Louisiana's Military Heritage:

     Vessels named USS CRESCENT CITY

USS CRESCENT CITY

Only one vessel of the U.S. Navy has had the honor to bear the name of CRESCENT CITY, a popular nickname for the city of New Orleans, Louisiana.

USS CRESCENT CITY (October 10, 1941 ~ April 30, 1948):

USS CRESCENT CITY (AP-40) was originally laid down as S/S DEL ORLEANS by Bethlehem-Sparrows Point Shipyard, Inc. at Sparrows Point, Maryland.  She was one of six vessels designed for the Delta Line's New Orleans to Argentina passenger line service.  Launched on February 17, 1940, under a Maritime Commission contract, she was sponsored by Mrs. M. L. Pedrick.  The 7,988 gross ton vessel had a passenger capacity of sixty-seven.

Departing Norfolk, Virginia, on December 15, 1941, just days after the Japanese surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, CRESCENT CITY carried troops and equipment to the Canal Zone in Panama, debarking them there.  She then sailed to San Diego to load Navy and Marine passengers bound for Pearl Harbor.  The ship carried civilian evacuees from Hawaii back to San Diego before returning immediately to the islands with workers and equipment to assist in the rushed repairs of the damaged naval base at Pearl Harbor.  CRESCENT CITY was then assigned to transport men and equipment to set up the advanced base at Efate, New Hebrides.  She voyaged on this mission until arriving back at San Diego on April 22, 1942, for a brief overhaul.

On July 01, 1942, CRESCENT CITY sailed from San Diego bound for the initial assault landings on Guadalcanal.  Landing her troops on August 07 under heavy air attack, she splashed at least four enemy planes.  For two days, she remained at anchor unloading the necessary supplies to hold the beachhead.  She then returned to Espiritu Santo to unload material to set up a new forward base to supply the Guadalcanal operations.  Over the next few months, the attack transport dodged enemy forces while sailing from Brisbane, Australia, and Wellington, New Zealand, to deliver men and equipment to the advanced bases at Noumea and Espiritu Santo.  These much-needed supplies and reinforcements helped to sway the balance toward victory on Guadalcanal.  When the offensive began to swing northward through the Solomon Islands in early 1943, she continued her transport duty to the base established on hard-won Guadalcanal.  On August 13, while unloading, she aided in repelling an air attack in which USS JOHN PENN (APA-23) was sunk.

On October 28, 1943, CRESCENT CITY sortied for the invasion of Bougainville, landing troops at Empress Augusta Bay while under air attack on November 01.  Two weeks later, on November 13, after helping repel a torpedo bomber attack, she landed support troops brought from Tulagi and Port Purvis.  Continuing her transport and resupply duties in the Solomons, she took part in the assault landings on Emirau Island on April 11, 1944, and reported to Guadalcanal on April 30 to prepare for the Marianas operation.

CRESCENT CITY was held in reserve during the assaults on Kwajalein and Eniwetok.  She later landed her troops and embarked casualties at Guam on July 21-25, 1944.  She returned to Guadalcanal on August 16 for the staging of the Palau operation, taking part in the landings on Peleliu on September 15.  Ten days later she arrived at Humboldt Bay, New Guinea and sailed on October 16 for the invasion of Leyte.  She landed troops of the 6th Army at San Pedro Bay on October 22 and departed just prior to the outbreak of the Battle for Leyte Gulf.  The transport brought reinforcements to Leyte from Hollandia and arrived at the island of Manus on November 20 to embark passengers for the United States.

After overhaul, CRESCENT CITY departed San Francisco on February 25, 1945, and arrived at Pearl Harbor on March 04.  Here, she was converted to a temporary hospital evacuation ship and, two weeks later, was underway for Kerama Retto, arriving April 06.  Receiving casualties from the beaches of Okinawa and from other ships, she transferred them to the hospital ship USS HOPE (AH-7) for evacuation.  CRESCENT CITY remained at Okinawa receiving casualties and transients until the end of the war.

Aiding in the redeployment of troops for the occupation of China, CRESCENT CITY carried the 1^st Marines to Taku between September 30 and October 06, 1945.  She then transported Chinese troops from Hong Kong to Chinwangtao and Tsingtao in November.  Returning to Okinawa on December 01, she embarked men eligible for discharge and sailed for Seattle, arriving on December 20.

Departing Seattle on January 23, 1946, CRESCENT CITY arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, on February 14.  She operated between New York and Norfolk on training duty in the Caribbean until October 10, 1947, when she sailed again for the west coast.  Arriving at San Francisco on November 01, CRESCENT CITY was placed out of commission in the Reserve Fleet on April 30, 1948. She was transferred to the custody of the Maritime Commission on September 03, 1948.

The transport lay untouched in the reserve fleet for twenty-three years until May of 1971 when she was loaned by MARAD to the California Maritime Academy for use as a training vessel.  Renamed T/S GOLDEN BEAR in June of 1971, she was the academy's third training vessel and the second vessel to bear the name.  The ship was modified with the construction and installation of classrooms and dormitories in her holds.  For the next quarter century, she conducted regular cruises with a full crew of academy cadets, training these young men and women in the ways of the sea.  In 1995, she was retired and the academy returned her to the custody of MARAD.  She returned to her former name and designation of USS CRESCENT CITY (APA-21), thereby freeing up the name T/S GOLDEN BEAR for her successor at the academy.  The vessel was laid up once again in the reserve fleet in Suisan Bay, California.

USS CRESCENT CITY (AP-40/APA-21) was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for her outstanding performance throughout World War II and received 10 battle stars.

Ship's Statistics

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All information on USS CRESCENT CITY courtesy of the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships and NavSource.  All information on T/S GOLDEN BEAR courtesy of the California Maritime Academy.  All information on S/S ARTSHIP courtesy of the Artship Foundation.

All photos courtesy of the U.S. Navy unless otherwise noted.

**Copyright 1997-2007 by Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission**