The liberty ship SS Adoniram Judson was built on slip number 3 at the Kaiser shipyard in Richmond, California. She was launched in the spring of 1943. She was loaded in the San Francisco bay area. She departed San Francisco on her maiden voyage in late May or early June 1943, for Australia. This was a voyage of about ten months duration. She arrived in New York in late February or early March 1944.

I was given the Chief Officer position aboard her in mid March 1944 as she was loading consumer goods for Valparaiso, Chile. We left New York for Valparaiso in late March. Once there we discharged the consumer goods and mail and loaded copper bars, balsa lumber and vegetables. We departed Valparaiso for New York the latter part of April.

When we arrived in Balboa the vessel was given full bunkers of fuel oil. Because of the activity of submarines in the Caribbean Sea and along the Atlantic seaboard, ships passing through the canal bound for New York City were asked to take on full bunkers and discharge the portion of the bunker not needed before their next voyage. When the bunkering was completed, we went through the [Panama] canal to Colon where a convoy was formed for the voyage to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Midway between Colon and Guantanamo, just after midnight, I heard the danger signal sound on the ship's whistle. My first thought was why was the Second Mate playing with the whistle. Then a few seconds later I heard it again and was aware that a collision with another ship was possible. I left my bunk and started for the bridge. I was about half-way up the starboard ladder to the bridge when we were struck mid-ships on the port side. Upon impact I turned around and came down to the boat deck and through the officers quarters to the port side. When I opened the door I found that a life boat had been pushed up against it. I then went to the main deck where I opened the port door of the mid-ship house to find the vessel's side ruptured and damage in the reefer box area. I went to the tween decks and upon opening the door to the chill room of the reefer boxes, I found myself looking at the stairs. I heard shouts in the engine room so I went there and found the second assistant engineer on top of the port settling tank putting up a canvas barrier to keep water from falling on the back of the boilers. On the way up from the engine room I met the Chief Engineer on his way down and I asked him to put a 5 degree starboard list on the ship to bring the damaged plates above the waterline. The ship made it safely into Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where emergency repairs were made allowing us to continue our voyage to New York City arriving there the early part of May 1944.

The cause of the collision was the convoy's command ship's steering gear malfunctioning causing the ship to turn right. We were the second ship in line on the right hand column, therefore, the one to get hit.

The ship was repaired at the dock while inbound cargo was being discharged and the outbound military cargo was being loaded. I was given command of the vessel during this period in New York City.

We left New York for Charleston, S. C. Army Supply Depot where we were given a deck load of military supplies for Noumea, New Caledonia. From Charleston we sailed to Key West, Florida where all crew members received their final medical shots. We then sailed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where we joined a convoy for Colon, Panama. Arriving in Colon the vessel passed through the canal to Balboa. In Balboa the vessel again took on a full bunker ( approximately 11,000 bbl bunker "C" fuel oil).

From Balboa we sailed alone routed well clear of all land until we arrived in Noumea. We arrived there in the first part of August 1944. The vessel discharged all cargo then re-loaded Army engineering equipment for Guadalcanal. In Guadalcanal the vessel discharged engineering for one company of Army and loaded engineering equipment of another Army unit. The vessel left Guadalcanal for Finchaven, New Guinea. Here again the vessel discharged one company's engineering equipment and loaded another unit's equipment only this time part of the engineering personnel came along. The vessel sailed from Finchaven, New Guinea to Aitape, New Guinea this time the vessel anchored and discharged men and equipment while at anchor. In this port we were close enough to fighting we were hearing the rifle fire of both armies. From Aitape the vessel sailed to Hollandia, New Guinea where the vessel was given orders to go to an island in the Solomon group by the name of Choiseul. The Adoniram Judson was one of the liberty ships used to move the ammunition depot to Biak, New Guinea. From Biak the vessel sailed back to Hollandia where it was loaded with landing mats and 3,500 drums of aviation fuel.

The Adoniram Judson was one of the six liberty ships and eighteen LST's that made the D-2 supply group. Because of the type of cargo aboard the Adoniram Judson and the immediate need for this type of cargo, and the difficulty of discharging at anchor, I was asked to bring the vessel into the dock at Tacloban, Leyte before the Navy had cleared the harbor for safe passage. This was at 1000 on October 24, 1944. At 1400 on October 24, 1944 the SS Adoniram Judson was the first commercial ship to tie up at the dock in Tacloban, Leyte after the US Army had re-occupied Leyte Island. On October 26, 1944 a second liberty ship came in and tied up behind us at 1100. At 1140 another liberty ship tied up ahead of us. That afternoon a Dutch ship came in and tied up. The SS Adoniram Judson was at this dock during the battle of Leyte. We had a near miss from a bomb dropped by a zero. The bomb landed on the dock about ten feet from the bow. The vessel received about seventy holes on the port side in the fore peak, number one and number two cargo holds. The Army gave the vessel credit for two sure kills of Japanese planes and four possibles.

