Thanksgiving History on the BROWN

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, let us stop and remember that more than 70 years ago our country was at war.  Liberty Ships were built to help in the war effort.  They carried much needed supplies and troops to the war areas.  Many of us are not old enough to have lived though that time and can only imagine how difficult it had to be for families that were apart, especially in a time without quick access to information, and with a lack of communication compared to what we have today. 

Our ship spent five Thanksgivings away from home.  The first Voyage stands out as it lasted 2 ½ months.  They carried over 8,000 long tons of supplies, most of it for the Russian Lend-Lease program.  We know that on most Thanksgivings the crew had a traditional Thanksgiving meal.  It may not have been like mom’s, grandma’s or the wife’s, but the best that could be produced in the galley aboard the ship.

Here are some facts from each of the voyage the JOHN W. BROWN made on Thanksgiving, along with some general WWII shots of the SS JOHN W BROWN during those years. 

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First Thanksgiving...Voyage 1. at sea.  26 November 1942

The ship had departed the Canal Zone, Pacific side on 28-Oct-42 and would not arrive Saldanha Bay, South Africa until 29-Nov-42.  New York to the Persian Gulf -Steamed 15,400 miles. The trip took 2 1/2 months

 She was carrying 8,380.9 long tons of cargo. Most of the cargo, 8,084.3 long tons was for the Russian Lend-lease program, 233.7 purchased by the British and 62.9 for the British Lend-Lease.

 Mail: 22 sacks of US Army mail and 10 sacks of overseas mail

 Cargo: included motorcycles, trucks from 10 ton Mack to 1.5 Fords, armored scout cars, jeeps, canned pork product (Spam), dried beans, steel, railway cars axles,45-caliber submachine guns, and smokeless powder.

 On the deck were P-40 fighter planes, 10 Medium Sherman tanks, and 10 Canadian-built Valentine VIII medium tanks.  Note the wooden walkways/scaffolding (as seen in the above picture) that was used to walk on the 'deck', as the deck was too filled to enable much actual walking. 

Second Thanksgiving.  Voyage 3.  Docked Oran, Algeria- 25 Nov 1943

Arrived Oran, Algeria on22-Nov-43 and departed 30-Nov-43

Departed the Chesapeake Bay on15-Sep-43 to Oran, Algeria. 

Steamed 3,842 miles in 18 days & 22 hours. Average speed 8.46 knots.

Cargo: 7,854.5 Tons2500 items including: Sherman tanks, locomotive, Purple Heart medals, cigarettes, clothing, explosives, flammables & "hazardous articles"

Personnel: 36 officers & 303 enlisted men

 Around the Mediterranean-Moved large amount of cargo and troops from port to port in the Mediterranean.

 Arrived New York 18-Mar-44

Cargo: 274 pieces of equipment including: half-track, motorcycles & 61 tanks

 Personnel: 15 officers & 346 enlisted men of First Armored Division

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Third Thanksgiving, Voyage 5, Naples, Italy- 23 Nov 1944

From Baltimore, Maryland 19-Oct-44.  Departed Naples, Italy on23-Nov-44; arrived Piombino, Italy on 24-Nov-44.  

 Cargo: general Army cargo, 11 bags of mail

 Personnel: 356 Army persons of the 758th Tank Battalion, one of the black units to fight in the European Theater

 Arrived New York 29-Dec-44

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Fourth Thanksgiving.  Voyage 9.  New York 22-Nov-45

Departed Marseilles, France 22-Oct-45 and arrived New York 14-Nov-45.

Cargo:Had delivered 257,000 bushels of Wheat to Marseilles France.

 Personnel: 645 GI's came home on the BROWN.

Voyage 10

Departed New York on 26-Nov-46 for Italy

Cargo: Full load of wheat.

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Fifth Thanksgiving.  Voyage 13.  New York 28-Nov-46

Departed London, England 1-Nov-46  and arrived New York on 15-Nov-46

Cargo to US: Ice skates, artist's colors, books for the library at Tufts College, musical instruments, tobacco, antiques, cologne, wine, gin,  rum,  woolens, linens, rabbit skins and dressed leather. There were cases of personal effects, trunks and miscellaneous items.

 On deck: Rockets & distress signals

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As we all give THANKS this Thanksgiving 2015, remember to say thanks to all the men and women who did their part during WWII but say a little extra thanks to US Merchant Marines and Naval Armed Guard who served on Liberty Ships during the War.  As General Eisenhower said:

“The officers and men of the Merchant Marine, by their devotion to duty in the face of enemy action, as well as natural dangers of the sea, have brought us the tools to finish the job. Their contribution to final victory will be long remembered.”

Please have a Happy Thanksgiving from the members of Project Liberty Ship and the volunteer crew members on the SS JOHN W BROWN.

Project Liberty Ship, Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit, all volunteer organization engaged in the preservation and operation of the historic ship JOHN W. BROWN as a living memorial museum. Gifts to Project Liberty Ship are tax deductible.

Construction on the BROWN

With so many exciting things going on, we thought we'd take the time to share what the first phase of 'painting' looks like.   Just as a reminder, this is an ongoing, 3 part job that will take some time to complete in full.  Part one raised $100,000 (YAY) to strip the years of old paint and rust, treat, prime and paint the house. Those that contributed should have received (or will be receiving soon, for those more recent donations) the contribution letter and chart.  Remember that donations to the ship are tax deductible. If you need to get in some 'end of the year' donations for tax purposes, and you have not done so, consider this worthy cause.  Now for some pictures and less reading...   

This gallery of shots was taken on October 20th, and as you can see, they have finished much of the Flying bridge and the stacks and are working their way down.   In the first shot you can see the containment tank (the paint/rust/water slurry is collected and drained into that large tank). 

Here you can see the things that have changed since October.  This gallery of shots was taken on November 3rd.   Ocean Painting, LLC is doing a great job with the removal.  Keith, the foreman of the crew (typically in his purple Ravens Sweatshirt) is treating our 70+ year old gal, like she is made of gold and is doing a great job keeping this large job going in the right direction.   From this group of pictures you can see how much of the house has had the paint and paint (and more paint) and rust removed to bare steel.  But nature waits for NO ONE, so you can see some lovely rust blooms, which will be treated before painting begins.  It might not be 'Politically (whats the maritime equivalent?) correct' but some of the photographers on the ship and those that have visited, actually LOVE the colors of the rust rainbow.  But they need to go, so we understand. 

These shots were taken on November 9th and 11th.  Scaffolding and removal of paint and rust, oh my... 

November 14th....Saturday work day.   Lots of work getting done by Ocean Painting AND our own volunteers.   They are just about ready to start the treatment and priming phase of this operation.  So many cool things to see.  

A very COOL find.... this writing was found under all the layers of paint.  We are trying to determine when it was done...It says  "WAY 5 Port" and then underneath is some ghost writing, that appears to be graduating years like '67.  We think those years were when students on the ship had to work on that section of the ship as their Senior Project.   We can't wait to find out more details about this 'archaeological' mystery.  

We hope you've enjoyed these 'behind the scenes' shots of the SS JOHN W BROWN.  It's been awhile since we've done this type of work -usually we are painting small sections at a time (the type of thing that 4-8 deck hands can do in a few hours at a time).  Enjoy our 'rust rainbow' now along with us, because it will all be removed, and treated and we can better protect the ship this way.  We are also finding small holes in the steel that are being repaired.  This is huge, ongoing process, so thanks for sharing this part of the ship with us! 

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Project Liberty Ship, Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit, all volunteer organization engaged in the preservation and operation of the historic ship JOHN W. BROWN as a living memorial museum. Gifts to Project Liberty Ship are tax deductible.

Still Training After All These Years

Midshipmen aboard the TV KING'S POINTER from the United States Merchant Marine Academy navigated their way from New York to Baltimore for their fall break trip and tied up next to us on Pier 1 last week. Some crew members came out on Monday afternoon (11/2/15) to meet the TV (training vessel) and help them tie up. Originally they were going to berth with the NS SAVANNAH, but Pier 1 with it's proximity to shopping and food, was a better choice.  Also, we had a prearranged Steam Class training so the plant was started on Tuesday afternoon, giving many more learning opportunities to those midshipmen who came over on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning.  

{Pssst... This is Jack, here.   I had to sneak in here and tell you about the tour of that 'kid ship'.  My ship (the BROWN) smells like sailors...a lot of them are old (they smell like medicine and chocolate {and some have dog bones in their pockets for me}), a few are young and a lot are in the middle, but this ship had a LOT of kids.  I LOVED it!   They were happy to see me, and  I couldn't smell any dog smells at ALL, which made me feel special.  But then again, I'm pretty sure all ships and boats are mine, anyway.  It smelled like young people and technology (and junk food, maybe).  I waited for permission to board (even though I wanted to strut right on that TV (training vessel), but I was patient and well mannered.  Hear that, Dad?!  So, I got a really nice tour of this vessel, and I could tell that these kids missed their pets, because they just wanted to pet me (and sneak me food...you DIDN'T hear that, Dad!)  Here is a picture of me with my friends...  Oops... gotta get off the computer before I'm caught again.   I'll catch up with you all soon.   ~Jack)

Some more shots of the KING'S POINTER and the BROWN

The engineers especially were excited, any reason to fire up the boilers makes them happy. Mike Schneider starts by giving everyone an overview of engine room safety. He and the rest of the crew explain how the engine works and how to get the steam up. 

We all get pretty excited about this part of starting up the engines. Three of the visiting midshipmen are studying to be engineers and they each had a turn at lighting up the burners.

While some of the midshipmen worked in the Engine Room others were taken on a deck tour. Time to see how it was done 70+ years ago!  They learned just how much things have changed and just how much things have stayed the same.

And of course everyone enjoyed being greeted by Jack.

We bloggers find the BROWN irresistible to photograph. We're not the only ones...

We were very excited to host the midshipmen from King's Point.  A huge part of our mission is to educate old and young alike.  These men and women are part of the future, and deserve every second that is invested in that future.  Hopefully we will be seeing the KING'S POINTER back in Baltimore in the future.  Good Luck this year, Seniors! 

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Project Liberty Ship, Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit, all volunteer organization engaged in the preservation and operation of the historic ship JOHN W. BROWN as a living memorial museum. Gifts to Project Liberty Ship are tax deductible.