The USS Highlands (APA-119) was a Haskell-class attack transport built during World War II, based on the Victory ship design VC2-S-AP5. Launched on July 8, 1944, by the California Shipbuilding Company in Wilmington, Los Angeles, she was acquired and commissioned by the U.S. Navy on October 5, 1944. Her primary role was to transport troops, equipment, and casualties during key amphibious operations in the Pacific Theater. Following shakedown training out of San Pedro, Highlands embarked troops in San Francisco and departed on November 23, 1944, headed for Hawaii. She participated in amphibious training at Pearl Harbor in preparation for the Iwo Jima assault. On February 19, 1945, Highlands commenced unloading troops and supplies on the beaches of Iwo Jima amidst intense Japanese air attacks, including kamikaze strikes that resulted in the loss of the escort carrier USS Bismarck Sea and damage to other ships. During this period, Highlands also received over 150 survivors from the Bismarck Sea and casualties from Marine units ashore. After departing Iwo Jima on February 25, 1945, Highlands arrived at Espiritu Santo in March to embark fresh troops for the upcoming Okinawa campaign. She arrived in the Ryukyus on April 3, 1945, and participated in the assault on Tsugen Jima on April 11, providing support and evacuating casualties. Throughout April, she operated off Okinawa, enduring continuous air attacks while disembarking reserve troops. Following Okinawa, Highlands transported casualties and occupation troops across the Pacific, including operations in the Philippines, Japan, and China. She was present in Tokyo Bay during the formal Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945, and subsequently transported occupation forces to Japan. Her post-war service included repatriation missions until she was decommissioned on February 14, 1946, and placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at James River, Virginia. Sold for scrapping in 1973, Highlands was dismantled after nearly three decades of service. She received two battle stars for her service in World War II, and her brass builder's plate remains as the sole relic of this veteran vessel.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.