It was the Merchant Marines that oversaw the lines of Victory cargo ships replacing boats sunk earlier in World War II. Ships were named for allied countries, American cities and then a line of 150 ships named after colleges and universities who contributed to the war effort. The first ship off this line was the S.S. Rutgers Victory. It was christened by Manuel Quezon, widow of the Phillipines president, on February 2, 1945 in Terminal Island, CA just two hours before the fall of Manila with three military Rutgers alumni looking on according to the March 9, 1945 “Rutgers Cannon - Wartime Successor to the Targum.”
While many Victory ships returned WWII soldiers to American shores from 1945 into 1946, the Rutgers Victory was one of the first ships to bring rice and footstuffs to a defeated and starving Japanese population. Her missions took her around the world including the war in Vietnam. Decommissioned for a final time in 1971, she was sold for scrap metal in Spain in 1985.
www.shipsnostalgia.com
While many Victory ships returned WWII soldiers to American shores from 1945 into 1946, the Rutgers Victory was one of the first ships to bring rice and footstuffs to a defeated and starving Japanese population. Her missions took her around the world including the war in Vietnam. Decommissioned for a final time in 1971, she was sold for scrap metal in Spain in 1985.
Rutgers Victory
RUTGERS VICTORY A typical Victory ship built by the California Shipbuilding Corporation, Los Angeles and delivered to the WSA during March 1945 and allocated to Burns SS Co. as managers. In 1949 she was laid up at Astoria and later...
