Francisco on 8 January 1946; underwent overhaul at Seattle; then commenced operations out of San Diego. For the next four years, the LST continued to ply the waters off the west coast, primarily in the California area, but with occasional cargo and training operations in Hawaiian and Alaskan waters.

In 1950, LST-1123 participated in the filming of the 1951 movie Halls of Montezuma, starring Richard Widmark. She appeared in the film.