1942–1943 From 11 December 1942 to 25 February 1943,
Cache carried oil from
Gulf ports to
Norfolk, Virginia and
Argentia, Newfoundland. She cleared Norfolk on 19 March for
Baytown, Texas, where she loaded
diesel oil for
Bora Bora,
Society Islands, and
Nouméa. She then returned from the South Pacific to
San Pedro, California for repairs on 26 May. Returning to Nouméa on 8 July 1943,
Cache operated between
Espiritu Santo and
Guadalcanal until 4 August. Duty as station tanker at
Efate and Espiritu Santo continued into December, when she sailed to refuel ships at sea.
1944–1945 While returning to Espiritu Santo on 22 January 1944,
Cache was struck in the port side by a submarine torpedo. One man was killed, and
Cache was severely damaged, but was able to make port under her own power. After temporary repairs, she sailed for San Pedro, California, for permanent repairs.
Cache returned to duty at
Eniwetok on 20 June 1944 to begin almost continuous participation in the operations that forced the Japanese back across the Pacific to their homeland and ended the war. First came the Marianas operation, including the
capture of Tinian, for which she fueled ships at sea in July and August 1944. Based at
Manus from 26 August,
Cache provided essential fuel for the attacks on, and invasion of, the western
Caroline Islands, then based at
Kossol Roads and
Ulithi to support the ships which brought the war back to the
Philippines in the assaults on
Leyte and
Luzon in fall and winter 1944–45. Continuing to operate from Ulithi, she fueled TF 51 for the
invasion of Iwo Jima, then put to sea for the great task force raids which prepared the way for, and supported, the Okinawa operation. Later she operated in Okinawan waters, bringing fuel through the hazards of
kamikaze attacks unscathed. She ended her war service in July 1945 as she sailed with the
3rd Fleet in its final stunning blows against the Japanese home islands. After carrying fuel to
Tokyo Bay in September, she returned to the
west coast.
1946–1987 Cache was decommissioned at San Francisco on 14 January 1946, and was transferred to the
Maritime Commission in June 1946 for lay up in the
National Defense Reserve Fleet.
Cache was reacquired by the Navy on 10 February 1948 and assigned to the Naval Transportation Service, where she operated under contract as '
USNS Cache
(T-AO-67)'. She carried oil from
Bahrain to
Japan and the west coast until 1 October 1949, when she was transferred to the
Military Sea Transportation Service. She continued to operate in a noncommissioned status until May 1972 when she went out of service and moved into
Maritime Administration custody. The old oiler was finally struck from the
Navy List on 31 March 1986, and officially transferred to the Maritime Administration for disposal on 2 February 1987. ==Awards==