Philippines, 1944–1945 Following shakedown in
Chesapeake Bay,
Monitor steamed via the
Panama Canal to
Pearl Harbor, arriving 10 August. Loading troops, cargo and amphibious DUKWs, the ship joined the
3rd Fleet off
Leyte in October, participating in the landings at
Leyte Gulf on 20 October and then removing wounded for transport to
Morotai. She returned to Leyte with reinforcements 14 November and then sailed for
Sansapor where she reloaded troops and equipment for the invasion of
Luzon. Steaming for
Lingayen Gulf, under air attack much of the way, the vehicle landing ship put her assault force ashore 9 January 1945 and then stood by in support, shooting down an enemy aircraft that night with only 28 rounds of
40 mm expended. In the closing days of January, the ship took part in two invasions in support of the
Lingayen operation, the landing on
San Felipe and
La Paz on 29 January, and the landing of
Army Rangers on
Grande Island in
Subic Bay on 30 January.
Okinawa, 1945 Monitor then steamed for
Guadalcanal where she loaded
marines for transport to
Okinawa, participating in the "
D-Day" landings on 1 April and then standing by off that hotly contested island until 10 May when she sailed for the United States. During May, June, and July, the LSV made several trips between Pearl Harbor and the west coast with passengers and cargo and then in August proceeded to
Saipan to load medical personnel and supplies, departing on the 15th for Japan.
Occupation duties, 1945–1947 Joining the
3rd Fleet off Tokyo,
Monitor took on board 1,000 sailors from
battleships , , , , and , conducting the first landing on the Japanese homeland on 30 August. The ship then served as a
hospital ship to assist in the removal of Allied prisoners of war, over 8,000 repatriates being received on board and helped on their way before the amphibious vessel departed Japan 19 September. Returning to the United States,
Monitor was assigned to "
Operation Magic Carpet," the massive program to bring the troops home. She operated on this mission until decommissioning in the Reserve Fleet,
Galveston, Texas 22 May 1947. Reclassified
MCS-5 on 18 October 1956,
Monitor was struck from the
Naval Vessel Register on 1 September 1961 and transferred to the Maritime National Defense Reserve Fleet in
Beaumont, Texas.
Monitor earned four
battle stars for World War II service. ==See also==