The Adoniram shifted from the dock back to anchor in area A on October 28 and sailed from Tacloban on October 31, 1944 in a convoy for Hollandia, New Guinea. In Hollandia the vessel received orders to go to Miline Bay, New Guinea for repairs to her hull. When the repairs were made the vessel loaded "C" Rations, pipe and knocked down tanks for the Lingayen Gulf. The Adoniram Judson towed a reefer barge from Miline Bay to Lea, New Guinea on her way to Hollandia, New Guinea where she was given orders to go to Leyte and join a convoy to the Lingayen Gulf.

The ship had some anxious moments while in the Gulf. From the Lingayen Gulf she sailed via Leyte to Hollandia where the vessel was routed via Admiralty Island for bunker to San Francisco. When just off the southern tip of Hawaii the Chief Engineer informed me that he had given me a wrong figure on the amount of fuel oil (bunker) for the voyage home and that we did not have enough fuel oil to sail the ship to San Francisco. Upon receiving this information I changed the course for Hilo Hawaii. The sailing directions for Hawaii listed Hilo as having fuel oil available. When the pilot boarded to take the vessel into port, I was informed that their supply of fuel oil was low and that the sugar mill needed all they had on hand at this time. While discussions were going on as to where the vessel could get the required amount of fuel, a victory ship arrived in the harbor whose orders had been changed and ordered back to San Francisco. This ship was docked on the other side of the pier. They agreed to transfer 1,500 bbl fuel oil to the Adoniram Judson which was done. The Adoniram Judson sailed that evening and arrived in San Francisco a week later.

In San Francisco the crew was paid off and a new crew signed on the vessel. We had her in dry dock for three days for voyage repairs, the bottom and sea valves cleaned and painted.

The Adoniram Judson sailed from San Francisco to Portland Oregon for a partial load of lumber then the vessel was shifted down river to St. Helen's where the remaining lumber was loaded. We departed St. Helen's for Manila, PI the first week of June 1945. A week before the ship was to arrive, near the island of Kwajalein, the refrigerator compressor commenced leaking refrigerant at the rate of one cylinder per day. I asked the Navy's permission to enter Kwajalein harbor and have the Navy personnel repair the refrigerator compressor. Permission was given and we entered Kwajalein at 1600. When the repairs were made and we were able to obtain ten cylinders of refrigerant, we departed at 0800 the following morning for Leyte Control station to obtain clearance and routing for Manila. The Adoniram Judson arrived in Manila harbor the last week of June 1945. We lay at anchor for about ten days before a berth or dock space for discharge of cargo was to begin. It took about three weeks to complete discharging the cargo and the ship cleared to sail. Adoniram Judson departed Manila with orders to clear with the Leyte Control office for routing to San Francisco. We departed Leyte Control station for San Francisco with a stop over in Kwajalien for bunkers at 1800 on August 9, 1945. At 2230 on August 9 we saw our call sign in the sky. When we tried to answer with our signal lamp and received no reply, we knew we had seen Leyte control signal reflected off a cloud. At this time I turned the ship around and retraced our course back to the Leyte Control station arriving there at 0430 on August 10, 1945.

When the Navy boarding officer came aboard at 0530 on August 10 with new routing we were informed that the Cruiser Indianapolis had been sunk by the Japanese just off the northeast coast of Samar. We were given new routing which would take us to Palau for bunkers then to San Francisco. We departed Leyte Control station at 0630 on August 10, 1945 for Palau Island. SS Adoniram Judson was just entering Palau harbor at 1200 on August 14, 1945 when all the Navy ships began sounding off. The Palau control station gave us orders to go alongside an oil tanker for our fuel. When we tied up along this tanker we learned the Japanese had just surrendered. The vessel took on 4,000 bbl fuel oil and departed Palau at 1800 August 14, 1945 for San Francisco. What a relief to be able to sail with navigational lights on once more. No need to keep deck house port holes closed and blacked out. One could open the port holes and get some air circulation through the living quarters once again. SS Adoniram Judson arrived in San Francisco mid September 1945 and the crew was paid off.

