Aft quarter view of USSDeKalb County (LST-715) offMare Island Naval Shipyard, 9 August 1951
History
United States
Name	USSLST-715
Builder	Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Company,Jeffersonville, Indiana
Laid down	7 June 1944
Launched	20 July 1944
Commissioned	15 August 1944
Decommissioned	17 April 1946
Stricken	29 September 1947
Honours & awards	2battle stars (World War II)
Fate	Transferred to theUS Army Transportation Corps, 28 June 1946
Name	USATLST-715
Acquired	28 June 1946
Commissioned	29 June 1946
Reinstated	to Navy List, 10 August 1950
Fate	Returned to the US Navy, 25 July 1950
Name	USSLST-715
Recommissioned	30 August 1950
Renamed	USSDeKalb County (LST-715), 1 July 1955
Honours & awards	6battle stars (Korea)
Fate	Transferred to Military Sea Transportation Service, December 1965
Name	USNSDeKalb County (T-LST-715)
In service	December 1965
Out of service	1 November 1973
Stricken	1 November 1973
Fate	Sold for scrapping, 30 April 1984
General characteristics
Class & type	LST-542-classtank landing ship
Displacement	1,625 long tons (1,651 t) light 3,640 long tons (3,698 t) full
Length	328 ft (100 m)
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Draft	Unloaded : 2 ft 4 in (0.71 m) forward 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) aft Loaded : 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m) forward 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m) aft
Propulsion	2 ×General Motors12-567diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders
Speed	12knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Boats & landing craft carried	2LCVPs
Troops	Approximately 130 officers and enlisted men
Complement	8–10, 89–100 men
Armament	8 ×40 mm guns 12 ×20 mm guns

USSDeKalb County (LST-715) was anLST-542-classtank landing ship built for theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. Named aftercounties in six states, it was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

LST-715 was laid down on 7 June 1944 atJeffersonville, Indiana by theJeffersonville Boat & Machine Company; launched on 20 July 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Loudie S. Moffatt; and commissioned on 15 August 1944.

Jack Greenberg (1924–2016), who was later to become the primary lawyer of the American civil rights movement, served as a lieutenant junior grade (USN) on the DeKalb County, fighting at both Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

During World War II,LST-715 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater and participated in the following operations: assault and occupation ofIwo Jima (February and March, 1945) and the assault and occupation ofOkinawa Gunto (May and June, 1945). Following the war,LST-715 performed occupation duty in theFar East until mid-September 1945.LST-715 was decommissioned on 17 April 1946 atManicani Island,Republic of the Philippines.

The ship was transferred to theUnited States ArmyTransportation Corps on 28 June 1946. Commissioned USATLST-715 on 29 June 1946, the ship was struck from theNaval Vessel Register on 29 September 1947.

Reacquired by the Navy on 25 July 1950, the ship was reinstated to the Naval Register on 10 August 1950. RecommissionedUSSLST-715 on 30 August 1950, it participated in the followingKorean War campaigns:North Korean Aggression (18 September to 2 November 1950),Communist China Aggression (3 November 1950 to 14 January 1951),Inchon Landing (13 to 17 September 1950),UN Counter Offensive (1 to 14 March 1951), Second Korean Winter (11 January to 30 April 1952), and Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 (1 May to 6 August 1952).LST-715 was redesignated USSDeKalb County (LST-715) on 1 July 1955.

It was transferred to theMilitary Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) in December 1965 where it served as USNSDeKalb County (T-LST-715). Placed out of service and again struck from the Naval Register on 1 November 1973, custody was transferred to theUnited States Maritime Administration (MARAD) for lay up in theNational Defense Reserve Fleet atSuisun Bay, California. The ship was disposed of by MARAD on 30 April 1984 to Jon M. Associates, Suisun Bay,Benicia, California for scrapping.

LST-715 earned twobattle stars for World War II service, and six battle stars during the Korean War.

 This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.

• "LST-715De Kalb County".NavSource. Retrieved29 May 2007.

• 1944 ships
• Cold War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States
• Korean War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States
• LST-542-class tank landing ships
• Ships built in Jeffersonville, Indiana
• World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States
• Ships of the United States Army
• Naval ships of Operation Detachment

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from March 2022
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships