SS ''Greenville Victory'' was a cargo

Victory ship The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace losses caused by German submarines. They were a more modern design compared to the earlier Liberty ship, were sli ...

built in 1944, during

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 opposing ...

under the

Emergency Shipbuilding program The Emergency Shipbuilding Program (late 1940 – September 1945) was a United States government effort to quickly build simple cargo ships to carry troops and materiel to allies and foreign theatres during World War II. Run by the U.S. Maritime ...

. The ship’s

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

designation was VC2-S-AP3, hull number 18 (V-18). Post-war she was acquired by the

U.S. 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, cl ...

and renamed as USAT ''Greenville Victory''. She was acquired by the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

in 1950, renamed USNS ''Greenville Victory'' (T-AK-237) and assigned to the

Military Sea 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 m ...

(MSTS) who operated her safely through the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

campaigns. She was the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

in her class of 9 ships that were transferred to the MSTS in 1950. She returned home with two

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

s to her credit and was struck in 1987.

Victory built in California

''Greenville Victory'' was laid down under U.S. Maritime Commission contract by

California Shipbuilding Corporation __NOTOC__ California Shipbuilding Corporation built 467 Liberty and Victory ships during World War II, including ''Haskell''-class attack transports. California Shipbuilding Corporation was often referred to as Calship. The ''Dictionary of Ame ...

, Los Angeles, California; 21 March 1944; launched 28 May 1944; sponsored by Miss Mary J. Vukov; and delivered to 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 C ...

(WSA) 8 July 1944.

World War II operations

During the remainder of the World War II, SS ''Greenville Victory'' served as a merchant ship under charter to Sea Shipping Company of New York City. She served in the Pacific War, participating in the Battle of Okinawa. In

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

from 27 May 1945 to 19 June 1945 she supplied goods as a cargo ship and used her

deck gun A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret. The main deck gun was a dual-purpose ...

s to defend herself and other ships from attacks.

U.S. Army service

Following World War II, she transported cargo in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean as the USAT ''Greenville Victory''. She was transferred to the

Army Transportation Service The United States Army Transport Service (ATS) was established as a sea-going transport service that was independent of the Navy Department. ATS operated army transport ships for both troop transport and cargo service between United States ports ...

in the spring of 1948. Part of her service included returning the remains of U.S. servicemembers who had been killed in World War II for reburial at home, including the remains of 3,734 servicemembers who arrived at the Brooklyn Army Base on 26 June 1948, most of them coming from cemeteries in France. Acquired by the Navy on 1 March 1950, she was assigned to MSTS as a (T-AK-237).

Korean War era service

Manned by a Maritime Commission civilian crew, ''Greenville Victory'', from 1950 to 1953, operated in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean, carrying military cargo to French, English, and German ports; Guantanamo Bay; and the Panama Canal Zone. Between 19 February and 9 May 1953, she sailed out of New York City to the Far East and back, loaded with ammunition for

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. After completing a run to Europe and back, she again departed New York 9 July 1953 for the Far East. She reached

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

, Japan, 9 August and during the next 2 months operated in the Western Pacific Ocean, carrying ammunition to Formosa and to French forces fighting Communist Viet-Minh guerillas in French

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

. Sailing from Yokohama 4 1953 October via San Francisco, California, she reached New York City 6 November 1953 to resume cargo runs to Europe.

Services at the world's poles

During the next 2 years, ''Greenville Victory'' steamed primarily between New York City and West European ports. In June and July 1954 she sailed to the Western Mediterranean to replenish at-sea ships of the

U.S. 6th Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixth Fleet in ...

. On 16 November 1955, she departed Newport, Rhode Island, for

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

and arrived at

McMurdo Sound McMurdo Sound is a sound in Antarctica. It is the southernmost navigable body of water in the world, and is about from the South Pole. Captain James Clark Ross discovered the sound in February 1841, and named it after Lt. Archibald McMurdo ...

16 January 1956 to provision ships of Task Force 43, as part of the Navy's

Operation Deep Freeze Operation Deep Freeze (OpDFrz or ODF) is codename for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on. (There w ...

. Departing Antarctica on 5 February 1956, and traveling via New Zealand, she arrived in New York on 28 March. Before the operation her hull was strengthened for

Arctic ice The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

conditions. Between 1956 and 1964 ''Greenville Victory'' maintained a busy schedule transporting cargo to American bases scattered throughout the world. She replenished Task Force 43 on three more Antarctic deployments; and, from December to February 1956–57, 1957–38, and 1960–61, she operated in Antarctic waters. Cargo runs sent her to the Caribbean in 1958, 1960, and 1962 and to

Thule, Greenland Qaanaaq (), formerly known as Thule or New Thule, is the main town in the northern part of the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of the northernmost towns in the world. The inhabitants of Qaanaaq speak the local Inukt ...

, during September and October 1958. She also deployed with the 6th Fleet five times between June 1956 and March 1964. On two deployments in 1963 and 1964 she transited the Suez Canal, steaming to India and Pakistan. ''Greenville Victory'' departed

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, Virginia, 6 October 1964 to participate in the massive transatlantic trooplift exercise, "Steel Pike I." Departing

Morehead City Morehead City is a port town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census. Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007. It forms part of the Crystal Coast. Hist ...

