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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Pender County (LST-1080)
ex
USS LST-1080 (1945 - 1955)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Alpha - Kilo - Xray NAKX

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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
Second Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Medal (with Asia Clasp) - National Defense Service Medal
Third Row - Korean Service Medal (5) - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

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USS Pender County (LST-1080) was transferred to the Republic of Korea and renamed ROKS Hwa San (LST-816)

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Following World War II USS LST-1080 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal
15 to 28 September 1945
10 November to 6 December 1945

During the Korean War USS LST-1080 participated in the following campaigns:

Korean War Campaigns
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
First UN Counter Offensive 11 to 21 April 1951	Korean Defensive Summer-Fall 1952 17 to 18 October 1952
Communist China Spring Offensive 22 April to 13 May 1951 20 June to 8 July 1951	Third Korean Winter 17 to 18 October 1952 13 to 14 December 1952 4 to17 January 1953 11 to 14 February 1953
UN Summer-Fall Offensive 9 to 13 July 1951

Final Disposition, in 2012 ROKS Hwa San (LST-679) opened to the publuc as a museum ship at the SapKyoHo National Sightseeing Resort, South Korea

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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

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Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Contributed By
USS LST-1080
	600k	USS LST-1080 underway, date and location unknown.		LT. Hal Bleyhl CO USS LST-1080
ROKS Hwa San (LST-816)
	126k	South Korean troops disembark from ROKS Hwa San (LST-816), ex-USS Pender County (LST-1080) on their arrival at Saigon, 26 February 1965. They were the first of a 2000-man detachment sent to South Vietnam for non-combat duty in the war against the Communist Viet Cong, making South Korean the first country to commit a large body of troops to the conflict. Associated Press photo.		Tommy Trampp
1016108004	134k	Ex-ROKS Hwa San (LST-679 / 816) was placed on display as a museum ship in 2012 at SapKyoHo National Sightseeing Resort, at Dangjin-Gun, Chung Nam Province. South Korea.		Walt Loetell

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USS Pender County (LST-1080)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

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Commanding Officers
01	LT. Voorhees Jr., James D., USNR	25 May 1945 - December 1945
02	LT. Henderson, Ray F., USNR	December 1945 - May 1946
03	ENS. Minot, Roland H., USNR	May 1946 - 18 July 1946
04	unknown	18 July 1946 - 29 August 1946
	Decommissioned	29 August 1946 - 3 October 1950
05	LT. Bleyhl, Harold J (Hal) USNR	November 1951 - 30 July 1952
06	LT. Montague, Francis Thomas USNR	30 July 1952 - ?
07	LT. Paulis Jr., Joseph John, USN	1955 - 25 July 1956
08	LT. Lorenz, Joseph Dean, USN	25 July 1956 - 2 January 1958

Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

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Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

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Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
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

Last Updated 1 March 2024