SS ''Lane Victory'' is an American Victory-class cargo ship used in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Korean War and Vietnam War. The ship was preserved in 1989 to serve as a

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

in the San Pedro area of Los Angeles, California. As a rare surviving Victory ship, she was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark. SS ''Lane Victory'' was named after Lane College, which was established as a high school for black youths in 1882 at Jackson, Tennessee, by

Isaac Lane Isaac Lane (1834–1937) was the fifth bishop of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America, which established Lane College in 1882. The Jackson, Tennessee college was named after Lane. Isaac Lane was born March 4, 1834, in Madison Co ...

, a bishop of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America.

World War II

''Lane Victory'' was built in Los Angeles by the California Shipbuilding Corporation and launched on May 31, 1945. On her first voyage, June 27, 1945, ''Lane Victory'' carried war supplies in the Pacific. The War Shipping Administration gave the operations of the ship to the American President Lines. United States Merchant Mariners operated the ship. The United States Navy Armed Guard, who manned the ship's guns, worked as signalmen and radiomen. She made two Pacific cruises, beginning July 10, 1945, to Manus Island, and the second starting August 30, 1945, to Guam, Saipan and Hawaii. The trip to Guam was to bring food to the island. On the way ''Lane Victory'' sailed through a typhoon and was tossed around for 14 days. On February 27, 1946, her second voyage ended. With the end of World War II, she started shipping aid. In March 1946 she started delivering goods to Europe under the Marshall Plan. With the end of the aid plan, on May 11, 1948 ''Lane Victory'' was laid up at

Suisun Bay Suisun Bay ( ; Wintun for "where the west wind blows") is a shallow tidal estuary (a northeastern extension of the San Francisco Bay) in Northern California. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, forming the ent ...

, California.

Korean War

In 1950 ''Lane Victory'' was taken out of storage and by October 1950 was back in service. She was then deployed to evacuate Korean civilians and United Nations personnel at Wonsan, North Korea. During December 1950 she evacuated over 3,800 U.S. troops and 1,100 vehicles from Hungnam while under attack during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. ''Lane Victory'' offloaded troops, vehicles and cargo as the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

and

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s laid down a covering fire. After unloading she evacuated 7,010 men, women and children, taking them south to safety. When the ship arrived 7,011 passengers disembarked, as a baby had been born during the voyage. On October 10, 1953, she was laid up in Suisun Bay, California, storage. An annual Korean War tribute day is held aboard SS ''Lane Victory'' in honor of those saved.

Vietnam War

In 1966 the ship was restored to duty again for the Vietnam War. She also saw duty during the conflict moving ammunition and supplies to and from the war zone in Vietnam. On April 29, 1970 ''Lane Victory'' was laid up again at Suisun Bay for storage in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. During her three-war career, she traveled through the Far East Pacific, made a few transatlantic crossings and one circumnavigation of the globe.

Post-war

Because of the ship's excellent condition in storage at Suisun Bay, the Maritime Administration decided to set aside ''Lane Victory'' for preservation. President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

signed into law H.R. 2032 on October 18, 1988, which turned over the ship to the United States Merchant Marine Veterans of World War II. Joe Vernick, John Smith and a group of Merchant Marine veterans had worked for years for the ship to be released from the Reserve Fleet. Volunteers from the United States Merchant Marine Veterans of World War II worked for three years to restore the ship to working condition after she had sat, slowly deteriorating, in Suisun Bay for nearly two decades. Many upgrades were performed in order to bring ''Lane Victory'' up to Coast Guard standards. She was drydocked in 1992, and her hull was found to be sound. On September 10, 1992, her sea trials started and proved her seaworthy. In May 1994 ''Lane Victory'' sailed south along the Baja Peninsula with the intention of joining the Liberty ship on the 50th Anniversary of D-Day in France. On May 2, 1994, she passed the Sailing Vessel Blythe Spirit about 500 feet off the starboard side according to the day log of S/V Blythe Spirit. This encounter was just north of Cabo San Lucas. Before reaching the Panama Canal the ''Lane Victory'' had engine problems that prevented it from going across the Atlantic Ocean in time to arrive for the D-Day Anniversary. It was reported on the Maritime Mobile Service Net later in May that the Victory Ship had chosen to return after repairs were completed to a California port to await the return of the ''Jeremiah O'Brien''. In June 1994 ''Lane Victory'' participated in a mock Normandy invasion in the Santa Barbara Channel in celebration of the 50th anniversary of

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

. In September 1994 she escorted the Liberty ship from San Pedro to San Francisco in celebration of ''Jeremiah O'Brien''s return from her voyage to Normandy. On October 9, 2007, SS ''Lane Victory'' received a Special Heritage Award from the World Ship Trust in San Diego. She serves as a training facility for the Los Angeles County Fire Department,

Los Angeles City Fire Department The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD or LA City Fire) provides emergency medical services, fire cause determination, fire prevention, fire suppression, hazardous materials mitigation, and technical rescue services to the city of Los Angeles ...

