| Length: 448 feet, Beam: 58' 3, Tonnage: 8,300
GT, Speed: 14 knots, Armament: Four 3" Guns, Crew: 286 crewmen, Disposition:
converted to a hospital ship August 28, 1943 USS
CHAUMONT (AP-5) was built in 1920 by American International Shipbuilding Corp., Hog
Island, Pa.; requisitioned from the War Department 3 November 1921; and commissioned 22
November 1921. Prior to WWII, Chaumont transported military supplies, Marine
expeditionary forces, and sailors throughout the Pacific. After the attack on Pearl
Harbor, December 7, 1941, she eventually made two voyages from the West Coast to Pearl
Harbor in support of the buildup at Pearl and was then assigned to runs between Seattle,
Wash. and Alaskan bases, bringing men and supplies to the forces resisting the Japanese in
the Aleutians.
The 79th Naval Construction Battalion (NCB) Seabees
departed Port Hueneme on May 3, 1943, shipping out for Seattle, Washington (Bremerton) and
was transported on board USS CHAUMONT (AP-5) to the Aleutians for their first tour of
duty, disembarking the ship May 10, 1943 on their "ISLAND X." According to one
79th veteran, the transporting of the 79th was the next to the last or the last voyage of
the USS CHAUMONT as a Troop Transport Ship before she was decommissioned August 28,1943
for conversion to a hospital ship. Noted one 79th veteran of this voyage, "I
was seasick all the way. Thought I would die before we landed, wherever. Don't know where
you got the picture of the ship, Chaumont, but that is it alright. Can you
imagine 1200 of us on the ship that small." Appearing in the 79th Battalion
Seabees World War II Cruise Book, put together while the 79th NCB was stationed in the
Aleutians, is a painting of USS CHAUMONT (AP-5) done from memory by one of the
79'ers of the original group.
Shortly after transporting the 79th NCB to
the Aleutians, Chaumont was converted, renamed Samaritan (AH-10) on
September 2, 1943 and reclassified as a U.S. Navy hospital ship. Recommissioned on
March 1, 1944, she evacuated patients from the islands of Guam, Guadalcanal, Peleliu
during 1944.
In early 1945, the ship that had carried the 79th NCB to
the Aleutians as Troop Transport Ship USS CHAUMONT (AP-5) now shadowed the Battalion's
second and third tours as U.S. Navy Hospital Ship USS SAMARITAN (AH-10).
* On January 31, 1945, the 79th departed San
Francisco for Saipan on board another Troopship, the SS CAPE BON (C1-A 1089); and on February 16 the SAMARITAN sailed for Iwo Jima and two
days later for Saipan. Destined for Okinawa, the 79th NCB landed on Saipan Island on
February 26.
* On April 2, 1945, SAMARITAN sailed for hard fought
Okinawa, arriving April 13, and on April 18 portions of the 79th were transported to
Okinawa aboard LST-598 in the "Gunto" invasion of Okinawa. From the Dictionary
of American Fighting Ships, at Okinawa USS SAMARITAN (AH-10) "received casualties
at the beach during the daytime and withdrew at night to the transport areas offshore,
alternating her stays at Okinawa with evacuation voyages to Saipan".
USS SAMARITAN (formerly USS CHAUMONT) was decommissioned in
San Francisco on June 25, 1946 and on August 29 was transferred to the Maritime Commission
for disposal. Samaritan received four battle stars for her service in World
War II.
Email: JWinter588@aol.com
http://www.artistic-designers.com/bkgds/
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