''SS Marcus Daly'' was a

liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...

built by the

Kaiser Shipyards The Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the West Coast of the United States, United States west coast during World War II. Kaiser ranked 20th among U.S. corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. The s ...

at their Permanente No.1 yard at

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 7, 1905, and has a Richmond, California City Council, city council.

, and launched on 24 July 1943.

Ship history

The ship was operated by Sudden & Christensen, San Francisco, for the

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 Co ...

, and between September 1943 and April 1944 operated in convoy between northern Australia and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. On July 30, 1944, the ship sailed from

Wilmington, Los Angeles Wilmington is a neighborhood in the Harbor region of Los Angeles, California, covering . Featuring a heavy concentration of industry and the third-largest oil field in the continental United States, this neighborhood has a high percentage of La ...

, loaded with 12 night-fighter aircraft, and with a crew of 27

United States Navy Armed Guard United States Navy Armed Guard units were established during World War II and headquartered in New Orleans.World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merchant Marine, 2007-2014 Project Liberty Ship, Project Liberty Ship, P.O. Box 2 ...

s and 41 men of the Merchant Marine. The aircraft were unloaded at

Finschhafen Finschhafen is a town east of Lae on the Huon Peninsula in Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea. The town is commonly misspelt as Finschafen or Finschaven. During World War II, the town was also referred to as Fitch Haven in the logs of some U.S ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

, on August 28, 1944. The ship then sailed on to

Oro Bay Oro Bay is a bay in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea, located southeast of Buna, Papua New Guinea, Buna. The bay is located within the larger Dyke Ackland Bay. A port is operated by PNG Ports Corporation Limited with limited wharf facilities, loca ...

and to unload the rest of the cargo. After three months operating between various ports in New Guinea and the

Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 18 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-co ...

, on October 18 the ship sailed from Hollandia, bound for

Tacloban Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban ( war, Syudad han Tacloban; fil, Lungsod ng Tacloban), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. The city is autonomous from the province of Leyte, a ...

in the Philippines. She was loaded with 600 men, 31 officers, and all their equipment and vehicles. While at the dock in Tacloban the ship was attacked from the air several times. ''Marcus Daly'' was credited with shooting down three Japanese aircraft, and for their efforts the men were commended by General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

. In early December the ship sailed from Tacloban in a convoy of 40 ships bound for

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

. On December 5, 1944, the convoy was north-east of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

when they were attacked by Japanese aircraft. The was hit by two torpedoes, abandoned, and sank the next day. ''Marcus Daly'' shot down two aircraft, but at around 1530 was struck by a ''

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

'' which made a hole "large enough to drive a train through" and set the ship on fire. Three crew members - one Navy Armed Guard and two Merchant Marine - were killed, and 7 wounded, and 200 troops aboard were listed as killed, wounded or missing. The blaze was finally brought under control around midnight, and the ship limped into Leyte the next day. On December 10 while at anchor she shot down another aircraft, which then crashed into her, setting ''LCT-1075'', which was alongside, on fire. An Armed Guard officer and seven others were wounded, but the ship remained afloat. On December 30, after repairs at Hollandia, ''Marcus Daly'' sailed to San Francisco, arriving on January 28, 1945. The ship's crew were awarded the

Merchant Marine Gallant Ship Citation Ribbon The Merchant Marine Gallant Ship Citation is an award of the United States Merchant Marine. The award is presented as a bronze plaque to vessels, with officers and crew being awarded a ribbon bar to denote the award. Both United States flagged v ...

. The ''Marcus Daly'' was scrapped at

National City, California National City is a city located in the South Bay (San Diego County), South Bay region of the San Diego metropolitan area, in southwestern San Diego County, California, San Diego County, California. The population was 58,582 at the 2010 United ...

, in 1968.

Awards

Able Seaman on the SS ''Marcus Daly'' was given the

Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal The Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal is a decoration of the United States Merchant Marine (USMM). The decoration is the highest award which can be bestowed upon members of that service. It is awarded to any seaman in the USMM who, on ...

by The President of the United States. During the initial invasion of the Philippine Islands at Tacloban at

. Crawford volunteered for the forward gun crew which, acting in countless attacks for many days, by repulsing the enemy and bringing down many planes in 1944. He was killed by a

Kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

plane in one of the many attacks. For the President the award was given by Admiral Emory S. Land.usmm.org Heroes
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcus Daly 1943 ships Liberty ships Ships built in Richmond, California