USS ''Calamus'' (AOG-25) was a ''Mettawee''-class

gasoline tanker A tanker (or tank ship or tankship) is a ship designed to transport or store liquids or gases in Bulk liquids, bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and gas carrier. Tankers also carry commodities such as ve ...

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 of ...

for the dangerous task of transporting gasoline to warships in the fleet, and to remote Navy stations. ''Calamus'' was launched 4 May 1944 by East Coast Shipyard, Inc.,

Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is situated on a peninsula located between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east. As of ...

, under a

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 ...

contract; sponsored by Mrs. A. H. Moore; transferred to the Navy 7 July 1944; and commissioned the same day.

World War II service

''Calamus'' sailed from

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, 13 September 1944, bound 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 Re ...

and

Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest i ...

, where she arrived in mid-December and began her work as station tanker, fueling ships of the fleet as they brought the war ever closer to the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

homeland.

Supporting the Central Pacific fleet

''Calamus'' cleared for

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...

20 January 1945, and until February, pumped her vital gasoline into the ships readying there for the assault on

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...

. Following the fleet she served westward, ''Calamus'' did station duty at

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

from 11 February until 26 April, when she anchored off

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 ...

to support the 3-week-old assault. The tanker provided essential fueling service through the entire period of the island's assault and occupation, enduring the violent Japanese air attacks which marked the campaign as steadfastly as did the combatant ships.

Beached at Okinawa and refloated

While at

''Calamus'' was beached as a result of

Typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

Louise, 9 October 1945, refloated 24 October 1945, repaired and returned to service.

Post-war decommissioning

Following occupation service, ''Calamus'' returned to

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, 20 March 1946 and 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 author ...

(date unknown). She was decommissioned 15 May 1946, and transferred to the

4 September 1946. Final disposition: she was scrapped in 1964.

Military awards and honors

''Calamus'' received one

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 ...

for service 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 ...

. Her crew was eligible for the following medals: *

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal *

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The Wor ...

Navy Occupation Service Medal The Navy Occupation Service Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was "Awarded to commemorate the services of Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard personnel in the occupation of certain territories of the enemies of the U.S. durin ...

(with Asia clasp)

References

External links

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive – AOG-25 Calamus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calamus (AOG-25) Mettawee-class gasoline tankers Type T1-M-A2 tankers of the United States Navy Ships built in Bayonne, New Jersey 1944 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States