Sakatonchee AOG-19

Sakatonchee

A river in northeast Mississippi which drains into the Tombigbee River.
Sakatonchee.

(AOG-19: dp. 2,900 (f.); 1. 220'6", b. 37', dr. 13's. 10 k.; cpl. 62; a. 1 3", 2 40mm.; cl. Mettawee, T. Tl-M-Al)

Sakatonchee (AOG-l9), MC hull 901, was laid down on 13 August 1942 by East Coast Shipyards, Inc., Bayonne, N.J., Launched on 22 May 1943, sponsored by Miss Mary Abate; acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission on 15 January 1944, and commissioned on 17 January 1944, Lt. Frederick C. Steinmetz in command.

Following shakedown off the east coast, Sakatonchee steamed via Aruba and the Panama Canal to Milne Bay, New Guinea, arriving on 26 May 1944. She supplied petroleum products to forward bases in western New Guinea, such as those at Biak and Noemfoor islands. Her operations supported the campaign at Palawan, P.I., where the Allies landed on 28 February 1945, and at Balikpapan, Borneo, where the Allies landed on 1 July.

In January 1946, she arrived in San Francisco. Decommissioned on 29 March, she was struck from the Navy list on 1 May, transferred to the Maritime Commission on 1 July, and scrapped in 1964.

Sakatonchee received three battle stars for World War II service.