USS ''Calamus'' (AOG-25) was a ''Mettawee''-class gasoline tanker acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of transporting gasoline to warships in the fleet, and to remote Navy stations. ''Calamus'' was launched 4 May 1944 by East Coast Shipyard, Inc.,

Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey, in the Gateway Region on Bergen Neck, a peninsula between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York ...

, under a

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The c ...

contract; sponsored by Mrs. A. H. Moore; transferred to the Navy 7 July 1944; and commissioned the same day.

World War II service

''Calamus'' sailed from

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, 13 September 1944, bound for

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

and

Ulithi Ulithi (, , or ; pronounced roughly as YOU-li-thee) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap, within Yap State. Name The name of the island goes back to Chuukic languages, Proto-Chuukic ''*úlú-diw ...

, where she arrived in mid-December and began her work as station tanker, fueling ships of the fleet as they brought the war ever closer to the Japanese homeland.

Supporting the Central Pacific fleet

''Calamus'' cleared for

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; , , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 296 people (as of 2021) forms a legi ...

20 January 1945, and until February, pumped her vital gasoline into the ships readying there for the assault on

Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...

. Following the fleet she served westward, ''Calamus'' did station duty at

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

from 11 February until 26 April, when she anchored off Okinawa to support the 3-week-old assault. The tanker provided essential fueling service through the entire period of the island's assault and occupation, enduring the violent Japanese air attacks which marked the campaign as steadfastly as did the combatant ships.

Beached at Okinawa and refloated

While at Okinawa ''Calamus'' was beached as a result of Typhoon Louise, 9 October 1945, refloated 24 October 1945, repaired and returned to service.

Post-war decommissioning

Following occupation service, ''Calamus'' returned to

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, 20 March 1946 and was struck from the Navy list (date unknown). She was decommissioned 15 May 1946, and transferred to the

4 September 1946. Final disposition: she was scrapped in 1964.

Military awards and honors

''Calamus'' received one battle star for service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Her crew was eligible for the following medals: * American Campaign Medal * Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal * World War II Victory Medal * Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)

References

External links

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive – AOG-25 Calamus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calamus (AOG-25) Mettawee-class gasoline tankers Type T1-M-A2 tankers of the United States Navy Ships built in Bayonne, New Jersey 1944 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States