World War II Cargo ship, 1941–1942 Markab operated with Atlantic amphibious forces in the
Hampton Roads area until 1 October 1941. She then loaded cargo at
Jersey City, New Jersey for delivery to American troops recently stationed in
Greenland. Returning to
Brooklyn, New York on 21 November, she took on board supplies for distribution to various bases in the
Caribbean.
World War II engulfed the United States before
Markab steamed into
Ensenada Honda,
Puerto Rico, her first port of call. The new wartime demands on the Navy caused this voyage to terminate at
Mobile, Alabama on 8 January 1942 where she was converted to a destroyer tender. Sixteen days later she was redesignated
AD-21.
Destroyer tender, 1942–1947 After shakedown
Markab transited the
Panama Canal on 27 October to join Destroyer Force, Pacific Fleet at
Pearl Harbor. Ships recently returned from the battle for the
Solomon Islands made use of her facilities for three months prior to her departure on 6 February 1943 to service the North Pacific Force. In the year she remained in the
Aleutians, she rendered noteworthy service in helping to prepare vessels for both the
Attu and
Kiska invasions. Steaming to
San Francisco late in January, 1944 the ship prepared for an even more extensive Pacific tour. She departed the West Coast on 26 February and worked her way toward the war zone. As a part of Service Squadron 10,
Markab overhauled, repaired, and replenished destroyers and
destroyer escorts at Pearl Harbor,
Majuro, and
Eniwetok in the
Marshall Islands, and
Ulithi in the
Carolines. Having assisted in preparing and sustaining the ships fighting in the bloody conquests of the
Marianas and
Iwo Jima, she sailed for the
Philippines on 16 February 1945. Her work force now overhauled and readied
landing craft for the assault on
Okinawa. During June she played an important part in preparing TF 38 for the last great raids on Japan. Following the
Japanese surrender,
Markab refitted and restocked ships bound for the occupation areas of Japan,
Korea, and China. Steaming in their wake, she arrived
Sasebo, Japan on 1 November and early in January 1946 joined the 7th Fleet at
Shanghai, China. Her services in the western Pacific ended 2 April as
Markab commenced the long voyage home for inactivation. The ship off loaded at
New Orleans beginning 6 May. At
Orange, Texas in January 1947 she decommissioned and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
Korea, 1952–1955 When the
Cold War turned hot in Korea, the resultant expansion of the Navy brought the temporary reactivation of
Markab. Recommissioned on 26 February 1952 she remained on the East Coast servicing Destroyer Force ships. Operating initially at
Newport, Rhode Island and after April, 1955 at
Fall River, Massachusetts,
Markab also participated in the semiannual fleet exercises. On 9 February she departed on a voyage to Charleston where she decommissioned on 31 July.
Vietnam, 1960–1969 Towed to
Mare Island Navy Yard in
California, she was redesignated as Repair Ship
AR-23 on 15 April 1960 and recommissioned on 1 July. Homeported at
Alameda Naval Air Station, the repair ship sailed to Pearl Harbor late in October, returning 22 December. Between 5 July 1962 and 14 September 1966 she projected her services even more widely, steaming three times on seven month WestPac deployments. On the first such voyage
Markab returned a priceless Chinese art treasures exhibit to Taiwan. On the next two tours, ships returning from combat patrol off the coast of
Vietnam increasingly required her facilities. Interspersed with the work periods in the Philippines and Japan were brief rest and rehabilitation periods at Hong Kong and
Buckner Bay, Okinawa. She continued this pattern of West Coast duty and western Pacific deployment into 1969.
Markab earned one campaign star for
Vietnam War service. ==Decommissioning and scrapping==