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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Marion County (LST-975)
ex
 USS LST-975 (1945 - 1955)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - Kilo - Uniform
 NKKU
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Second Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal - Korean Service Medal (6)
Third Row - Philippines Liberation Medal - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

USS Marion County (LST-975), transferred to South Vietnam, renamed RVNS Cam Banh (HQ-500),later acquired by the Philippines, renamed BPR Zamboanga Del Sur (LT-86)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 1 December 1944, at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, MA.
  • Launched, 6 January 1945
  • Commissioned USS LST-975, 3 February 1945, LT. David S. Stanley USN in command
  • During World War II USS LST-975 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Following World War II USS LST-975 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    20 to 26 September 1945
    23 to 29 October 1945

  • Decommissioned, 16 April 1946, at Subic Bay, P.I.
  • Turned over to the US Army for Far East operations
  • Struck from the Naval Register (date unknown)
  • Returned to US Navy custody and reinstated in the Naval Register
  • Placed in service with the Military Sea Transportation System (MSTS), 1 July 1950 as USNS T-LST-975
  • Recommissioned, 28 August 1950 USS LST-975, LT. Arnold W. Harer USN in command.
  • During the Korean War USS LST-975 participated in the following campaigns:

    Korean War Campaigns
    Campaigns and Dates Campaigns and Dates
    North Korean Aggression
    18 September to 2 November 1950     		First UN Counter Offensive
    27 February to 3 April 1951
    Communist China Aggression
    3 to 18 November 1950
    19 December 1959 to 19 January 1951     		Second Korean Winter
    4 to 30 April 1952
    Inchon Landing
    15 to 17 September 1950     		Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952
    1 May 1952
    8 to 21 July 1952
    11 August to 16 September 1952

