SS Caserta SS " Caserta was an Italian ocean liner named for the city of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy . She was previously known as SS " Maritzburg and SS " Mendoza , and was later renamed SS " Venezuela . Launched in 1904 as " Maritzburg " for the Bucknall Line , the ship was sold to Lloyd Italiano in 1905 and renamed " Mendoza " . Renamed " Caserta " in 1914 , she was placed under the Navigazione Generale Italiana banner in 1918 . During World War I she was employed as a troopship carrying United States troops to France as part of the United States Navy Cruiser and Transport Force . In 1923 , she was renamed " Venezuela " and transferred to La Veloce for South American service , but reverted to NGI control in 1924 . She was scrapped in 1928 . Early career . SS " Maritzburg " , an ocean liner with a , was built in 1904 by Sir W . G . Armstrong , Whitworth and Company of Newcastle upon Tyne , England . Sailing for the Bucknall Line during her first year of operation , the liner was sold in 1905 to Lloyd Italiano and renamed SS " Mendoza " . " Mendoza " completed one trip to New York in January 1908 , and two trips in September and October 1909 . For the next two years , she began service to New York in May and continued through December . Beginning in May 1912 , " Mendoza " began year - round service on the New York route , sailing opposite . In 1914 , the ship was renamed SS " Caserta " after the city of Caserta , Italy , and continued New York service opposite " Taormina " . In May 1915 , Italy declared war on Austria - Hungary , and ships from New York to Italy often carried Italian immigrants returning to fight for their homeland . One voyage of " Caserta " was typical ; she sailed from New York on 1 November carrying some 1 , 200 men , nearly all of whom were , according to an article in " The New York Times " , reservists of the Italian Army . Before her 1 February 1916 arrival in New York , " Caserta " had been armed with two guns mounted on her after deckhouse , and manned by two gunners mates and two assistants . " Caserta " had been escorted by Italian Navy torpedo boat s until she reached Gibraltar . The gunners practiced from Gibraltar to the Azores by shooting at submarine - like targets — butter barrels , which had been equipped with a stick , painted gray , and tossed from the bow of the ship . " Caserta " , by this time the only Lloyd Italiano ship sailing to New York , completed two more roundtrips to New York before Italy joined the war against Germany in August 1916 . " Caserta " completed two more New York roundtrips before the end of the year . Germany on 1 February 1917 . Lloyd Italiano did not have any U . S . passenger service that year , and " Caserta " s activities in 1917 are unknown . U . S . Troopship service . Beginning in May 1918 , " Caserta " was chartered as a United States troop transport and attached to the United States Navy Cruiser and Transport Force . " Caserta " departed New York 10 May 1918 on the first of five convoy voyages to Europe before the war ' s end — carrying elements of the U . S . 47th Infantry Division , who called her a " cattle boat " — and accompanied by U . S . Navy transports , , , British troopship , and Italian steamer . This group rendezvoused with a similar group that left Newport News , Virginia , the same day , consisting of American transports , , , , , and , the British steamer , and the Italian . American cruiser served as escort for the assembled ships , which were the 35th U . S . convoy of the war . On 20 May , the convoy sighted and fired on a " submarine " that turned out to be a bucket ; the next day escort " Frederick " left the convoy after being relieved by nine destroyers . Three days later the convoy sighted land at 06 : 30 and anchored at Brest that afternoon . " Caserta " s next convoy left Newport News on 23 June and consisted of the Italian steamers " Duca d ' Aosta " , , the French , and American transports and " Susquehanna " . Accompanied by , , , , and , the convoy reached France on 5 July . " Caserta " returned to Virginia on 21 July with " Re d ' Italia " . " Caserta " sailed again for France on 26 July with " Pocahontas " , " Susquehanna " , and " Duca d ' Aosta " from Newport News , and met up with U . S . Navy transports , and , and steamer " Taormina " — " Caserta " s old Lloyd Italiano line mate — that had sailed the same day from New York . Cruisers and , and destroyers and ushered the transports to France , where they arrived on 7 August . " Caserta " arrived back in the United States in late August . The Italian liner began her next crossing on 30 August when she sailed from Newport News with and " Duca d ' Aosta " to join the New York contingent of " Kroonland " " Susquehanna " , and . " Caserta " s convoy was escorted by " Frederick " and " Colhoun " . At 20 : 00 on 7 October , " Caserta " departed New York on her fifth Navy voyage with 1 , 577 men — including parts of the Twenty - ninth Engineers — and joined " Kroonland " and British steamer " Euripides " in rendezvousing with , " Susquehanna " , " America " , and British troopship from Newport News . Cruisers and , and destroyers and " Fairfax " served as convoy escorts for the group , which arrived in France on 20 October . " Caserta " headed back to New York , arriving there on 9 November . After the Armistice , " Caserta " was employed to return troops to the United States . In February 1919 , she carried home 1 , 500 American troops , including the entire 63rd Artillery , Coastal Artillery Corps . John Brown , a private in the 63rd Artillery kept a diary in which he described his journey home aboard " Caserta " in February 1919 . Departing from Marseille in the evening of 6 February , the transport arrived at Gibraltar three days later , where she anchored to wait for a load of coal for the journey home . After four days , the ship was underway , but again delayed near the Azores by storms in the Atlantic . Meals on board " Caserta " during the trip were not necessarily to the liking of the troops . Twice - a - day servings of " spaghetti , macaroni , or noodles " were interrupted only occasionally by non - pasta meals , such as chicken in honor of Washington ' s Birthday , on 22 February . The liner , nicknamed the " Macaroni Barge " by the American troops , eventually reached New York on 27 February . Also on board " Caserta " was 60 - year - old Private Robert W . Louden of Albuquerque , New Mexico . Louden , a veteran of the Spanish - American War and the Mexican Expedition , was wounded twice in fighting in France . Contemporary news accounts called him the " oldest American to go through the war " . Another passenger on board was Sultan , a former German messenger dog adopted by two U . S . Army captain s when they found him in an abandoned German trench near Verdun . " Caserta " sailed for Gibraltar and Italy on 6 March . " Caserta " made at least one more voyage with American troops when she sailed from Marseille to New York on 22 April . Among the 1 , 500 troops on board when the liner docked in New York on 8 May , were nearly 550 men from the 7th , 50th ( " Dutch Girl " ) , 650th and 658th Aero Squadrons ; the 50th Aero Squadron had located the " Lost Battalion " in October 1918 . Later career . When " Caserta " resumed regular passenger service in 1919 , she began sailing under the Navigazione Generale Italiana ( NGI ) banner ; NGI , which previously had a controlling interest in Lloyd Italiano , took over completely in 1918 . " Caserta " resumed New York service in July , which she continued , with occasional calls at Philadelphia , through the end of 1921 . In 1923 , " Caserta " was renamed " Venezuela " and transferred to La Veloce Navigazione Italiana a Vapore , commonly known as La Veloce , for service between Italy and South America . Transferred back to NGI in 1924 , the liner was scrapped in 1928 .