Originally built as an Alamosa-class freighter "Spindle Eye" fitted out to transport members of the press for the planned invasion of Japan, she acted as a radio relay ship for the A-bomb Operation Crossroads tests before becoming an Army transportation ship and being named after a Medal of Honor hero. In 1963 she underwent conversion to a helicopter transportation ship but by 1965 helicopters were being flown off in connection with oceanographic surveys and is modelled for this time.
This model is in excellent condition, see photograph.