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For actions on January 14, 1970
Gallant Ship Award Citation:
On late afternoon January 14, 1970, the PRESIDENT JACKSON having lost all radio antennas before dawn in full storm winds and mountainous seas, reestablished HF communications through a jury-rigged antenna and...
For actions on December 22, 1950
Gallant Ship Award Citation:
At the height of the epoch-making evacuation of Hungnam, Korea, by the United Nations Forces in December, 1950, the MEREDITH VICTORY was requested to assist in the removal of Korean civilians trapped and...
For actions on January 13, 1965
Gallant Ship Award Citation:
During the early morning of January 13, 1965, the JAPAN BEAR received an SOS from the Chinese Nationalist Ship Grand, immediately altered course and raced to intercept the distressed vessel. Late...
For actions on October 26, 1961
Gallant Ship Award Citation:
Responding to a distress call on October 26, 1961, from the Japanese Ship SS FUKUZAN MARU foundering in mountainous seas on the edge of a typhoon, the DOLLY TURMAN raced to her aid. With the...
The Liberty ship Booker T. Washington was the first major U.S. oceangoing vessel to be named after an African-American.
The Booker T. Washington was built by the California Shipbuilding Corp. at Terminal Island, Los Angeles. Launched in 1942, the Liberty ship was...
For actions on February 7, 1965
Gallant Ship Award Citation:
During the early afternoon of February 7, 1965, the COTTON STATE received an SOS from the Greek Ship GRAMMATIKI, immediately altered course and raced to intercept the distressed vessel. Late that night in heavy...
For actions on May 7, 1965
Gallant Ship Award Citation:
On May 7, 1965, while transiting the Straits of Mackinac in Lake Huron, the German ship WEISSENBURG responded to an SOS from the American ship SS CEDARVILLE, sinking rapidly after a collision in heavy...
For actions on December 20, 1964
Gallant Ship Award Citation:
Responding to a distress call on December 20, 1964, from the SS SMITH VOYAGER, foundering and breaking up in heavy seas fifteen miles away, the MATHILDE BOLTEN changed course and raced to her aid. Rendezvous was...
For actions on December 26, 1969
Gallant Ship Award Citation:
On December 26, 1969, while en route to Yokohama, Japan, in the North Pacific Ocean, the Greek ship KHIAN STAR responded to an SOS from the American SS BADGER STATE, stating their cargo of bombs had broken loose...
When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, it faced a shortage of merchant mariners. With supplies in desperate needs overseas a massive sealift would require not only a huge fleet of cargo ships, but the seafarers to sail them. This opened the...