Saving A Liberty Ship: The Rest Of The Story
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John Nelson graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York in 1965 and enjoyed a long career at sea on commercial and military support ships. After retiring from his seagoing career, he continued working in various capacities in the maritime industry until a final retirement in 2012. Since then he has been active in researching local history and restoring and operating steam engines and antique mills.
He lives in neighboring Panola County and is a long-time member of the Yalobusha Historical Society. He writes about his experiences in the Panolian, Oxford Eagle and Herald. He is also the uncle of Herald publisher David Howell.
Mickell Dunn, quartermaster of the VFW post in Water Valley, made an unusual presentation this past Veterans Day by focusing on Liberty ships, the backbone of the U.S. Merchant Marine during the first half of WWII. The men and ships that kept fighting forces supplied usually get little mention, so few know that America and her allies lost 3,500 merchant ships during the war, and that the U.S. Merchant Marine suffered a higher casualty rate than any branch of our armed sources.
Some of the most significant losses occurred early in the conflict as the Allies rushed war materials to the northern Russian ports of Murmansk and Archangel to help that country maintain the fight against Germany. The worst casualties to a single convoy occurred when relentless attacks by German U-boats and aircraft sunk 23 out of 34 ships.
One man who experienced the dangers of the northern route to Russia was James “Crip” Tyler, a navy sailor who had been assigned to the gun crew of a merchant ship. He was home on leave in Water Valley in August of 1942 and told the editor of the “Herald” that his ship – almost certainly a Liberty ship – had been under constant fire for over two months. Though he related some details of the voyage, he avoided talking about much of what he had seen. (Herald Aug 10, 2022)
Dunn’s remarks about the saving and preservation of the liberty ship Jeremiah O’Brien were also interesting, and I’m pleased to say that graduates from my alma mater, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, N.Y., played a role in her preservation and currently help to maintain that ship.
The only other surviving, operational Liberty ship from the 2,710 that were built is the John W. Brown, a living museum ship berthed in Baltimore, Maryland. That ship was saved by two Kings Pointers, John Boylston from the class of 1961, and my classmate, Brian Hope from the class of 65.
A New York group had been granted custody of the Brown for a ten-year period by the Maritime Administration. Within that period, the group had to find a berthing space in New York or return custody to the government. In that case, the ship would remain in the James River Reserve Fleet.
The New Yorkers were making no headway, and when John approached them with the suggestion that he might find a berth in Baltimore, near the yard where the ship had been built, they jumped at the chance to transfer custody to John and Brian – just two guys with no financial backing but with some contacts in the marine industry.
Soon afterwards, John got a summons to report to the office of Warren Leback, the Maritime Administrator, who informed him that the New York group had failed to mention that their ten-year custody had previously expired. Since the Brown was considered unseaworthy, the Maritime Administration had already issued orders that the ship be towed out and sunk as an artificial reef.
Leback was a Kings Pointer from the class of 1944 who had served during WWII. He wanted to help save the ship but didn’t have the authority to rescind the orders. However, he did say that he could misplace the paperwork for a few weeks if they could quickly get the ship out of the reserve fleet.
The guys convinced executives at Curtis Bay Towing that the company would receive great publicity by towing the Brown free of charge the short distance to the Norfolk Shipbuilding & Drydock Corporation. The shipyard offered to make repairs at cost but needed some upfront security to get started, so John signed a note with his house as collateral.
The shipyard did great work in patching the holes in the hull, sealing up leaking seams and painting the ship. At the rock bottom price of $1 a gallon, the International Paint Company offered paint that had been rejected and returned by the Canadian Navy. It did the job, but John recently commented that instead of the proper haze gray color, the ship came out of drydock a light, baby-blue gray.
Meanwhile, John and Brian launched an appeal at Kings Point that got support from some well-healed alumni who came forward to join Project Liberty Ship. Their contributions helped pay off the shipyard and saved John’s house.
Not to be outdone by Curtis Bay, Moran Towing offered free towing to get the ship to her new home in Baltimore where in 1988 she was dedicated as a memorial museum. After three years of restoration there, the John W, Brown was able to raise steam and get underway on her own power for the first time in 45 years.
It’s been a number of years since I’ve been back to school, but I intend to be there for homecoming in October. I will likely find myself in the company of those who can rightfully boast of their role in preserving these two historic ships that helped America and her allies win World War II.
