USSGarrett County anchored in theMekong Delta, 1968
History
United States
Name	USSLST-786
Namesake	Garrett County, Maryland
Builder	Dravo Corporation,Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania
Laid down	21 May 1944
Launched	22 July 1944
Commissioned	28 August 1944
Decommissioned	9 July 1946
Renamed	USSGarrett County (LST-786), 1 July 1955
Recommissioned	15 October 1966
Decommissioned	23 April 1971
Reclassified	AGP-786 (Patrol Craft Tender), October 1966
Honours & awards	1battle star (World War II) 8 battle stars,Presidential Unit Citation &Navy Unit Commendation (Vietnam)
Fate	Transferred toSouth Vietnam, 23 April 1971
Vietnam
Name	RVNSCan Tho (HQ-801)
Acquired	23 April 1971
Fate	Transferred to theRepublic of the Philippines, 1973
Philippines
Name	BRPKalinga Apayao (LT-516)
Acquired	1973
Decommissioned	September 2010
Fate	Scrapped in 2012.
General characteristics
Class & type	LST-542-classtank landing ship
Displacement	1,625 long tons (1,651 t) light 4,080 long tons (4,145 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	16 officers, 147 enlisted men
Complement	7 officers, 104 enlisted men
Armament	1 × single3"/50 caliber gun mount 8 ×40 mm guns 12 ×20 mm guns

USSGarrett County (LST-786) was anLST-542-classtank landing ship built for theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. Named afterGarrett County, Maryland (/ɡərɛt/), she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

LST-786 was laid down on 21 May 1944 atPittsburgh,Pennsylvania by theDravo Corporation; launched on 22 July 1944; sponsored by Mrs. E. B. Keckler; and commissioned on 28 August 1944.

During World War II,LST-786 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater and participated in the assault and occupation ofIwo Jima from 12 to 28 February 1945, and the assault and occupation ofOkinawa Gunto in May and June 1945. Following the war, she performed occupation duty in theFar East and saw service inChina until mid-December 1945.LST-786 was decommissioned on 9 July 1946 atAstoria, Oregon and assigned to the Columbia River Group of the Pacific Reserve Fleet. On 1 July 1955 the ship was redesignatedUSSGarrett County (LST-786).

Recommissioned on 15 October 1966 atMare Island Naval Shipyard.Garrett County saw extensive service during the Vietnam War, operating as part ofOperation Game Warden, a brown-water navy effort to keep the rivers free ofViet Cong infiltration. Four LSTs were recommissioned to support river patrol operations with the intent of keeping three ships on-station at any one time supporting a River Division of 10Patrol Boat, River, a Detachment of 2UH-1 Helicopter Gunships of HC-1, later HAL-3 Seawolves and aSEAL Platoon. The ship not on-station was undergoing ship repairs in the Western Pacific.Garrett County reported on-station to CTF 116 on 12 March 1967 and operated as a Patrol Craft Tender (AGP) for the next 48 months on the rivers of theMekong Delta.^[1]

The ship participated in the following campaigns: Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase III (29 November 1967 to 29 January 1968); Tet Counteroffensive (30 January to 1 April 1968); Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase IV (2 April to 30 June 1968); Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase V (1 July to 1 November 1968); Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase VI (2 November to 2 December 1968 and 23 January 1969); Tet/69 Counteroffensive (28 February to 8 June 1969); Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969 (9 June to 11 August 1969, 7 September 1969, and 31 December 1969 to 21 February 1970); and Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase VII (1 September 1970, 5 to 30 November 1970, and 31 December 1970 to 2 February 1971).

LST-786 earned onebattle star for World War II service, and twoPresidential Unit Citation, twoNavy Unit Commendation, and eight battle stars for the Vietnam War.

Decommissioned and transferred toSouth Vietnam for service in theRepublic of Vietnam Navy on 23 April 1971, she was renamedRVNSCan Tho (HQ-801). The ship and her crew escaped to thePhilippines during thefall of the South Vietnamese government, after which custody was transferred to theRepublic of the Philippines. She was renamedBRPKalinga Apayao (LT-516) for service in thePhilippine Navy.

She was decommissioned in September 2010 and was reportedly scrapped atNaval Base Cavite in 2012.

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

• "LST / AGP-786Garrett County".Amphibious Photo Archive. Retrieved15 June 2007.

• LST-542-class tank landing ships
• Ships built in Pittsburgh
• 1944 ships
• World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States
• Naval ships of Operation Detachment
• Cold War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States
• Vietnam War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States
• Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Philippine Navy
• Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Republic of Vietnam Navy
• Garrett County, Maryland
• Ships built by Dravo Corporation

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use American English from November 2024
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Use dmy dates from November 2024
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships