USNS Private Joe P. Martinez (T-AP-187)

USNS Private Joe P. Martinez (T-AP-187) was a Boulder Victory-class cargo ship built for the United States Navy during the closing period of World War II. The ship was named after Private Joe P. Martinez, a medal of honor recipient.

Career

The ship was laid down as Stevens Victory on 13 April 1945 and delivered to the United States Maritime Commission on 25 June 1945 for conversion to a troop ship. As Stevens Victory, the ship was operated by Grace Lines out of New York City in the Atlantic sea lanes. Her ports of call included Boston and Newport, as well as Downs, Antwerp, Marseilles, Gibraltar, Bremerhaven, Le Havre, Liverpool, and Southampton.

The ship was transferred from the Maritime Commission to the US Army on 5 September 1946. She was renamed Private Joe P. Martinez on 3 October 1947 and operated by the Army Transportation Service.

Private Joe P. Martinez transferred to the Navy on 1 March 1950 as T–AP–187 at New York. With the outbreak of war in Korea in June, there was a great need for transport tonnage in the Pacific. Shifting to San Francisco, Private Joe P. Martinez steamed for Okinawa and Yokohama on 31 July 1950, returning to Seattle on 2 September.

She immediately took on troops and supplies and again steamed for the Western Pacific, operating out of Japanese, Okinawan, and Korean ports. Private Joe P. Martinez made three additional cruises to the Western Pacific, departing Korean waters for the last time on 5 January 1951. She was laid up 1 September 1952 at Olympia. She was transferred from the Navy to the Maritime Administration on 30 September 1952 and struck from the Navy List on 6 November. Into 1970 she was laid up at Olympia in the National Defense Reserve Fleet; her ultimate fate is unknown.

USS Private Joe P. Martinez received four battle stars for Korean service.

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.