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USS President Polk (AP-103)
USS ''President Polk'' (AP-103) was a in the service of the United States Navy during World War II. ''President Polk'' was laid down by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of Newport News, Virginia (MC hull 110) 7 October 1940; launched 28 June 1941; sponsored by Miss Patricia Kennedy. The ship was delivered to American President Lines (APL) in 1941 when she began operating as of 5 December as SS ''President Polk'', a transport under government charter in the Pacific reinforcing Pacific bases, until 6 September 1943 when the ship was requisitioned and acquired by the Navy for conversion to a troop ship. The ship commissioned as at San Diego 4 October 1943. After the war she was returned to APL for commercial operations. World War II War Shipping Administration transport Shortly after delivery in 1941 the SS ''President Polk'' began operating under government charter to supply and reinforce Pacific bases. The ship was then acquired by the War Shipping Administrati ...
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USS President Polk (AP-103) In San Francisco Bay, California (USA), In Late 1945 (NH 78584)
USS ''President Polk'' (AP-103) was a in the service of the United States Navy during World War II. ''President Polk'' was laid down by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of Newport News, Virginia (MC hull 110) 7 October 1940; launched 28 June 1941; sponsored by Miss Patricia Kennedy. The ship was delivered to American President Lines (APL) in 1941 when she began operating as of 5 December as SS ''President Polk'', a transport under government charter in the Pacific reinforcing Pacific bases, until 6 September 1943 when the ship was requisitioned and acquired by the Navy for conversion to a troop ship. The ship commissioned as at San Diego 4 October 1943. After the war she was returned to APL for commercial operations. World War II War Shipping Administration transport Shortly after delivery in 1941 the SS ''President Polk'' began operating under government charter to supply and reinforce Pacific bases. The ship was then acquired by the War Shipping Administ ...
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War Shipping Administration
The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime Commission and ship allocation under the WSA to Army, Navy or civilian needs were closely coordinated though Vice Admiral Emory S. Land who continued as head of the Maritime Commission while also heading the WSA. Establishment A shortage of vessels further complicated by requirements to take vessels out of service for conversion and armament was of concern at the highest levels, including the President. Particular concern that available shipping would not be used effectively led to his establishment immediately on the nation's active entry into the war of the Strategic Shipping Board composed of the Chairman of the Maritime Commission, Army Chief of Staff, Chief of Naval Operations and Mr. Harry Hopkins reporting directly to the President ...
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Invasion Of Tarawa
The Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20–23 November 1943 between the United States and Japan at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Americans died in the fighting, mostly on and around the small island of Betio, in the extreme southwest of Tarawa Atoll. The Battle of Tarawa was the first American offensive in the critical central Pacific region. It was also the first time in the Pacific War that the United States had faced serious Japanese opposition to an amphibious landing. Previous landings met little or no initial resistance, but on Tarawa the 4,500 Japanese defenders were well-supplied and well-prepared, and they fought almost to the last man, exacting a heavy toll on the United States Marine Corps. The losses on Tarawa were incurred within 76 hours. Background American strategic decisions To set up forward air bases capable of supporting operations acr ...
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Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands are now a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the United States Pacific Fleet. The U.S. government first obtained exclusive use of the inlet and the right to maintain a repair and coaling station for ships here in 1887. The surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy on December 7, 1941, led the United States to declare war on the Empire of Japan, making the attack on Pearl Harbor the immediate cause of the United States' entry into World War II. History Pearl Harbor was originally an extensive shallow embayment called ''Wai Momi'' (meaning, “Waters of Pearl”) or ''Puuloa'' (meaning, “long hill”) by the Hawaiians. Puuloa was r ...
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Port Hueneme, California
Port Hueneme ( ; Chumash: ''Wene Me'') is a small beach city in Ventura County, California, surrounded by the city of Oxnard and the Santa Barbara Channel. Both the Port of Hueneme and Naval Base Ventura County lie within the city limits. Port Hueneme has a south-facing sand beach, known for its surfing. The beach has a wooden fishing pier and is about a mile long between Ormond Beach downcoast and Point Hueneme Light at the harbor entrance shared by the naval base and the port. The Waterfront Promenade, also known as the Lighthouse Promenade, provides a paved public access along the shoreline with two historic sites at viewpoints: the 1872 Wharf and the Oxnard Packing House.Cultural Heritage Board"Ventura County Landmark Map" ''County of Ventura Planning Division'' Accessed 5 April 2014 Name The name Hueneme derives from the Spanish spelling of the Ventureño Chumash name ''Wene Me'', meaning "Resting Place". In the 1800s, the postmaster named the post office Wynema after his ...
