The Port of Embarkation in the Overseas Supply System- 1942

Ports The Transportation Corps-Responsibilities, Organization, And Operations

The Charleston Port of Embarkation (CPOE) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

Port of Embarkation (POE) responsible for the movement of troops and supplies from the United States to overseas commands. The CPOE was established in Charleston to relieve pressure on the

New York Port of Embarkation The New York Port of Embarkation (NYPOE) was a United States Army command responsible for the movement of troops and supplies from the United States to overseas commands. The command had facilities in New York and New Jersey, roughly covering the ...

with initial responsibility largely centered on the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Grea ...

and

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean S ...

. After the United States entered the war Charleston became a POE in its own right. Later in the war, more use was be made of the Port, and it was designated as the home port for Army hospital ships serving the

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

theaters. In the spring of 1943 the Chief of Transportation began to train personnel for the operation and maintenance of small boats and amphibian trucks there, before they were moved to

Camp Gordon Johnston Camp Gordon Johnston was a World War II United States Army training center located in Carrabelle, Florida, United States. The site's history is featured at the Camp Gordon Johnston Museum. History Camp Gordon Johnston opened in September 1942 a ...

. The CPOE also served as a training place for army beach landings. James E. Slack and James T. Duke commanded the port. Originally the Charleston Ordnance Depot, it was redesigned the Charleston Port of Embarkation during World War II. On July 1, 1952, it officially became the Charleston Transportation Corps Marine Depot. Though the facilities for shipping medical supplies from Charleston, South Carolina, were not complete until after the war’s end, the first three hospital ships were assigned to the port on November 1, 1943, the USAHS ''Acadia'', the USAHS ''Seminole'', and USAHS ''Shamrock''. The port also trained the first Harbor Craft Companies. From December 1941 to August 1945, the port carried 35,495 people, and 3,215,981 pounds of supplies. At the peak of the war, 21 of 26 hospital ships were assigned to the CPOE. p. 48

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* * * * * *{{cite book, url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/010/10-19/index.html, title=The Technical Services—The Transportation Corps: Responsibilities, Organization, And Operations, last1=Wardlow, first1=Chester, publisher=Center Of Military History, United States Army, year=1999, isbn=, series=United States Army In World War II, location=Washington, DC, pages=, lccn=99490905, access-date=23 October 2014 Military units and formations of the United States in World War II