USS Windham County (LST-1170) - Pacific Service

Pacific Service

In January 1958, Windham County transited the Panama Canal and arrived at San Diego, on 27 January 1958. Following some four months of operations on the United States West Coast, she sailed for the Western Pacific (WestPac) on 6 June 1958, touched at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and arrived in Yokosuka, Japan, for a six-month deployment. While lifting United States Marine Corps units and cargo, she visited Kure, Kobe, Yokohama, and Sasebo, Japan; Subic Bay in the Philippines; Okinawa; Formosa; South Korea; and Hong Kong.

Windham County returned to San Diego on 10 December 1958. The ship engaged in three full-scale amphibious warfare exercises the first half of 1959. She then operated along the southern California coast until 28 November 1959 when she headed north, arriving at San Francisco, California, on 1 December 1959.

Following a two-month overhaul, Windham County returned to San Diego and spent the late winter and early spring of 1960 in intensive refresher training. The ship prepared for a change of her home port from San Diego to Yokosuka, where she was to become a unit of Landing Ship Tank Division 92 of Landing Ship Squadron 9. On 16 June 1960, the ship departed San Diego, and she arrived at Yokosuka on 19 July 1960.

In September 1960, Windham County received notice that she and landing ship tank USS Whitfield County (LST-1169) would participate in a United Nations troop lift from Malaya to the Republic of the Congo. The two ships rendezvoused at Okinawa, then on 26 September 1960 departed for Singapore, where they arrived on 30 September 1960. Departing Singapore on 3 October 1960, the two ships arrived at Port Swettenham, Malaya, on 4 October 1960, where Windham County embarked 300 Malayan troops. The ships then steamed for 27 consecutive days, crossing the Indian Ocean, rounding the Cape of Good Hope on 22 October 1960, and navigating 82 nautical miles (150 kilometers) up the Congo River, before arriving at Matadi, Republic of the Congo, on 31 October 1960. They departed Matadi on 2 November 1960 and arrived at Cape Town, South Africa, on 11 November 1960. They then visited Singapore and Hong Kong before returning to Yokosuka on 20 December I960, where Windham County spent the rest of the year.

On 4 January 1961, Windham County stood out to sea to carry Marine Corps troops from Iwakuni, Japan, to Naval Air Station Cubi Point, the Philippines. During February 1961, she carried another group of Marines from Okinawa to Numazu, Japan. On 24 March 1961, she began a period of shuttling Marines and equipment between Yokosuka and Okinawa which lasted until early in May 1961. She then participated in Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) Operation Pony Express on North Borneo in Indonesia. Upon the completion of this mission, she returned via Subic Bay to Yokosuka, where she arrived on 9 June 1961.

On 1 August 1961, Windham County entered the Ship Repair Facility, Yokosuka, for an overhaul. Beginning on 23 October 1961, she conducted a three-week underway training period, and, on 20 November 1961, she commenced two weeks of amphibious training with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. She then spent the remainder of 1961 at Yokosuka undergoing upkeep.

Windham County sailed on 25 January 1962 for Numazu, Japan, to embark Marines. She took them to Okinawa, before visiting Hong Kong and Subic Bay. Shortly thereafter, she took part in SEATO Operation Tunlungan at Mindoro, the Philippines, and then reembarked participating troops for transport to Naha and Iwakuni, Japan.

Windham, County visited Bangkok, Thailand, in June 1962 and in late July 1962 went to Inchon, South Korea, to pick up United States Army troops bound for Pohang, South Korea. Upon completion of that task, she returned to Yokosuka. Runs to Numazu and Naha with troops in October 1962 preceded her return to Yokosuka for upkeep. December 1962 brought her independent ship's exercises and Marine troop lifts from Numazu to Naha.

On 3 January 1963, Windham County got underway for Hong Kong, where she served as a station ship and did much to promote the People-to-People Program. She returned to Yokosuka in February 1963, but left on 2 March 1963 to lift Marines to Taiwan and then spent the rest of March and most of April 1963 in upkeep in Yokosuka. From May through September 1963, Windham County underwent an overhaul which began in Sasebo and was completed at Yokosuka. October and November 1963 were devoted to underway and refresher training. On 5 December 1963, she headed for Okinawa for type training and a troop lift back to Japan. After unloading her passengers at Numazu, she returned to Yokosuka on 18 December 1963 for an inspection and upkeep period.

Windham County sailed on 2 January 1964 for South Korea to participate in Operation Firehouse, a cold-weather amphibious assault exercise conducted at Chumunjin, South Korea. Late in January 1964 she returned to Yokosuka for upkeep and left on 26 February 1964 to take part in Operation Backpack, a joint American-Taiwanese practice amphibious assault which took place at Che Cheng, Taiwan. She returned to Yokosuka on 26 March 1964 and, from April until June 1964, conducted lifts and training exercises which took her to Taiwan; Iwakuni, Japan; Okinawa; and Hong Kong. On 17 June 1964, Windham County took on Republic of Korea Army students and carried them to Pusan, South Korea, to observe a demonstration of amphibious and beachhead staging techniques.