Freestone was launched 9 October 1944 by
Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation,
Portland, Oregon; sponsored by Mrs. Arthur R. Ponto; and commissioned 9 November 1944.
World War II Freestone arrived at
Pearl Harbor 14 January 1945 with passengers and cargo from the
U.S. West Coast, and 6 days later sailed to land troops from Pearl Harbor on
Saipan. Moving on to
Ulithi,
Freestone loaded
U.S. Marines and their equipment and sailed to
Leyte for intensive training in preparation for the
Okinawa landings. She sortied from
Leyte Gulf 27 March, remained in the outer transport area during the assault on 1 April, then moved close inshore to land her men in one of the later waves of
landing craft. Next day she splashed a lone enemy aircraft, and on 7 April she was underway with casualties for
Guam. Continuing to
San Francisco, California,
Freestone arrived 11 May 1945 to embark soldiers and sailors for transportation to
Manila, arriving 12 June. She voyaged to
New Guinea to bring more soldiers to Manila, then sailed for the U.S. west coast with homeward bound servicemen. On two cruises to the western
Pacific Ocean between 4 August and 23 December, she redeployed men and equipment in the
Philippines and to
Japan from various bases, returning from both cruises with servicemen eligible for discharge.
Decommissioning and fate On 14 February 1946, she sailed from San Francisco for
Norfolk, Virginia, where she was decommissioned 17 April 1946, and transferred to the
War Shipping Administration 2 days later.
Freestone was sold for scrapping on 9 April 1973 to Union Mineral and Alloys Corporation, New York (USA), for $111,560.00. ==Awards ==