The 1st Transportation Battalion was one of the more unique organizations in the Transportation Corps. It was constituted and activated as a Seaborne Aircraft Maintenance Depot at Corpus Christi Bay, Texas on 1 October 1964. The US Navy converted a seaplane tender into a helicopter maintenance facility and christened it the USNS Corpus Christi Bay. It became the US Army’s first aircraft carrier.
It arrived in Vietnam on 1 April 1966 and anchored off the coast of III Corps Tactical Zone to provide a safe location for depot level helicopter maintenance. It later sailed north to Cam Ranh Bay and other locations in II Corps.
It was inactivated at Corpus Christi Bay on 31 March 1975. It had earned five Meritorious Unit Commendations for 1966-1967, 1967-1968, 1968-1970, 1970-1971, and 1971-1972, and also earned the Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal, First Class for 1971.
