Elizabeth Stanton (AP 69) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 9 text:

Sept. 16, 1942.:. Feb. 17, 1944 Feb. 17, 1944 - Jan. 22, 1945 Jan. 22, 1945 R. A. DIERDORFF . W. A. WIEDMAN D. A. FROST CAPTAIN, USN CAPTAIN, USNR COMDR., USN (RET

Page 8 text:

cJ i izzie She was constructed in 1940 as the S.S. Mormacstar and taken over by the Pacific Republic Lines on January 28, 1941. She became the flagship of the Moore and Mc- Cormack Pacific Fleet. She carried cargo from San Francisco to such ports as Rio de Janeiro, Panama, Buenos Aires, Monte- video and Port of Spain. When the Japs made their attack on Pearl Harbor, she was one day out of Rio de Janeiro, unarmed. She stopped at Trinidad long enough to get a coat of grey paint and proceeded unescorted to San Francisco. In San Francisco she was armed by the Navy and chartered by the Army for duty in the Pacific. Under the Army she made several trips: Australia, Hawaii, Fiji. Hav- ing completed duty with tlie Army she sailed for the east coast, and for the first time in her travels alone encountered an enemy sub- marine. Following an exchange of fire she continued her journey unmolested. In New York she was taken over by the Navy and converted to an AP. She went into commission on September 17, 1942, chris- tened the U.S.S. Elizabeth C. Stanton, and conmianded by Ross A. Dierdorff, Captain, United States Navy. Under his command she operated in the Atlantic as a troop trans- port to Africa and England and as an attack transport in amphibious operations. On February 17, 1944, Wilbur A. Wied- man. Captain, USNR, assumed command, and Lizzie became flagship of a transport division led by her former skipper. LIpon completing another tour of duty in the European and Mediterranean theatres lier work in the Atlantic was finished. She then traversed the route to the other side. On January 22, 1945, Daniel A. Frosl. Commander, USN (Retired) assumed com- mand and Lizzie started out under a new captain, in a new ocean, and what to her was a new war. Lizzie has been home to many — men who have come and men who have gone. She has been to them their life and they in return have given that same life to her. The men on her now will take her for granted; the men who have gone and the men who will leave will look back and remember. And when these same men meet in years to come, the past will become llie present ami Lizzie will sail again.

Page 10 text:

Snip ' s i c 1945 The average observer who sees a ship moving stealthily into a river or a harbor as he watches from a vantage point on the shore several hundreds of yards away, actually sees very little. His eye is met with, perhaps, a grey hull, and as in the case of the Lizzie, a designating number fon ' ard near the bow. P69 in white characters sharply stand out against this monotonous grey war paint. The ship moves slowly and carefully to its appointed spot and stops. The elements very regularly take their toll of the ship ' s immaculate appearance and it is the duty of human intellect and brawn to maintain the ship ' s smart lines. Someone, too, has to be on hand to increase the ship ' s speed or to retard it. The vast and massive engine that drives her weight through the water must be kept smoothly running. There are pumps, generators, blowers, shafts, cams, and eccentrics. None of them must fail, for if any one of them does, the ship ' s safety is immediately put in danger. The spray that falls over the ship ' s steel deck is as corrosive as acid and must be battled constantly; the staccato of the chipping hammers attest to the fact that the old bugaboo — rust — is being scaled from the decks and soon fresh paint will once more adorn the ship ' s sides and decks. We who comprise the crew ' s complement are fully cognizant of the vigilance of the deck and engine departments whom we proudly present here. We will not say that it is their responsibility to keep the ship in shape, but rather we will say that to these men goes the credit for keeping the ship so uniformly in order. It is not a job that may be left for the future; it is a task that must be done all the time. The boys who work on deck are also called on to get the boats in the water, and when the time comes to disembark troops and unload. To watch under difficulty and danger is to see that these boys know their jobs and do them well. These are the boys who also know gunnery, recognition of enemy ships and planes, and a hundred and one other collateral tasks that, collectively, make life aboard ship safer and more livable.