USNS ''Private Joe P. Martinez'' (T-AP-187) was a built for the

United States 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 ...

during the closing period of World War II. The ship was named after Private

Joe P. Martinez Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

, a

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

recipient.

Career

The ship was laid down as Victory Ship SS ''Stevens Victory'' on 13 April 1945 and delivered to the

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 ...

on 25 June 1945 for conversion to a troop ship. As ''Stevens Victory'', the ship was operated by Grace Lines out of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in the Atlantic sea lanes. Her ports of call included Boston and Newport, as well as Downs, Antwerp, Marseilles, Gibraltar, Bremerhaven, Le Havre, Liverpool, and Southampton. The ship was transferred from the Maritime Commission to the

US 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, cla ...

on 5 September 1946. She was renamed ''Private Joe P. Martinez'' on 3 October 1947 and operated by 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 ...

. ''Private Joe P. Martinez'' transferred to the Navy on 1 March 1950 at New York. With the outbreak of war in Korea in June, there was a great need for transport tonnage in the Pacific. Shifting to San Francisco, ''Private Joe P. Martinez'' steamed for Okinawa and Yokohama on 31 July 1950, returning to Seattle on 2 September. She immediately took on troops and supplies and again steamed for the Western Pacific, operating out of Japanese, Okinawan, and Korean ports. ''Private Joe P. Martinez'' made three additional cruises to the Western Pacific, departing Korean waters for the last time on 5 January 1951. She was laid up 1 September 1952 at Olympia. She was transferred from the Navy to the Maritime Administration on 30 September 1952 and struck from the Navy List on 6 November. Into 1970 she was laid up at Olympia 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 ...

; her ultimate fate is unknown. USS ''Private Joe P. Martinez'' received four battle stars for Korean service.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Private Joe P. Martinez (T-AP-187) 1945 ships Boulder Victory-class cargo ships Victory ships Ships built in Baltimore World War II merchant ships of the United States Ships of the United States Army Transports of the United States Navy Troop ships of the United States