USS General C. H. Muir (AP-142)

USS "General C. H. Muir" (AP-142) was a sclass|General G. O. Squier|transport ship for the U.S. Navy in World War II. The ship was crewed by the U.S. Coast Guard until decommissioning.cite web | url = http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/G_Muir.html | title = General C. H. Muir, AP-142 | publisher = Historian's Office, United States Coast Guard | date = August 2001 | accessdate = 2007-11-17 ] She was named in honor of U.S. Army general Charles Henry Muir. She was transferred to the U.S. Army as USAT "General C. H. Muir" in 1946. On 1 March 1950 she was transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) as USNS "General C. H. Muir" (T-AP-142). She was later sold for commercial operation under the names SS "Chicago" and SS "San Juan", and was scrapped some time after 1985.

Operational history

"General C. H. Muir" (AP-142) was launched 24 November 1944 under Maritime Commission contract (MC #709) by Kaiser Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, California; sponsored by Mrs. John H. Deasy; acquired and commissioned 12 April 1945 at Portland, Captain J. D. Conway in command.

Following shakedown off San Diego, "General C. H. Muir" departed 13 May from San Francisco for her first troop-carrying voyage to the war zones of the Pacific. The ship brought troops to Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, Ulithi, and Leyte; served briefly as a receiving ship in the Philippines; and returned to New York via the Panama Canal 14 August 1945. The long Pacific war over, "General C. H. Muir" sailed 3 September to pick up returning veterans at Mediterranean and Indian Ocean ports. She arrived New York 1 November, and then, retracing her steps to bring home another full contingent of troops, she finally returned New York 9 January 1946. The ship made three subsequent voyages, one to New Orleans and two to Europe, before decommissioning at Baltimore 18 June 1946. She was returned to the Maritime Commission on that day and turned over to the Army Transportation Service.

Reacquired by the Navy 1 March 1950, "General C. H. Muir" began operations under MSTS and was re-designated T-AP-142.

On 16 March 1950 USNS "General C. H. Muir" arrived in Sydney with 1,278 displaced persons from Europe. This voyage was one of almost 150 "Fifth Fleet" voyages by some 40 ships bringing refugees of World War II to Australia. "General C. H. Muir" made one more such trip herself, arriving in Melbourne with 1,280 refugees on 26 October 1950.cite web | url = http://www.fifthfleet.net/pb/wp_6a2460ca/wp_6a2460ca.html | title = Ships of the Fifth Fleet | first = Ann | last = Tündern-Smith | work = FifthFleet.net | date = 2006-12-31 | accessdate = 2007-11-17 ]

In addition to runs to Australia, the transport supported American forces in Europe, and on eastward crossings of the Atlantic brought back to the United States thousands of refugees under the International Refugee Organization.

In late 1952 the ship sailed from New York through the Mediterranean and thence through the Suez Canal bringing reinforcements to U.N. troops fighting in Korea. She made another long rotation voyage, stopping at many European and Asian ports before being placed in Reduced Operational Status at New York 30 September 1953. In August 1954 "General C. H. Muir" steamed through the Panama Canal to San Francisco and sailed once more to Korea with replacement troops. Upon her return the ship was placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego, 7 February 1955. She was returned to the Maritime Administration in 1960. She entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet 30 June, and was berthed at Suisun Bay, California until 1968.

At that time, the ship was sold to Sea-Land Service of Wilmington, Delaware. Sea Land had Todd Shipyard, Galveston convert her to an 18,455-gross ton container ship. Named SS "Chicago" when she entered service in 1969, she was sold in 1975 to the Puerto Rico Maritime Shipping Authority of San Juan, Puerto Rico who renamed her SS "San Juan".

The veteran ship operated through 1985, and was scrapped some time after that.

"General C. H. Muir" received two battle stars for Korean War service.

References

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External links

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* [http://www.pier21.ca/wp-content/uploads/files/stories/displacedrefugee/Latvian_Displaced_Person_Guntis_Ezers.pdf?PHPSESSID=8fbb6d05a2b0492c64c30981e3b11f54 Account of an Atlantic crossing] on USAT "General C. H. Muir" by an immigrant to Canada