By Billy Singleton | Special to the Advertiser

On Dec. 30, 1868, the Alabama Legislature created a new county from land acquired from Autauga, Bibb, Perry and Shelby counties. The newly formed Baker County was named in honor of Alfred Baker, a prominent citizen and postmaster of Grantville, the first county seat of Baker County. Within six years, on Dec. 17, 1874, Baker County was renamed Chilton County in honor of William Parrish Chilton, chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and former member of the regular and provisional congress of the Confederate States of America.

A native of Kentucky, Chilton moved to Alabama as a young man to practice law. Following the vote that resulted in Alabama seceding from the union, William Parrish Chilton personally escorted Jefferson Davis from his carriage to the provisional capitol in Montgomery for his acceptance speech as president of the new confederation of states.

Though Chilton lived in a number of locations in Alabama, he never resided in the county named in his honor. Seven decades later, as men and women of the United States served bravely to defeat the Axis powers on the European and Asian continents, Chilton County and namesake William Parrish Chilton would again be honored in an unusual and special manner.

During the World War II, members of Chilton County’s “Greatest Generation” did more than their share in supporting the effort to defeat the military forces of Germany, Italy and Japan. In Clanton, the Chilton County Veteran’s Memorial is inscribed with the names of 53 servicemen who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country during World War II.

At home, families used ration coupons to purchase common staples that included sugar, coffee, nylon and rubber. Committees were formed in Chilton County to organize drives to collect scrap metal to be used for the production of ships, tanks and airplanes.

From 1941–1945, the United States spent more than $300 billion dollars to defeat the Axis powers. A significant part of this cost was financed by the sale of War Savings Bonds. The purchase of these bonds afforded ordinary citizens the opportunity to invest in the effort to defeat the armed forces of the Third Reich and the Imperial Army of Japan.

War Bonds could be purchased for $18.75 and redeemed at a face value of $25 after 10 years. This provided a safe means for Americans of all walks of life to invest for their future. Even school children could participate in this patriotic effort by purchasing 25-cent stamps to paste in their War Savings Bond books.

Judge L.H. Reynolds served as the first chairman of the Victory Stamps and Bond Committee in Chilton County. Members of the committee were responsible for promoting the sale of War Savings Bonds to local residents. War Bond drives and other events were held in communities throughout the county to encourage citizens to purchase bonds in sufficient number to meet goals established by the federal government. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Chilton County residents rallied to exceed the goal established for the 1942 War Bond drive.

In recognition of this effort, the federal government afforded the citizens of Chilton County the honor of selecting a name for a United States naval vessel soon to be launched in San Francisco. The Bayfield Class Attack-Transport ship was constructed in a 110-day period by Western Pipe and Steel Company.

Originally named the SS Sea Needle, APA-38 (Auxiliary-Personnel-Attack) was commissioned on May 29, 1943 and renamed the USS Chilton. Retrofitted at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York, the USS Chilton was converted to serve in three categories: attack transport, relief command ship and primary casualty hospital ship.

Powered by an 8,500-horsepower high-pressure steam turbine, the ship could achieve a top speed of 19 knots while displacing 16,100 tons fully loaded. A complement of 651 officers and crew were permanently assigned to the USS Chilton. The typical combat load consisted of a Marine battalion of 1,500 men. Their motto: “Any Beach – Any Time.”

During the war, the USS Chilton primarily served in the Pacific Theater of Operations. Notably, the USS Chilton supported the invasion of Okinawa in 1945 by delivering men, armaments and supplies. Once its cargo had been delivered, the vessel was utilized to evacuate causalities from the combat zone.

During this period, the USS Chilton was constantly exposed to attacks by Japanese suicide boats, small vessels constructed of plywood to avoid detection by the ship’s onboard radar. Loaded with explosives and other incendiary devices, the boats were utilized to sink the American ships by ramming into the hull and detonating the explosives.

Enemy threats were not limited to seaborne attacks. As the tide of the war began to turn in favor of the Allied forces, pilots of Japanese aircraft initiated “kamikaze” (divine wind) attacks in a desperate attempt to destroy the ships of the invasion fleet. During these attacks, Japanese pilots would attempt to crash aircraft laden with explosives onto the deck of the ship, inflicting maximum damage and loss of life.

On April 2, 1945, the USS Chilton led TRANSRON (Transport Squadron) 17 in support of military assault operations on the island of Okinawa. Late in the evening, the squadron of naval ships was attacked by 45 enemy aircraft conducting kamikaze operations. Eight of these enemy aircraft attacked the USS Chilton and escorts USS Henrico and USS Goodhue.

Although the USS Chilton was heavily damaged during the attack, there were no serious injuries to the ship’s crew. Naval vessels Henrico and Goodhue were not so fortunate. Both ships took direct hits that resulted in massive damage and significant loss of life.

During the battle, gunners onboard the USS Chilton accounted for the destruction of two Japanese aircraft. Following the invasion of Okinawa, the United States Navy awarded the USS Chilton a Battle Star for its service in the Pacific Theater of Operations.

With the cessation of hostilities overseas, the USS Chilton continued to serve the people of the United States with distinction. The pride of Chilton County successfully completed two “Magic Carpet” cruises to rotate soldiers home from Pacific combat zones. The vessel also served as a “floating laboratory” during testing of the atomic bomb on the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.

In 1961, the USS Chilton served in support of the covert effort to overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba, an operation now known as the Bay of Pigs. During “Thirteen days in October“(1962), the USS Chilton participated in the naval blockade of Cuba to prevent Russian ships from transporting nuclear missiles to the island. In 1969, the ship and its crew served as a member of Task Force 180 during the launch of Apollo 10, the second mission to orbit the moon.

During its career, the USS Chilton was home to thousands of sailors and marines. One member of the crew who served aboard the ship during the Second World War Pacific Campaign was country music legend Otis Dewey “Slim” Whitman. This future member of the Country Music Hall of Fame taught himself to play the guitar to help pass the time at sea.

Ernie Pyle, a highly respected and notable war correspondent, also spent time onboard during this period. Ironically, Pyle would be killed soon after disembarking from the USS Chilton to cover the fighting on Okinawa.

The USS Chilton was decommissioned in July 1972, bringing to an end the careers of a ship and crew that served with honor and distinction for more than three decades. After decommissioning, the USS Chilton was transferred to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, where it remained for two years on the James River at Fort Eustis, Virginia.

The final chapter of the USS Chilton closed in 1974 as the ship was sold to a private firm for scrapping.

Although the story of the USS Chilton has been recorded and packed away in the archives of naval history, the story of our county and its people continues to evolve. In retrospect, the history of the USS Chilton closely reflects that of the people of the county who shared its name: patriotic, hard-working, with an unyielding dedication to the task at hand. It will be these traits that ensure not only the county’s future but also its legacy as its history is written.