USS ''General C. C. Ballou'' (AP-157) was a for the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

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 ...

. She was named in honor of

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

general

Charles Clarendon Ballou Charles Clarendon Ballou (June 13, 1862 – July 23, 1928) was a United States Army officer who attained the rank of major general during World War I. Early life Ballou was born in Orange, New York. He graduated number sixty-three of seventy- ...

. She was transferred to the U.S. Army as USAT ''General C. C. Ballou'' in 1946. On 1 March 1950, she was transferred to the

Military Sea Transportation Service The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all U ...

(MSTS) as USNS ''General C. C. Ballou'' (T-AP-157). She was later sold for commercial operation under several names before being scrapped some time after 1981.

Operational history

''General C. C. Ballou'', (AP-157) was launched 7 March 1945 under

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 (MC #714) by Kaiser Co., Inc., Yard 3,

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 3, 1905, and has a Richmond, California, City Council, city council.

; sponsored by Mrs. Harry J. Bernat; acquired by the Navy 20 May 1945; and commissioned 30 June 1945. Following shakedown off

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, ''General C. C. Ballou'' departed San Pedro 29 July 1945 for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

via the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

. She arrived

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

s after the

Japanese surrender The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, ending the war. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was incapable of condu ...

, and sailed with returning veterans 23 August bound for

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...

. Then after two round-trip voyages to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and back to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

with returning soldiers and sailors, the ship sailed 13 January 1946 for a voyage that was to take her around the world visiting

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, and other ports before mooring at

San Francisco 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 ...

8 March with over 3,000 troops. ''General C. C. Ballou'' completed her voyage by transiting the Panama Canal, arriving New York via

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

1 May. The transport decommissioned at

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the ...

, 17 May, was returned to the Maritime Commission, and eventually served as a transport for Army Transportation Service. On 5 April 1949, USAT ''General C. C. Ballou'' departed

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

with 859

displaced person Forced displacement (also forced migration or forced relocation) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of perse ...

s from Europe for resettlement in Australia arriving 29 April 1949 at

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. The ''General C. C. Ballou'' departed Europe and arrived at Pier 21 in Halifax on December 24, 1949, and thrice thereafter between 1950 and 1951. She completed another voyage to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

on 23 March 1950 with 1266 more refugees. ''General C. C. Ballou'' was reacquired by the Navy 1 March 1950 for MSTS and for nearly 2 years sailed between Europe and the United States with refugees. Beginning in 1952, the ship began transporting troops from the West Coast to

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

to serve in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Following the armistice, ''General C. C. Ballou'' continued to sail to Japan and Korea on troop rotation duty. She was placed out of service in September 1954 and placed in reserve at

Orange, Texas Orange is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. The population was 19,324 at the 2020 census. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Houston. ...

. Later delivered to the Maritime Commission

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of Ship, ships of the United States, mostly Merchant ship, merchant vessels, that have been Reserve fleet, mothballed but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during nationa ...

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...

, she was struck from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

1 July 1960, and remained in reserve until sold for commercial use under the MARAD Ship Exchange Program in 1968 to Sea-Land Service, Inc. of

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. The ship was rebuilt as an 11,369 gross ton

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...

by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation Ship Repair Yard in Hoboken, New Jersey after being gutted by the Alabama Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. and renamed SS ''Brooklyn'', USCG ON 513557, IMO 6903149. In 1975 the ship was sold to Navieras de Puerto Rico, also known as the Puerto Rico Maritime Shipping Authority and renamed SS ''Humacao''. Eastern Star Maritime Ltd. of

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

renamed her ''Eastern Light'' when it purchased her in 1981. ''Eastern Light'' left

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

, Japan on 24 December 1981 to steam to

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

, Taiwan where she was scrapped.Cudahy, 2006, pp. 263, 280-281 ''General C. C. Ballou'' received five

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...

s for Korean War service.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:General C. C. Ballou C. C. Ballou Transport ships of the United States Army Korean War auxiliary ships of the United States Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Ships built in Richmond, California 1945 ships Beaumont Reserve Fleet