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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Highlands (APA-119)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Zulu - Quebec - Yankee
 NZQY
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive) - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Haskell Class Amphibious Attack Transport:
  • Laid down, 13 June 1944, as a Maritime Commission type (VC2-S-AP5) hull under Maritime Commission contract (MCV hull 28) at California Shipbuilding Corp., Wilmington, CA.
  • Launched, 8 July 1944
  • Completed and delivered to the Maritime Commission, 30 September 1944
  • Acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission, 5 October 1944
  • Commissioned USS Highlands (APA-119), 5 October 1944, CAPT. George D. Lyon in command
  • During World War II USS Highlands was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    TransRon Sixteen, COMO. J.B. McGovern USN;
     TransDiv Forty-Seven, CAPT. C.L. Hutton USN (20) and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Iwo Jima operation
    Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 19 to 25 February 1945     		Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 9 to 15 April 1945

  • Following World War II USS Highlands was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    25 September to 16 October 1945
    3 to 12 December 1945

  • Decommissioned, 14 February 1946, at Norfolk, VA.
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission, 28 February 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Lee Hall, VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 10 March 1946
  • USS Highlands earned two battle stars for World War II service
  • Withdrawn from the James River Reserve Fleet, to Farrel Lines, Inc., 21 September 1955, (Repair Program) General Agency Agreement
  • Returned to the James River Reserve Fleet by Farrel Lines Inc., 23 November 1955
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 9 April 1973, for $111, 560, to Union Minerals & Alloys Inc., withdrawn 11 June 1973
    Specifications:
    Displacement 6,873 t.(lt) 14,837 t (fl)
    Length 455'
    Beam 62'
    Speed 19 kts.
    Complement
    56 Officers
    480 Enlisted
    Troop Accommodations
    86 Officers
    1,475 Enlisted
    Cargo Capacity 2,900 DWT
    non-refrigerated 150,000 cu. ft
    Boats
    two LCMs
    one open LCPL
    one covered LCPL (Captain's Gig)
    two LCPRs
    eighteen LCVPs
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 dual-purpose gun mount
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    one quad 40mm AA gun mount
    ten single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Propulsion
    one Joshua Hendy geared turbine
    two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers
    three turbo-drive 300Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ships' Service Generators
    one propeller, design shaft horsepower 8,500
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Highlands 67k USS Highlands (APA-119) in the Pacific, circa 1945 or early 1946.
    US Navy photo # NH 98837 donated to the US Naval Historical Center by William Harold Milligan, 2003, in memory of his father, Harold Rutial Milligan, who served in USS Highlands during World War II.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    USS Highlands (APA-119)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. Lyon, George Dunham, USN (USNA 1921b)5 October 1944 - 27 December 1944
    02CDR. Toal, Michael USNR27 December 1944 - 31 October 1945 1945
    03CAPT. Voegeli, Clarence Earl, USN (USNA 1922)31 October 1945 - 14 February 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Data Base
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Attack Transport (APA) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 7 April 2017