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General S. D. Sturgis 1. Samuel Davis Sturgis, Brigadier General (1822-1889) |
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Ship's Specifications:
(AP - 137: dp. 9,950 (lt.); l. 522'10"; b. 71'6"; dr. 24'; s. 16 k.; cpl. 356; trp. 3,343; a. 4 5', 8 1.1", 16 20mm.; cl. General G. O. Squier; T. C4-S-A2); General G. O. Squier Class Transport class. General S. D. Sturgis (AP-137) was laid down (date unknown) as a Maritime Commission type (D4-S-A1) hull under contract (MC hull 661) 12 November 1943 at Kaiser Shipbuilding Corp., Yard No. 3 in Richmond, California, sponsored by Miss Rio Ivanhoe, and launched on 12 November 1943. She was acquired by the U.S. Navy on 31 March 1944 and placed in ferry commission on 24 April 1944 for transfer to Portland, Oregon. She was then decommissioned on 25 May 1944, converted to a Naval Transport by Kaiser in Vancouver, Washington, and placed in full commission as the USS General S.D. Sturgis (AP-137) at Portland, Oregon on 10 July 1944 with Commander D. S. Baker in her command. After shakedown calls at San Francisco and Los Angeles, General S. D. Sturgis arrived in Seattle on 10 August 1944 to embark cargo, troops, and passengers before getting underway eight days later. She debarked troops and supplies at Honolulu on 24 August and returned to San Francisco on 2 September with hospital patients. From 27 September to 6 November the ship made one round-trip voyage from San Francisco to Pearl Harbor and one from Seattle before returning to San Francisco. She sailed from that port on 16 November with troops and supplies bound for the Southwest Pacific. Touching Eniwetok on 4 December and arriving at Ulithi five days later, she assumed duty there as a station receiving ship. General S. D. Sturgis carried part of Admiral Halsey's 3d Fleet staff via Eniwetok to Pearl Harbor, finally reaching Seattle 19 February 1945. From 6 April to 2 June she made a round-trip, troop-carrying voyage from San Francisco to Langemak Bay and Hollandia, New Guinea; and San Pedro, Leyte as the Pacific campaigns reached a climax. She now headed for Europe, departing San Francisco 16 June for France. After embarking troops at Marseilles 9 July, she departed the next day to redeploy them in the Pacific.
Debarking her passengers at Manila on 20 August, General S. D. Sturgis sailed from that port six days later with officers and officials of the United States, Australia, Canada, Netherlands East Indies, China, and the Philippines, delivering them to Tokyo Bay 31 August to witness the historic Japanese surrender ceremonies there on 2 September. The ship got underway on 26 September for Seattle arriving there on 8 October. She then made three round-trip voyages from the West Coast to Japanese ports, supporting occupation troops before departing San Francisco on an around-the-world voyage calling at Manila, Singapore, Calcutta (April 15), and Port Said, and arriving in New York on 10 May 1946 with 3,248 unattached returning troops. She decommissioned in New York on 24 May 1946 and was delivered to WSA for peacetime operation as an Army transport, and then struck from the Naval Register (date unknown.). Reacquired by the Navy on 1 March 1950, she was assigned to Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) and manned by civilians transporting WWII refugees embarking from Bremerhaven to Australia, Canada and the U.S.A. As war broke out in Korea, General S. D. Sturgis took up the vital Job of carrying U.N. troops to and from the Korean fighting. For the Korean War period, she sailed from New York to Bremerhaven and Mediterranean ports, embarking allied troops, and transported them to Pusan. Korean War Campaigns Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 28 to 29 September 1952 8 October 1952 Korean Summer-Fall 1953 Third Korean Winter Following the Armistice, the transport rotated Greek, Turkish, Ethiopian, and Philippine troops in Korea, helping to maintain the high state of readiness among U.N. forces in that volatile land. During 1955, the ship made three voyages from New York to Bremerhaven, supporting American troops in Europe. She was placed in reduced operational status at New York 28 May 1955. General S. D. Sturgis was later returned to the Maritime Administration and was placed in the National Defense Reserve fleet, Beaumont, Tex., 22 August 1958. Placed in reduced operational status, 28 May 1955, at New York, N.Y. Struck from the Naval Register (date unknown) Transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD), 22 August 1958, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, TX. She was sold for commercial service in 1967 and renamed Green Port. Final Disposition: scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan in February 1980 General S. D. Sturgis received three battle stars for Korean War service. |
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This page compliments of Marisa Ciceran Created: Saturday,
July 15,
2006; Last updated:
Sunday, November 11, 2007
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