, local law enforcement agencies, FBI, the U.S. Coast Guard and other United States Armed Forces. * Of the 534 Victory-class cargo ships completed, only three remain working – SS ''Lane Victory'' at Los Angeles, at Tampa, Florida, and at Richmond, California.

Museum ship

After her 1988 acquisition by the U.S. Merchant Marine Veterans of World War II, ''Lane Victory'' was towed to the

Port of Los Angeles The Port of Los Angeles is a seaport managed by the Los Angeles Harbor Department, a unit of the City of Los Angeles. It occupies of land and water with of waterfront and adjoins the separate Port of Long Beach. Promoted as "America's Port", t ...

in San Pedro on June 12, 1989. She was turned into a museum and work ship again. In 1990 ''Lane Victory'' was designated a National Historic Landmark. A volunteer crew maintain and operate the ship and her two onboard museums. On September 13, 2000, Congress passed Resolution 327, recognizing SS ''Lane Victory'' as a representative of the service and sacrifices of the

U.S. Merchant Marine United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...

to the nation during times of conflict: "Whereas vessels of the United States merchant marine fleet, such as the S.S. LANE VICTORY, provided critical logistical support to the Armed Forces by carrying equipment, supplies, and personnel necessary to maintain war efforts" In February 2012 she moved from Berth 94 in Los Angeles Harbor by the Vincent Thomas Bridge to Berth 46 in Los Angeles Harbor at the end of Harbor Boulevard-Miner Street, south of the bridge. She was reopened to the public on February 17, 2012. She was moved, again, to Berth 49 in early 2013 as Berth 46 was being converted into a future super cruise ship dock. Port of LA

Usage in Hollywood

''Lane Victory'' has been used in a number of movies, TV shows and commercials because of her excellent working condition. The ship's wakes were used in the 1997 blockbuster movie '' Titanic'' for the titular ocean liner's wakes. She also served as the setting for the climax of the comedy film '' The Pest'' the same year. Other films in which the ship appeared are: '' Black Ops (Deadwater)'' (2008), '' Flags of Our Fathers'' (2006), '' GI Jane'' (1997), '' Pearl Harbor'' (2001), '' The Thin Red Line'' (1998) and '' U-571'' (2000). ''(note: this is a partial list)'' The ship was featured in ''Visiting... with Huell Howser'' Episode 406. Some TV shows she was featured in are: '' Alias, Baywatch, California Gold, Mail Call'' (episode #70), '' MacGyver'', '' Murder She Wrote'', the

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...

, ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

'', ''

Port Chicago Mutiny The Port Chicago disaster was a deadly munitions explosion of the ship SS ''E. A. Bryan'' that occurred on July 17, 1944, at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Port Chicago, California, United States. Munitions detonated while being loaded ont ...

'' (TV movie), ''Return of the Pirates'' ( History Channel), ''

Special Ops Mission ''Special Ops Mission'' is an American reality television series that premiered on August 13, 2009 on the Military Channel (now American Heroes Channel). The program features former United States Army Ranger and Air Force Pararescueman Wil Willis, ...

'' and '' Unsolved Mysteries''. In the Season 6 '' King of the Hill'' episode "Returning Japanese: Part 2" (2002), Cotton is sent back to the U.S. aboard ''Lane Victory''. The History Channel series Mail Call episode 6/04, "Lane Victory", was an hour long episode about the ship and the World War II Merchant Marine. ''(note: this is a partial list)'' In 1999, the ship was used in a Ford Super Duty commercial and Disney's "Golden Dreams" commercial. ''(note: this is a partial list)'' The engine housed in ''Lane Victory''s forward hold exhibit space was used as the engine for the fictitious gunboat in '' The Sand Pebbles'' (1966).''San Pablo'' Engine used in ''The Sand Pebbled''
''The Sand Pebbles'' site

Awards

''Lane Victory'' earned one ribbon for World War II service, two for Korean War service – United Nations Korea Medal & Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation – and one for Vietnam War service.

References

External links

Lane Victory Official Site

HNSA, Web Page: SS Lane Victory *
Congressional Record
V. 146, Pt. 12, July 27 to September 13, 2000
SS Lane Victory off Catalina Island August 2011 – YouTube

imdb.com, Mail Call: Season 6, Episode 4, S.S. Lane Victory (1 Apr. 2005)

youtube.com, Korean Celebration aboard the S.S. Lane Victory

''Lane Victory, The Anchor Light, My Story'', By Arnold R. Esparza
March 2008]
''Lane Victory, The Anchor Light'', July 2008
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lane Victory Museum ships in California National Historic Landmarks in California World War II merchant ships of the United States Ships built in Los Angeles Victory ships 1945 ships Museums in Los Angeles World War II museums in California Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles San Pedro, Los Angeles World War II on the National Register of Historic Places in California