A new crew signed on and we were now assigned to carry cargo for the European Recovery Act. In October 1945 we departed San Francisco for San Antionio, Chile, where we loaded 3,000 tons of copper and departed for Antofagasta, Chile, to load another 4,000 tons of copper. From Antofagasta to Aitape, Peru for 1,500 tons of Peruvian cotton. We departed Aitape for Venice, Italy, via Balboa for full bunkers, then through the canal into the Caribbean and into the Atlantic Ocean via Mona passage hence on to Venice, Italy. The ship's stay in Venice was about three weeks then we departed for New York.

Arriving in New York, the crew was paid off and a new crew signed on. Voyage repairs completed, the vessel stored and fueled, Adoniram Judson departed New York for Philadelphia where a full load of coal was loaded for Rotterdam. Arriving in Rotterdam the Dutch stevedores went to work discharging 8,500 tons of coal. This they did in 36 hours in the most efficient way I have seen. When the coal was off the vessel and all holds had been swept clean so that cleaners and longshoremen left the ship at the same time. Length of time in Rotterdam was 40 hours.

Upon arrival in New York the crew was paid off, another signed on, voyage repairs were done, the vessel stored and fueled, the ship departed for another Transatlantic voyage. The SS Adoniram Judson departed New York for Charleston, S. C. On arrival there we went to a coal loading terminal, loaded 8,500 tons of coal for Genoa, Italy. When leaving the loading dock a small log or piling was caught by the propeller blade and brought up against the ship's hull and rudder. This stopped the engine and the Chief Engineer reversed the engine instantly for a few revolutions then ahead again. We had trouble steering the ship so when the ship reached the outer harbor we anchored. We then asked the pilot to notify the ship's local agent of vessel steering problems and make arrangements for a diver's inspection of the rudder. The inspection revealed that with the tiller amid-ships the rudder was about thirty degree's right. The correction was made by removing the tiller, moving the rudder amid-ships and locking it in place, while a new keyway was cut in the rudder stock then the tiller was replaced. When the repairs were completed the SS Adoniram Judson departed Charleston for Genoa.

On the third day at sea the Chief Cook reported that he had a bad case of diarrhea. He was placed in the ship's hospital and given the recommended treatment without success. Just after we had passed the point of no return, the cooks temperature dropped to 94 degree's and pulse to 57. While I was thinking of my next move should be, I moved my foot and felt it come in contact with a box under the bed. I then remembered that this box had 6 pints of plasma. I started giving him a pint of plasma and almost instantly his pulse stabilized, then his temperature commenced to rise. By the time he had received the complete pint of plasma his pulse and temperature were normal once again. This condition happened a second time when the ship was 900 miles from Gibraltar just within range of airplane help. Because of weather conditions where we were, Gibraltar refused air help. I told them what treatment I had given him, and they recommended that I repeat it, so a second pint of plasma was given. Arrangements were made for the ship to enter Gibraltar harbor and transfer the cook to a medical boat for transfer to the hospital in Gibraltar. Three and a half days later the ship entered Gibraltar harbor and transferred the cook to the medical personnel for transfer to the Gibraltar hospital and our ship continued on to Genoa.

The ship was in Genoa for a month because at the time of arrival we were sixth in line for a discharge berth. Two ships came in who had coal fires in their holds and they were given priority. The SS Adoniram Judson departed Genoa for New York where we were told the ship was going to the Hudson River laid-up fleet. When I asked about the cook we had put ashore at Gibraltar, I was told that the hospital had almost lost him twice, but that he would arrive in New York in about a week's time.

After four days in New York, we took the SS Adoniram Judson up the Hudson to Terrytown and turned her over to the lay-up crews. July 1946 we said a sad farewell to a gallant lady, the SS Adoniram Judson.

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The American President Lines did not have enough ships of their own to employ all the personnel they wished to keep. APL personnel arranged for me to be employed by T. J. Stevenson as Captain of one of their ships in the grain trade. After one of the Transatlantic crossings, I was told to report to the War Administration office on lower Broadway in New York, and ask for a Captain Bishop about an award for the SS Adoniram Judson. As an ex-captain of the SS Adoniram Judson I accepted the Gallant Ship Award given to her for her action during the Battle of Leyte. The ship was in the laid up fleet so the plaque was given to the Officers school at Sheepshead Bay, Long Island, New York.

I hope that the cadets who stop to look at it will understand that the plaque was earned with the combined effort of the seventy men aboard the SS Adoniram Judson - 35 civilians and 35 Naval Armed Guard gun crew members. Again, a fond farewell to a special lady.

Respectfully,

Captain Charles A. Jarvis

07-01-97