Oglethorpe is a county in Georgia named in honor of James Oglethorpe, founder of the state.
    Ship's characteristics:  dp 14,200 tons; 1.459',2"; b. 63'; dr. 26'4"; s. 16.5 k; cpl. 425; a. 5" .38, 8 40 mm; cl Andromeda; T. C2-S-B1.
    Her keel was laid down on the 26 December 1944 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Kearny, New Jersey, under contract for the Maritime Commission.  She transferred to the Navy while still on the ways.  She was christened by Mrs. Ellsworth Buck, wife of the New York Congressman and launched on 15 April 1945.  She was commissioned at the Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York on 6 June 1945.  Her first captain was Captain James Campbell, USNR.
    Following her shakedown in Chesapeake Bay, she served as a training vessel at Little Creek, Virginia and Newport, Rhode Island.
    On 1 August 1945, she sailed for Pearl Harbor via the Panama Canal.  Receiving news of Japan's surrender while en route, she continued onto the Western Pacific.  After carrying general cargo between Pearl Harbor, Kwajalein, Guadalcanal, and Noumea, she returned to CONUS during December 1945 and was assigned to NTS and later to MSTS where she continued to carry cargo in the Western Pacific.
    On 25 June 1950 the Communists North Koreans invaded South Korea.  The Oglethorpe joined the amphibious forces in Yokosuka, Japan on 9 July and was quickly converted for wartime operations.  On 18 July she transported and landed cargo at Pohang Dong, Korea in support of the US Calvary Division.
    She returned to San Diego in August to embark troops and equipment of the 1st Marine Division.  She sailed and landed the Marines and equipment on Inchon, Korea on 15 September 1950.  For 6 days she supported the amphibious assault on Wolmi-do Island and Inchon.
    In October 1950, the Oglethorpe embarked troops and equipment of the 1st Marine Division for an assault at Wonsan.  On 25 October she landed the troops and equipment at Wonsan and supported operations there until 30 October.  She earned 2 battle stars for her actions in Korea.
    On January 1951, the Oglethorpe was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet.  She participated in amphibious training along the East Coast, in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.
    In October 1955, she answered a distress call to aid the flood stricken people of Tampico, Mexico.  Six LCMs loaded with food, clothing, and medicine transported supplies up the swollen and treacherous Panuco River and distributed them to the Mexicans for 5 days and nights.
    In 1956, the Oglethorpe was dispatched on a "classified" mission to the Mediterranean as an experimental "maritime Pre-positioned Shop" for rapid deployment.  Partly modified, she carried ammunition, fuel, guns, vehicles and supplies and cruised the Mediterranean independently for 5 months under the direct operational control of CNO.  Her ultimate destination was to land on the Island of Cyprus, combat load her cargo to support elements of the 82nd Airborne out of Europe.
    In July 1958, the Oglethorpe was part of the fleet that transported the Marines to Lebanon.
    During 1959, she participated in the historical cruise down the St. Lawrence Seaway on "Operation Inland Seas."
    In 1962, she stood ready off Cuba when President Kennedy demanded the removal of Soviet missiles.
    Once again in the Mediterranean, she joined the ready forces as hostilities heightened between Greek and Turkish factions on Cyprus in early 1964.
    She returned from the Mediterranean in August 1966.  She entered Boston Navy Shipyard in early January 1967 for overhaul and refitting.
    The Oglethorpe then continued to operate off the East Coast for training purposes until 1 November 1968 when she was struck from the Navy list.