USS Appalachian (AGC-1) was the lead ship of the Appalachian class amphibious force flagships of the United States Navy. She was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 200) on 4 November 1942 at the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Company in Kearny, New Jersey; launched on 29 January 1943, sponsored by Mrs. John Frank Mclnnis; acquired by the Navy on 27 February 1943; converted at Brooklyn, N.Y., by the Todd Shipbuilding Company for naval service as an amphibious flagship; and commissioned on 2 October 1943. World War II service Following shakedown in the Chesapeake Bay, Appalachian headed south; transited the Panama Canal; and reached San Diego, California, on 26 November 1943. There, after elements of the 4th Marine Division had embarked, and Rear Admiral Richard L. Conolly had broken his flag in Appalachian, she got underway on 13 January 1944, bound for Hawaii. After a one-day stop in Pearl Harbor, the ship steamed westward to take part in the invasion of Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. The objectives of the northern attack force, which included Appalachian, were the islands of Roi and Namur. The attack opened on 31 January; and the next day, Appalachian entered Kwajalein lagoon and began disembarking the men and equipment of the headquarters battalion of the 4th Marine Division. The area was secured by 5 February. Rear Admiral Conolly shifted his flag to [[USS Maryland (BB-46)|USS Maryland (BB-46)]], and Appalachian set sail the next day for the Ellice Islands. Her crew enjoyed a week-long respite at Funafuti before the ship sailed to Guadalcanal. She operated in the Solomon Islands until 29 March when she began a return voyage to Hawaii. The vessel reached Pearl Harbor on 8 April and began resupplying.Appalachian returned to Guadalcanal in late April, spent the next six weeks preparing for the impending assault on the Marianas, then, early in June, sailed to Kwajalein, the final staging area for the operation. On 12 June, Appalachian with Major General Roy S. Geiger, USMC, embarked, sortied in a group of transports carrying troops of his III Amphibious Corps. These leathernecks were scheduled to assault Guam. When the force had progressed to within 50 miles of its objective, it was ordered to reverse course to avoid a powerful Japanese fleet which was then approaching the Marianas to contest the American landings. While the American 5th Fleet routed the Japanese warships in the Battle of the