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Seabees
United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon context, "Seabee" can refer to all enlisted personnel in the USN's occupational field 7 (OF-7), all personnel in the Naval Construction Force (NCF), or Construction Battalion. Seabees serve both in and outside the NCF. During World War II they were plankowner, plank-holders of both the Naval Combat Demolition Units and the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs). The men in the NCF considered these units to be "Seabee". In addition, Seabees served as elements of Cubs, Lions, Acorns and the United States Marine Corps. They also provided the manpower for the top secret CWS Chemical Warfare Service: Flame Tank Group Seabees, Flame Tank Group. Today the Seabees have many special task assignments starting with Camp David and the Naval Support Unit at ...
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Naval Transportation Service
Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US military services as well as for other government agencies. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's ocean transport needs. The MSTS was renamed the Military Sealift Command in 1970. Military Sealift Command ships are made up of a core fleet of ships owned by the United States Navy and others under long-term-charter augmented by short-term or voyage-chartered ships. During a time charter MSC takes control of a merchant ship and operates it for the chartered amount of time. During this time the ship is crewed by civilian mariners and MSC pays for all expenses. Time chartered ships are not subject to inspections from foreign gover ...
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New Hebrides
New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group in the South Pacific Ocean that is now Vanuatu. Native people had inhabited the islands for three thousand years before the first Europeans arrived in 1606 from a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós. The islands were colonised by both the British and French in the 18th century, shortly after Captain James Cook visited. The two countries eventually signed an agreement making the islands an Anglo-French condominium that divided New Hebrides into two separate communities: one Anglophone and one Francophone. That divide continued even after independence, with schools teaching in either one language or the other, and with different political parties. The condominium lasted from 1906 until 1980, when New He ...
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Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu. The town of Luganville, on Espiritu Santo's southeast coast, is Vanuatu's second-largest settlement and the provincial capital. Roads run north and west from Luganville, but most of the island is far from the limited road network. Around Espiritu Santo lie a number of small islands and islets; among them are: Dany Island, Araki, Elephant Island, Sakao, Lataroa, Lataro, Thion, Malohu, Malwepe, Malvapevu, Malparavu, Maltinerava, Oyster Island, Tangoa, and Bokissa. Vanuatu's highest peak is the 1879 metre (6165 foot) Mount Tabwemasana in west-central Espiritu Santo. History A Spanish expedition of three ships, led by Portuguese explorer Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, lande ...
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American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International Date Line, while Samoa is west of the Line. The total land area is , slightly more than Washington, D.C. American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the United States and one of two U.S. territories south of the Equator, along with the uninhabited Jarvis Island. Tuna products are the main exports, and the main trading partner is the rest of the United States. American Samoa consists of five main islands and two coral atolls. The largest and most populous island is Tutuila, with the Manuʻa Islands, Rose Atoll and Swains Island also included in the territory. All islands except for Swains Island are part of the Samoan Islands, west of the Cook Islands, north of Tonga, and some south of Tokelau. To the west are the islands of the Wall ...
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Pensacola Convoy
The Pensacola Convoy is a colloquialism for a United States military shipping convoy that took place in late 1941 as the Pacific War began. The name was derived from that of its primary escort ship, the heavy cruiser . ''Pensacola'' was officially designated Task Group 15.5 and Army sources may use the term ''Republic'' convoy for the senior convoy vessel. The convoy, dispatched in peacetime, was intended to reinforce the United States Army Forces Far East (USAFFE), created to defend the U.S. Commonwealth of the Philippines and commanded by General Douglas MacArthur, with artillery, aircraft, munitions and fuel, as the threat of war with the Empire of Japan loomed. After war broke out, and Japanese forces attacked the Philippines, the convoy was diverted to Brisbane, Australia. Background The War Department on 16 August 1941 approved large-scale reinforcement of the Philippines. General MacArthur was notified that the first units would sail in September. When Chief of Staff Ge ...
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Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List of islands by population, most populous island, home to approximately 56% of the Demographics of Indonesia, Indonesian population. Indonesia's capital city, Jakarta, is on Java's northwestern coast. Many of the best known events in Indonesian history took place on Java. It was the centre of powerful Hindu-Buddhist empires, the Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies. Java was also the center of the History of Indonesia, Indonesian struggle for independence during the 1930s and 1940s. Java dominates Indonesia politically, economically and culturally. Four of Indonesia's eight UNESCO world heritage sites are located in Java: Ujung Kulon National Park, Borobudur Temple, Prambanan Temple, and Sangiran Early Man Site. ...
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