USS General Omar Bundy
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USS ''General Omar Bundy'' (AP-152) 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 ...
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 ...
. She was transferred to the U.S. Army as USAT ''General Omar Bundy'' in 1946, 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 ...
major general
Omar Bundy Major general (United States), Major General Omar Bundy (June 17, 1861 – January 20, 1940) was a career United States Army officer who was a veteran of the American Indian Wars, Spanish–American War, Philippine–American War, Pancho Villa Ex ...
. She was later sold for commercial operation under several names, including SS ''Poet'', before being declared missing in 1980 and presumed sunk.


Operational history

''General Omar Bundy'' (AP-152) was launched 5 August 1944 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 (MC #704) by the Kaiser Co.,
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. Lawrence Wainwright of Richmond; acquired and simultaneously commissioned 6 January 1945. Many years later, in 1980, after being converted to a bulk carrier and renamed the SS ''Poet'', the ship disappeared off the coast of Delaware with all hands and sparked a discussion of maritime safety inspections and the wisdom of keeping very old American ships at sea. ''General Omar Bundy'' stood out of
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 ...
Bay 10 March 1945 with 2,700 sailors and marines bound for the Southwest Pacific, and after delivering them to
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 ...
,
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 ...
, and
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
, returned to
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 ...
11 May with over 1,700 homeward-bound troops after debarking 200
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese POW's at Pearl Harbor on 3 May. Six days later she sailed for the Atlantic 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 ...
and put in at
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
, 31 May. Underway again on 9 June, she touched
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 ...
to embark 2,800 troops for redeployment to the Pacific theater and brought them safely to
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 ...
on 6 August 1945 via
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 ...
. She brought nearly 500 officers and men from Manila to
Tacloban Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city on Leyte island in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, Tacloban has a popu ...
,
Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...
,
Philippine Islands The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, and after embarking 1,500 veterans there, sailed via Ulithi and Guam to off-load her passengers at
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, Washington, on 4 September. Continuing her Magic Carpet duties, ''General Omar Bundy'' transported 3,000 replacement troops from Seattle to
Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
in late September and October, returning to
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
, on 2 November 1945 with nearly 3,000 victorious soldiers. The ship returned to the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
in November to embark 3,300 returning veterans, and brought them home to San Francisco on 19 December 1945. In 1946 ''General Omar Bundy'' continued her " Magic-Carpet" and troop rotation duties, homeported at San Francisco and calling at Japan and Manila in February and at the Philippines again in April, returning to San Francisco after this last round-trip voyage and sailed from that port 17 May 1946 bound for
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 * ...
via the Panama Canal. She was decommissioned 14 June 1946 and was delivered to the Maritime Commission the next day. ''General Omar Bundy'' was struck from the Navy list on 8 October 1946. The transport was transferred to the
War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet ...
on 30 August 1946, and carried troops for the Army until returned to the Maritime Commission 12 December 1949. On 11 June 1949 USAT ''General Omar Bundy'' left
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 842
displaced persons 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 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR defines 'forced displaceme ...
from Europe and arrived in
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 8 July 1949. This voyage was one of almost 150 voyages by some 40 ships bringing refugees of World War II to Australia. ''General Omar Bundy'' made one more such trip herself, arriving in
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 ...
, again, with 842 refugees on 8 July 1949. The ship was returned to the Maritime Commission on 12 December 1949. ''General Omar Bundy'' entered the
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 ...
and was berthed in the
James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...
until delivered to the Bethlehem Steel Corp. 10 April 1964. Converted to a general cargo ship, she operated under the name ''Portmar'', USCG ON 294731, IMO 5127956, for Bethlehem's subsidiary Calmar Line. She was sold to Ashley Steamship Co., Inc. on 10 August 1976 and renamed SS ''Port''. ''Port'' was sold to Hawaiian Eugenia Corp. on 11 May 1979 and renamed SS ''Poet''. On 24 October 1980, ''Poet'' left
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
for
Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
, with a crew of 34. It was supposed to arrive 9 November, but never did so. ''Poet'' was presumed sunk.Williams, 2013, pp. 135-136 A series of articles in ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...
'' by maritime writer Robert R. Frump stated that SS ''Poet'' and other World War II vessels, were kept in service long past their useful lifetimes by U.S. government programs such as the PL 480 Food for Peace, which required that American-built vessels carry surplus American grain to poor nations abroad. The articles about the ''Poet'' and later, the sinking of the , helped bring about stricter enforcement of maritime laws. The system that kept the old ships at sea was described in Frump's book, ''Until the Sea Shall Free Them.''


References


Sources

* * *


External links

* * Shipspottin
''Portmar''

''Coastguard Marine Casualty Report''
{{DEFAULTSORT:General Omar Bundy
Omar Bundy Major general (United States), Major General Omar Bundy (June 17, 1861 – January 20, 1940) was a career United States Army officer who was a veteran of the American Indian Wars, Spanish–American War, Philippine–American War, Pancho Villa Ex ...
Transport ships of the United States Army Ships built in Richmond, California 1944 ships Missing ships Maritime incidents in 1982 James River Reserve Fleet