USS Rainier (AE-5) - Korean War

Korean War

In June 1950 the North Korean Army crossed the 38th Parallel and invaded the Republic of Korea (South Korea). United States and other United Nations forces deployed to bolster South Korean forces attempting to slow the advance of the Communists. Supplies, however, were inadequate. Munitions depots in the Far East and in Micronesia were limited in quantity and type. USS Mount Katmai (AE-16) was the only ammunition ship active in the Pacific.

Ammunition facilities on the west coast were expanded. As the Military Sea Transportation Service and the Maritime Administration were pressed for cargo space, reserve fleet ships were ordered activated.

Rainier recommissioned 25 May 1951, but remained in the eastern Pacific for 6 months. On 3 November, she sailed west.

Through December of that year and into the summer of 1952, she operated out of Sasebo, carrying her vital cargo to replenishment areas off the coast of the embattled Korean peninsula and to shore facilities at Pohang and Pusan. In September, she returned to California for overhaul, but was back in Korean waters to resupply United Nations naval forces in early February 1953.

The end of July 1953 brought an uneasy truce, and in August Rainier headed back to the United States. In November, however, she returned to the Far East on her first, peacetime, 6-month WestPac deployment. Through 1955, her annual deployments included shuttle runs between Japanese ports and 7th Fleet replenishment areas in waters off Japan and Korea. In 1956, her operating schedule was expanded and into the 1960s included operations in the Philippine area out of Subic Bay.