USS ''Consolation'' (AH-15) was a originally in service with 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 ...

from 1945 to 1955. In 1960 she was chartered to the People to People Health Foundation and renamed and served for another 14 years until being scrapped in 1975. ''Consolation'' was built as ''Marine Walrus'' in 1944 by Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co.,

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester i ...

. Sponsored by Mrs. H. C. Wilson; acquired by the Navy 30 August 1944; converted at

Bethlehem Steel Co The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

; and commissioned 22 May 1945. With a bed capacity of 802 and a complement of 564, ''Consolation'' joined the Pacific Fleet to provide hospital services, consultation, preventive medicine and casualty evacuation. Arriving on station in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

after

Victory over Japan Day Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on ...

, ''Consolation'' was assigned to establish a shore screening station and field hospital to screen Allied POWs at

Wakayama Wakayama may refer to: *Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan *Wakayama (city) Wakayama City Hall is the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 351,391 in 157066 househol ...

, Honshū. She transferred 1,062 POWs to

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 ...

and returned to serve as the base hospital for Honshū and then

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...

, Japan during the Allied occupation of Japan. ''Consolation'' returned to San Francisco to undergo a brief overhaul from 23 November 1945 until 6 December 1945. From March until October 1946 she served as a transport from the canal zone to New York. From October 1946 she remained in commission, although inactive, until the outbreak of the Korean War. Departing Norfolk 14 July 1950, ''Consolation'' arrived at

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 ...

16 August to care for the wounded until 6 April 1954. During this conflict she was the first hospital ship outfitted with a helicopter landing pad, in length, during 1951. In August she participated in Operation "Passage to Freedom" to return French troops from Vietnam to France, then returning to

until March 1955. She was decommissioned on 30 December 1955. ''Consolation'' received 10

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 ...

for

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 ...

service. On 16 March 1960 ''Consolation'' was chartered to the People to People Health Foundation and renamed SS ''Hope'', an acronym for Health Opportunity for People Everywhere. She sailed in September 1960 on her first cruise to Indonesia bringing modern medical treatment and training to that country. Later cruises to underdeveloped areas of the world included South Vietnam, Peru, Ecuador, Guinea, Nicaragua, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Jamaica, and Brazil. ''Hope'' was retired in 1974 after eleven voyages.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Consolation (AH-15) 1944 ships Haven-class hospital ships Ships built by the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Korean War auxiliary ships of the United States