USAHS Marigold
USAHS "Marigold was a United States Army hospital ship during World War II. The ship was built as Old North State in 1920 for the United States Shipping Board as a civilian passenger/cargo liner. The ship changed ownership and operating companies several times with name changes to President Van Buren and President Fillmore" before being acquired for military transport service in 1941. After government acquisition during World War II "President Fillmore" served as a War Shipping Administration troop transport before conversion to hospital ship service. Design and construction. "Old North State" was one of seven, after a  contract adjustment from an original thirteen, Emergency Fleet Corporation Design 1095 passenger/cargo ships, later more frequently known in the industry as the "502" type for the design length of between perpendiculars, ordered in 1919 by the United States Shipping Board to be constructed at New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey. The design had been for troop transports until signing of the armistice ending World War I made completion as civilian passenger and cargo ships desirable. New York Shipbuilding had the contract for all seven of the "502" class and nine of the "535" class, an order requiring expansion  and construction of the company's South Yard, that were to be delivered to the United States Shipping Board (USSB). Originally named "Old North State", in honor of the state of North Carolina, the ship was launched 29 February 1920, sponsored by Miss. Magoun, daughter of the shipbuilder's Vice-President. The vessel accommodated 78 passengers, all first class. A contemporary report of her sea trials describes the vessel's appointments: United States Mail Steamship Company service. "Old North State" entered New York-London service under the operation of the United States Mail Steamship Company. Her service as an all -first class liner, was not to last one year. The shipping company suffered massive financial loss and by August 1921 the ships were returned to the US Shipping Board and a new shipping company was formed. By 10 May 1922 all the "State" ships with names based on state nicknames were being renamed as "President" ships. United States Lines service. In August 1921 the United States Lines was formed and became the new operator. In 1922 the ship was renamed "President Van Buren" and she now carried 103 all-cabin class passengers. Her regular route was New York – Plymouth – Cherbourg  – London. On July 4, 1923 the huge "SS Leviathan" took up the New York – London service. "President van Buren" and three other ships became excess capacity and the following year they were sold. Dollar Steamship Company service. In 1924 the Dollar Steamship Company was making a rapid expansion into the Pacific. Seven 522/502 ships, including "President Van Buren" were purchased and placed in Around the World Service. No renaming of the vessel was needed as all Dollar ships were named for US Presidents. The timetable for the "President Liners" boasted: Embarking from New York the ships made calls at Havana , Colon, Balboa, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu, Kobe, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Manila, Singapore, Penang, Colombo, Suez, Port Said, Alexandria, Naples, Genoa, Marseilles, and Boston before returning to New York. By 1929 "President Van Buren" and 16 "President Liner" fleet mates operated in Around the World Service. That year however also marked the beginning of a steady decline for Dollar. The great depression was affecting cargo revenue and the company's two largest ships were running at half capacity. In 1936 "President van Buren" was laid up in San Francisco. In 1937 the company reached its nadir when its crown jewel , the luxurious "SS President Hoover", ran aground near Taiwan and had to be declared a total loss. In August 1938 the company's operations were suspended and its control assumed by the United States Maritime Commission. American President Lines service. On 1 November 1938 the company was renamed American President Lines. In 1940 "President van Buren" was taken out of layup and returned to service but as a freighter. She was now ‘’President Fillmore’’, a name previously held by a 1903-built ship. While the new "President Fillmore" resumed civilian cargo service, the older ship was sold and renamed "SS  Panamanian". The name switch may have been deliberate to cloud the role of the older vessel. This role was revealed by the personal recollection of a British merchant seaman whose ship, the "SS Fellside", had been sunk by torpedo: World War II service. When the United States entered the war in December 1941 "President Fillmore" was requisitioned by the War Shipping Administration (WSA) on 9 February 1942 and operated by American President Lines as the WSA agent. Though some sources use the term United States Army Transport (USAT) the ship was only allocated by WSA to Army requirements and never  operated by Army or under direct contract with Army. Battle of Dutch Harbor. On June 3–4, 1942 "President Fillmore" was engaged in the Battle of Dutch Harbor, the site of a US Navy and Army base. On the morning of June 3, eight hours after arriving at Dutch Harbor the crew was awakened by shore side gunfire. This would not be the first time that "President Fillmore" would escape serious damage: On the afternoon of June 4, a second attack was launched: In the second attack "President Fillmore" shot down two fighter planes. Although strafed, she sustained no serious damage  and there were no casualties aboard the ship. "President Fillmore" would now serve the Pacific transporting troops and supplies from Oregon and Washington north to the Aleutians and south to Hawaii. (At that time Hawaii had a rapidly expanding Army base and a combat engineer training center.) She would later transport troops to the Philippines and to the Marshall Islands Captain David C. Austin was awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for his cool courage and leadership of his crew has they repulsed heavy enemy attacks. By mid-1943 more new-built ships were becoming available for transport service. The  Army however faced demands to evacuate patients from the Southwest Pacific and North Africa. Transports were subject to enemy attack while hospital ships plainly marked and operated under the terms of the Hague Convention were protected. The Army began to evaluate its fleet for ships for those that might be converted. Hospital ships required sufficient range and speed for transoceanic service. Patient wards should be above the waterline to allow for natural ventilation and near lifeboats for evacuation if needed. The hospital should be located slightly aft of mid-ship. Passageways needed to be wide enough for moving patients on  litters. "President Fillmore" ticked all the required boxes. US Army Hospital Ship service. On 8 October 1943 "President Fillmore" was purchased by the War Department and sent to the Seattle-Tacoma Shipyard for conversion to a hospital ship. On 18 June 1944, with the name selected by the Office of the Surgeon General, the United States Army Hospital Ship (USAHS) "Marigold" departed Seattle for Charleston, South Carolina. "Marigold", 212th Hospital Ship Complement embarked, had accommodation for 758 patients. On July 17, 1944 she sailed from Charleston bound for Italy. Her first service area was in the Mediterranean to care for  wounded soldiers from the European front. She then was transferred to the Pacific: Manila, Milne Bay, Luzon, Biak, Hollandia, and Leyte. In the summer of 1945 "Marigold" returned from the States to the Pacific. She was the first Allied ship to arrive in Japan and was present when the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on board the battleship USS "Missouri" (BB-63). After the Japanese surrender, she spent three weeks caring for liberated prisoners of war. Australian, British, Canadian, Dutch, Greek, Chinese and Japanese patients were cared for alongside American troops. Later, civilians would receive care in space that had  previously been devoted to the military. Decommissioned on June 8, 1946 her name reverted to "President Fillmore" and she was first transferred to the reserve fleet at Suisun Bay, California. But after twenty six years of invaluable peace and wartime service her work was finished. She was scrapped on January 14, 1948.