out of Norfolk through 1959 and into 1960, although the cancellation of the "Seamaster" program meant that the ship would never service the aircraft for which she had been reconfigured. Her ports and places visited in 1959 encompassed the naval air facility at Patuxent River, Maryland; Pillsbury Sound, in the Virgin Islands; San Juan, and Savannah, Georgia; Halifax and Nova Scotia, Canada; New York City; Yorktown, Virginia, Port-au-Prince; Guantánamo Bay and Bermuda. The ship commenced the year, 1960, operating out of San Juan, then moved in succession to Bermuda, back to San Juan, thence to Pillsbury Sound and Grand Turk Island, in the West Indies, thence to Guantánamo Bay and Pillsbury Sound again; thence to San Juan and Guantanamo, into March. In April, 1959, Capt. Vincent Paul de Poix assumed command through November. Unloading ammunition at the Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, between 12 and 15 July, Albemarle moored at Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Norfolk, commencing preparations for inactivation, from 15 to 18 July, before she proceeded to Philadelphia to unload material. Returning thence to Norfolk on 30 July, she continued inactivation preparations through the summer. Placed out of commission, in reserve, on 21 October 1960, Albemarle was initially berthed with the Norfolk group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet pending her transfer to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) James River Fleet at Fort Eustis, Virginia. Placed in the custodial care of MARAD, Albemarle was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 September 1962. USNS Corpus Christi Bay (T-ARVH-1), 1965–1973 Sgt. John Francis Sullivan had served with the 107th Quartermaster Company, 126th Infantry, 32nd Infantry Division, in New Guinea during the Battle of Buna–Gona. He was serving with the Air Materiel Command (AMC) at Brookley Field when Operation Ivory Soap was launched in 1944. This project entailed conversion of six Liberty Ships into Aircraft Repair Unit (Floating) for use in the Pacific, supporting aircraft repair and maintenance at advanced bases on islands. Lt. Sullivan was directly involved in the project. He later served aboard the Rebecca Lukens (Brigadier General Alfred J. Lyon) in the Pacific at Gram, Saipan, and Tinian. By November 1962 Col. John F. Sullivan was a widely respected Army aviator. Frank S. Besson, commanding general of AMC, recognizing Sullivan's unique background in converting the Liberty Ships and his Army helicopter experience, assigned him as project officer for Operation Flat Top. This program involved conversion of USS Albemarle into a floating