USS Jefferson County (LST-845) - Korean War

Korean War

In response to the invasion of South Korea by North Korean troops on 25 June 1950, LST-845 departed San Diego on 10 August and sailed to the Far East to bolster the American effort to repel this Communist aggression. Arriving Kobe, Japan, on 6 September, she embarked combat troops and departed on 10 September for amphibious landings at Inchon, Korea, which were designed to thwart the Communist advance through South Korea and spearhead an Allied offensive northward. Standing off Inchon, she boated troops for the assault; and, following the successful landings, she remained off Inchon during the next mouth to unload military cargo. She departed Inchon on 15 October and steamed to the eastern coast of Korea to carry cargo from Pusan to Wonsan and Hŭngnam. Following the entrance of Communist China into the Korean War, LST-845 supported the evacuation of Hŭngnam and made three runs south to Pusan. On 24 December she helped evacuate the remaining military forces before sailing via Pusan to Japan where she arrived Yokosuka on 31 December. During the next few months LST-845 continued to carry cargo between Japan and ports in South Korea. She departed Yokosuka on 25 April 1951, sailed via Pearl Harbor, and reached San Diego on 23 May.

LST-845 took part in amphibious training operations for the better part of a year; and, after overhaul, she departed San Diego on 26 May 1952 to again support U.N. forces in Korea. Arriving Sasebo, Japan, on 10 July, she spent more than six months in Japanese and Korean waters bolstering the naval supply line to South Korea. She departed the Far East on 4 February 1953, arrived San Diego on 5 March, and operated off Southern California during the remainder of 1953.