USS General M . L . Hersey ( AP - 148 ) USS " General M . L . Hersey " ( AP - 148 ) was a for the U . S . Navy in World War II . She was named in honor of U . S . Army general Mark Leslie Hersey . She was transferred to the U . S . Army as USAT " General M . L . Hersey in 1946 . On 1 March 1950 she was transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service ( MSTS ) as USNS " General M . L . Hersey " ( T - AP - 148 ) . She was later sold for commercial use , and operated under the names SS " Pittsburgh and SS " St . Louis " . Operational history . " General M . L . Hersey " ( AP - 148 ) was launched under a Maritime Commission contract ( MC # 665 ) 1 April 1944 by Kaiser Co . , Inc . , Yard 3 , Richmond , California ; sponsored by Mrs . Alice Hersey Wick , General Hersey ' s daughter ; acquired by the Navy 31 May 1944 ; and commissioned 29 July 1944 ; Captain James W . Smith in command . After shakedown off San Pedro , " General M . L . Hersey " sailed from San Francisco 5 September 1944 with troops and cargo for garrison s in the Southwest Pacific . She reached Milne Bay , New Guinea , 21 September and subsequently carried troops and supplies to the Admiralty Islands , the Russell Islands , and the Solomon Islands , before departing Guadalcanal for the United States 6 October . Arriving San Francisco 19 October , she brought home more than 3 , 000 veterans of the bitter Pacific fighting . Between 7 November 1944 and 14 August 1945 the transport made four round - trip voyages from San Francisco and , Seattle to the Western Pacific , carrying troops to New Guinea , the Philippines , the Palaus , and the Marianas during the final amphibious offensive against Japan , At Leyte in November " General M . L . Hersey " endured frequent air attacks . Following the surrender , the veteran ship departed Seattle 31 August ; and , steaming via the Philippines , she arrived Yokohama 24 September with occupation troops . There she embarked 3 , 052 troops and departed 5 days later as a unit of Operation Magic Carpet , a giant sea - lift designed to return hundreds of thousands of American fighting men to the United States as quickly as possible . Between 3 December and 3 March 1946 she steamed twice to the Far East where she embarked returning veterans at Yokohama and Manila and transported them to San Pedro and San Francisco . Departing San Francisco 23 March , she then steamed via Manila and Singapore to Calcutta , India , and Colombo , Ceylon , where she embarked " Magic Carpet " troops . She departed Colombo 28 April , sailed via the Suez Canal , and arrived New York 21 May . She decommissioned at New York 1 June and was turned over to WSA 6 June for eventual use as a transport by the Army Transportation Service . Rebuilt by the Army to 12 , 545 tons , she was on duty for the International Refugee Organization ( IRO ) and initially based out of New Orleans ( but later based out of New York ) . On 14 January 1947 , during a return voyage from Bremerhaven , USAT " General M . L . Hersey " responded to distress calls issued by SS " Tecumseh Park " which was thought to be in danger of foundering off Halifax . " General M . L . Hersey " had stood by for two days before " Tecumseh Park " got underway on her own . On 16 November 1949 USAT " General M . L . Hersey " left Naples with 1 , 283 displaced person s from Europe and arrived in Melbourne on 6 December 1949 . This voyage was one of almost 150 " Fifth Fleet " voyages by some 40 ships bringing refugees of World War II to Australia . " General M . L . Hersey " made two more such trips herself , arriving in Melbourne , again , with 1 , 336 refugees on 27 April 1950 , and in Fremantle with 1 , 370 passengers on 2 November 1950 . In the midst of her “ Fifth Fleet ” voyages to Australia , the transport was reacquired by the Navy 1 March 1950 . " General M . L . Hersey " was placed in service and assigned to MSTS under a civilian crew . Continuing to operate out of New York , she resumed carrying European refugees to the United States in support of the IRO . On 07 : 32 on 4 November 1951 , while ferrying elements of the 43rd Infantry Division to Bremerhaven , USNS " General M . L . Hersey " struck Argentine cruise ship MS " Maipo " amidships in thick fog over a calm North Sea . " Maipo " sank some three hours after the collision off Wangerooge . All 238 people aboard " Maipo " were able to be rescued , and no one aboard " General M . L . Hersey " was injured . During 1952 and 1953 she made four round - trips from San Francisco to the Far East in support of the Korean War . She was placed out of service 11 June 1954 and placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego . Later transferred to the Maritime Administration , on 3 September 1959 she entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet , Suisun Bay , California . The transport was sold to Sea - Land Service , Inc . on 16 August 1968 and renamed SS " Pittsburgh " . She was renamed SS " St . Louis " in September 1969 , and converted to a container ship 10 January 1970 . There is conflicting information about the fate of " St . Louis " . According to one source , she sank in 1971 , yet , another source reports she was scrapped in 1988 . " General M . L . Hersey " received one battle star for World War II service and two battle stars for Korean War service . External links . I seek information of the ship ' s transport of refugees from Germany to New York in 1948 - 49 , when my parents came over .