Latona was launched under
United States Maritime Commission contact 10 August 1944 by
Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc.,
Beaumont, Texas; sponsored by Mrs. Claude Frazier; acquired by the Navy 31 January 1945; and commissioned 25 February 1945 at
Houston, Texas.
World War II Departing
Galveston, Texas, 15 March,
Latona loaded dry and refrigerated cargo at
Mobile, Alabama, transited the
Panama Canal, and arrived
Pearl Harbor 17 April. Assigned to
Service Squadron 8, she sailed 28 April for the western Pacific Ocean. She reached
Ulithi, western
Carolines, 14 May, joined Service Squadron 10, and departed in
convoy 15 May for the
Ryūkyūs. She arrived
Kerama Retto 21 May. Despite frequent air alerts, she completed unloading cargo 30 May.
Post-war activity Latona departed Kerama Retto 31 May. Steaming via Ulithi, she arrived Pearl Harbor 24 June, loaded fleet provisions, then returned to Ulithi 4 to 21 July. She proceeded to
Okinawa 25 July to 4 August, unloaded her cargo at
Buckner Bay, and departed 17 August for New Zealand. Sailing via Ulithi and
Manus,
Admiralties, she arrived
Auckland 10 September. After loading refrigerated cargo, she steamed to
Guam 19 September to 4 October. Over the next month she transported provisions to bases in the
Marianas and on
Iwo Jima before returning to Pearl Harbor 18 November with 64 military passengers embarked. After making a supply run to
Wake Island and the
Marshalls between 1 December and 12 January 1946, she sailed to the
U.S. West Coast, where she arrived
San Pedro, California, 2 February. Loaded with fleet provisions,
Latona departed for the
Far East 19 February. During a period of almost 3 years, she made nine deployments to bases scattered throughout the western and central Pacific, including five supply runs to the Marshalls and Marianas, and four to the Far East. While serving in the Far East, she transported dry and refrigerated cargo from
Subic Bay,
Manila Bay, and
Leyte Gulf In the
Philippines to Japan and China. Between 16 August 1946 and 21 November 1948 she steamed on four occasions to
Qingdao,
Shanghai, and
Chinwangtao, China, to provision ships supporting
Nationalist Chinese operations on the Chinese mainland.
Decommissioning and fate Latona departed Qingdao 21 November and arrived
Oakland, California, 12 December. She entered
Mare Island Navy Yard 22 December and decommissioned there 15 April 1949. She was returned to the
War Shipping Administration and entered the
National Defense Reserve Fleet. She was placed in reserve at
Suisun Bay, California and struck from the
Naval Vessel Register (date unknown). Final Disposition: scrapped in 1973. == Military awards and honors ==