, North Carolina, 8 October, she closed the Spanish coast off Rota 19 October. For more than 2 weeks she discharged supplies and cargo in support of amphibious and shore operations. Departing Rota 7 November, she steamed via Morehead City to New York, arriving 20 November.

Vietnam War era service

''Greenville Victory'' departed New York 22 November 1964 for duty in the Western Pacific for the

. Sailing via San Diego, California, she arrived

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

24 December. During the next month she steamed to

, and Japan, carrying cargo. Arriving at

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, on 26 January 1965, she sailed the 28th for

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 R ...

and San Francisco, California. After reaching the

U.S. West Coast The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

on 25 February, she made a run out of San Francisco, California, to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington, then sailed for the U.S. Gulf Coast on 15 March, arriving

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, Louisiana, on 28 March 1965. During the next 5 months, ''Greenville Victory'' made cargo runs in the Atlantic out of

, Virginia, and New York. She departed New York 20 October 1965 after a voyage to

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

and back. Steaming via Norfolk, Virginia, and

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, California, she reached

, Japan, on 22 November 1965. Loaded with military cargo, she sailed for South Vietnam 30 November and arrived at Saigon 16 December. The following day she sailed via

Vũng Tàu Vũng Tàu (''Hanoi accent:'' , ''Saigon accent:'' ) is the largest city of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province in southern Vietnam. The city area is , consists of 13 urban wards and one commune of Long Sơn Islet. Vũng Tàu was the capital of the p ...

for the U.S. West Coast, arriving San Francisco 3 January 1966. ''Greenville Victory'' replenished her holds with military supplies before returning to the Western Pacific. Sailing via

Sasebo, Japan is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...

, she reached

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

, Thailand, on 13 February 1966. She sailed 22 February for South Vietnam and arrived Vũng Tàu the next day. Having unloaded, she sailed 1 March 1966 for the U.S. West Coast to transport additional military material from the United States to South Vietnam. She continued operations between the United States and the Western Pacific until transferred to the Atlantic at mid-year. In 1967 she was busy supplying NATO forces in Europe. In the aftermath of the

Fall of Saigon The Fall of Saigon, also known as the Liberation of Saigon by North Vietnamese or Liberation of the South by the Vietnamese government, and known as Black April by anti-communist overseas Vietnamese was the capture of Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon, t ...

on 30 April 1975 the ship took onboard over 5400 South Vietnamese refugees. On 12 May 1975, six of the USNS ''Greenville Victory'' crew volunteered to help the recovery of the SS ''Mayaguez''. The six received

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 ...

s for their role during the action: Clinton Harriman, Karl Lonsdale, Robert Griffin, Michael Saltwick, Hermino Rivera and Epifanio Rodriguez.usmm.org, ''SS ''Mayaguez''
/ref>

Post-war decommissioning and career

On 22 March 1976 ''Greenville Victory'' was transferred to the U.S. Maritime Administration who placed her in the

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States of America, mostly merchant vessels, that have been "mothballed" but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies ...

, James River Group, at Lee Hall, Virginia. On 26 May 1983 she was sold for

scrapping Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...

at Brownsville, Texas. She was struck from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...

on 16 January 1987.

Honors and awards

''Greenville Victory'' participated in the following campaigns: :* Vietnam Defense – 16 December 1965 :* Vietnamese Counteroffensive – 23 February 1965 :*

Battle Stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

" in World War II for war action during the assault occupation of Okinawa from 27 May 1945 to 19 June 1945 Eligible ''Greenville Victory'' personnel were authorized the following: :

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four ...

(2) :

Korean Service Medal The Korean Service Medal (KSM) is a military award for service in the United States Armed Forces and was established November 8, 1950 by executive order of President Harry Truman. The Korean Service Medal is the primary US military award for s ...

: Antarctic Service Medal :

Vietnam Service Medal The Vietnam Service Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces established on 8 July 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The medal is awarded to recognize service during the Vietnam War by all members of the U.S. Arm ...

(2) :

United Nations Service Medal The United Nations Service Medal for Korea (UNKM) is an international military decoration established by the United Nations on December 12, 1950 as the United Nations Service Medal. The decoration was the first international award ever created by t ...

Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal The Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, also known as the Vietnam Campaign Medal ( vi, Chiến Dịch Bội Tinh), is a South Vietnamese military campaign medal which was created in 1949, and awarded to French military personnel during the First ...

Republic of Korea War Service Medal The Korean War Service Medal (KWSM, ko, 6.25사변종군기장, ), also known as the Republic of Korea War Service Medal (ROKWSM), is a military award of South Korea which was first authorized in December 1950. History 6.25 Incident Participati ...

(retroactive)

References

*
NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive – T-AK-237 Greenville Victory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenville Victory (T-AK-237) Victory ships Ships built in Los Angeles 1944 ships World War II merchant ships of the United States Ships of the United States Army Greenville Victory-class cargo ships Ammunition ships of the United States Navy Korean War auxiliary ships of the United States Vietnam War auxiliary ships of the United States