  • Named USS Marion County (LST-975), 1 July 1955
  • Decommissioned, 10 May 1956
  • Placed in service as USNS Marion County (T-LST-975) by MSTS
  • Placed out of service 26 September 1957, and laid up in the MSTS ready reserve fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Transferred under the Military Assistance Program to the Republic of Vietnam, 12 April 1962, renamed RVNS Cam Banh (HQ-500)
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 June 1963
  • USS LST-975 earned six battle stars for Korean War service
  • Following the fall of Saigon on 29 April 1975, RVNS Cam Banh (HQ-500) escaped to the Philippines
  • Transferred to the Philippine Navy, 17 November 1975, renamed BPR Zamboanga Del Sur (LT-86)
  • Final Disposition, decommissioned by the Philippines Navy and sold for scrapping ÿ> Specifications:
    Displacement
    1,625 t.(lt)
    4,080 t.(fl) (sea-going draft w/1675 ton load)
    2,366 t. (beaching displacement)
    Length 328' o.a.
    Beam 50'
    Draft
    light 2' 4" fwd, 7' 6" aft
    sea-going 8' 3" fwd, 14' 1" aft
    landing 3' 11" fwd, 9' 10" aft (landing w/500 ton load)
    limiting 11' 2"
    maximum navigation 14' 1"
    Speed 11.6 kts. (trial)
    Endurance 24,000 miles @ 9kts. while displacing 3960 tons
    Complement
    13 officers
    104 enlisted
    Troop Accommodations
    16 officers
    147 enlisted
    Boats 2 LCVP
    Cargo Capacity (varied with mission - payloads between 1600 and 1900 tons)
    Typical loads
    One Landing Craft Tank (LCT), tanks, wheeled and tracked vehicles, artillery, construction equipment and military supplies. A ramp or elevator forward allowed vehicles access to tank deck from main deck
    Additional capacity included sectional pontoons carried on each side of vessel amidships, to either build Rhino Barges or use as causeways. Married to the bow ramp, the causeways would enabled payloads to be delivered ashore from deeper water or where a beachhead would not allow the vessel to be grounded forward after ballasting
    Armament (varied with availability when each vessel was outfitted. Retro-fitting was accomplished throughout WWII. The ultimate armament design for United States vessels was
    2 - Twin 40MM gun mounts w/Mk. 51 directors
    4 - Single 40MM gun mounts
    12 single 20MM gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity
    Diesel 4,300 Bbls
    Propulsion
    two General Motors 12-567A, 900hp Diesel engines
    single Falk Main Reduction Gears
    three Diesel-drive 100Kw 230V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    two propellers, 1,700shp
    twin rudders
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS LST-975
    LST-975 73k LST-975 on the building ways ready for launching at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, MA., 6 January 1945. Steven Loomis
    LST-975
    1016097518    		 98k LST-975 sponsor, Miss Alice Jean Varian, christens the ship as part of the launching ceremony at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, MA., 6 January 1945. Dale Hargrave
    LST-975 73k LST-975 hits the water for the first time as she is launched at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, MA., 6 January 1945. Steven Loomis
    LST-975 62k LST-975 under tow as she is moved to her fitting out dock at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, MA., 6 January1945. Steven Loomis
    LST-975 79k USS LST-975 commissioning ceremony at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, MA., 3 February 1945, Navy chaplain offering a prayer. Steven Loomis
    LST-975 73k The crew of USS LST-975 at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, MA., 3 February 1945. The Executive Officer, Lt. Nelson, standing in front of the officers and men of the crew during the commissioning ceremony. Steven Loomis
    LST-975 584k USS LST-975 underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 David Buell in honor of his father CWO4 Benton E. Buell, USN (Ret) USS LST-975 1950s.
    LST-975 1013k
    RVNS Cam Banh (HQ-500)
    LST-975 56k Ex-USS Marion County (LST-975) in South Vietnamese service as RVNS Cam Banh (HQ-500) at anchor, circa 1963, location unknown.
    South Vietnamese Navy photo from Vietnam.com    		 Tommy Trampp
    LST-975 979k RVNS Cam Banh (HQ-500) beached at Nha Trang, South Vietnam, circa 1963-64 between a Japanese crewed US Navy MSC LST and an unidentified South Vietnamese LSM. Al Adcock
    LST-975 137k RVNS Cam Banh (HQ-500) moored pierside, date and location unknown.
    Photo from Vietnam.com    		 Tommy Trampp
    LST-975 165k RVNS Cam Banh (HQ-500) moored pierside, circa 1960s, location unknown.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command, Photo # NH 93784    		 Mike Green
    Hector
    09250728    		 125k USS Hector (AR-7) with various ships of the South Vietnamese Navy alongside off Vung Tau, Vietnam, 7 March 1972. Including, moored to her port side is the LST RVNS Cam Ranh (HQ-500), formerly USS Marion County (LST-975). The Barnegat-class seaplane tender moored to her starboard side is probably RVNS Tr?n Nh?t Du?t (HQ-03) ex-USS Yakutat (AVP-32).
    U.S. Navy "All Hands" magazine May 1974, p. 12., Photo from the collection of Sy Blau.    		 Photo-Jim Geldert USNI
    Caption Robert Hurst
    BPR Zamboanga Del Sur (LT-86)
    LST-975 63k Ex-USS Marion County (LST-975) in Philippine Naval service as BPR Zamboanga Del Sur (LT-86) while in dry dock at A.G.& P. Drydock in Bauan, Batangas, Philippines, 7 January 1995. Edison Sy
    LST-975 249k Ex-BPR Zamboanga Del Sur (LT-86) moored at Navotas City, 27 May 2015, while awaiting space at a breaker's yard. Edison Sy
    LST-975 189k Ex-BPR Zamboanga Del Sur (LT-86) at the breakers yard at Navotas City, 3 July 2015. Edison Sy
    LST-975 149k
    LST-975 204k
    LST-975 188k
    USS LST-975 / USS Marion County (LST-975)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Stanley, David Sloan, USN3 February 1945 - 16 April 1946
     Decommissioned16 April 1946 - 28 August 1950
    02LT. Harer, Arnold Wood, USN28 August 1950 - 1952
    03LT. Flanders, George Joseph Warren1952
    04LT. Bailey, John David, LCDR USNMay 1955 - 10 May 1956
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Action Report - Landing of Occupation Forces, Nagasaki Japan, September 1945
    The USS LST Ship Memorial
    LST Home Port
    State LST Chapters
    United States LST Association
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 22 April 2022