Nemasket was laid down 6 October 1942 by Cargill, Inc.,
Savage, Minnesota; launched 20 October 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Rebecca Hanson of Savage, Minnesota; and commissioned 16 June 1944 at
New Orleans, Louisiana.
World War II Shakedown commenced 3 July in the
Chesapeake Bay, after which
Nemasket steamed to
Aruba,
Netherlands West Indies, to load gasoline. She departed Aruba 31 July for
Pearl Harbor via the
Panama Canal and
San Diego, California. Arriving Pearl Harbor 24 August she commenced transporting petroleum products to numerous Pacific islands. Reaching
Ulithi 12 November, she commenced fueling operations - receiving fuel from merchant tankers and Navy oilers, and then delivering it to various combatants, auxiliaries, and island bases.
Nemasket carried
aviation gasoline to
Angaur and
Peleliu in the
Palau Islands from 12 December 1944 until 18 January 1945. She then steamed to
Eniwetok to fuel the invasion fleet preparing for the
Iwo Jima assault. Arriving off Iwo Jima 20 February, she fueled over two hundred ships in twenty days. The
gasoline tanker then shifted to
Saipan and
Ulithi 9 March, and 4 April she steamed to
Kerama Retto, where she spent three months amidst
kamikaze attacks and interminable hours at
general quarters. She splashed a "
Val" 13 May, 100 yards off her port bow. At
Leyte when hostilities ceased,
Nemasket remained in continuous service with the
Pacific Service Force. She shifted to
Shanghai,
China 6 September and remained on China service until May 1947, spending only the late summer and early fall of 1946 in the
United States. In June 1947 she was assigned transportation and delivery duties throughout the Pacific islands as a unit of
Service Division 51,
Service Force, Pacific.
Korean War Nemasket continued her transportation and delivery duties during the
Korean War and through the 1950s, out of her homeport of
Pearl Harbor.
Decommissioning and Fate Nemasket was placed out of commission, in reserve 22 September 1959 and stricken from the
Naval Register on 1 July 1960. Several sources, including the
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships list
Nemasket as being scrapped in 1961, those sources are incorrect.
Nemasket remained in Navy reserve until 6 June 1971 when she was transferred to the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet. She was then used as a fleet utility craft (FB-64) until 26 August 2005 when a contract for her dismantling was issued to ESCO Marine of Brownsville, Tx for $1,224,100.
Nemasket departed the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet on 9 January 2006 heading to Brownsville and was completely dismantled by 6 June 2006. == Military awards and honors ==