- USS General H. B. Freeman (AP-143)
USS "General H. B. Freeman" (AP-143) 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_Freeman.html | title = General H. B. Freeman, AP-143 | publisher = Historian's Office,United States Coast Guard | month = August | year = 2001 | accessdate = 2007-11-19 ] She was named in honor of U.S. Army generalHenry Blanchard Freeman . She was transferred to the U.S. Army as USAT "General H. B. Freeman" in 1946. On1 March 1950 she was transferred to theMilitary Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) as USNS "General H. B. Freeman" (T-AP-143). She was sold for commercial operation in 1965, and eventually scrapped.Operational history
"General H. B. Freeman" (AP-143) was launched
11 December 1944 under a Maritime Commission contract (MC #710) by the Kaiser Co., Inc., Yard 3,Richmond, California ; sponsored by Mrs. Marie Wheeler; converted in the Kaiser yard atVancouver, Washington ; acquired by the Navy26 April 1945 ; and commissioned atPortland, Oregon , the same day, Comdr. Harley E. Grogan, USCG, in command.After shakedown operations out of San Diego, "General H. B. Freeman" departed San Pedro
1 June 1945 with 3,040 troops and passengers for Calcutta,India , where she arrived9 July with 16 additional passengers, British Royal Marines who had embarked atBrisbane ,Australia . On13 July she was underway with more than 3,000 military passengers; embarking and debarking in Ceylon, Australia,New Guinea , and thePhilippines before arrivingHagushi , Okinawa,16 August 1945 , the day after hostilities ended.More than 1,000 homeward-bound veterans boarded the transport which departed Okinawa
21 August 1945 headed viaSaipan andPearl Harbor for the West Coast, arriving San Pedro, California,12 September 1945 . She sailed7 October , carrying occupation troops toTokyo , and returned toSeattle, Washington ,5 November as the "Magic-Carpet" home for more than 3,000 fighting men from the Pacific War. "General H. B. Freeman" made a similar passenger run from Seattle toYokohama and back (16 November –16 December 1945 ).She next entered the
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard ,Bremerton, Washington , for inactivation overhaul and decommissioned there4 March 1946 . She was redelievered to the Maritime Commission for service with the Army's peacetime transport fleet."General H. B. Freeman" was reacquired by the Navy
1 March 1950 and assigned to MSTS. Manned by a civil service crew, "General H. B. Freeman" carried military passengers throughout theKorean War from the West Coast toKorea , Japan, and island bases in the Pacific.She was in the fleet that evacuated
Hŭngnam . Her distinguished service won her the "Smart Ship Award" for three consecutive years (1950, 1951, and 1952). The transport continued to operate throughout the Pacific until24 July 1958 when her name was again struck from the Navy List. She was returned to the Maritime Commission and to theNational Defense Reserve Fleet Olympia, Washington .She remained there until sold for commercial service in 1965. She was eventually scrapped some time after that.
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