My first naval ship postcard is the USNS Barrett (T-AP-196). The back of the postcard gave this information: "Named in honor of Major Gen. Charles D. Barrett, USMC. The Barrett is the newest and most modern troop ship in the M.S.T.S. fleet. 534 feet long, 73 feet wide, and can do 20-1/2 knots. Used for carrying troops and dependents."
USNS Barrett PostcardHere is a more extensive information about USNS Barrett:
Barrett Class Transport was laid down on 1 June 1949 as SS President Jackson, a Maritime Commission type (P2-S1-DN3) hull, under Maritime Commission contract, (MC Hull 2914) at New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J. USNS was launched on 27 June 1950 and acquired by the US Navy and placed in service on 21 March 1952 by the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) as USNS Barrett (T-AP-196).
It was placed out of service in 1973 and struck from the Naval Register on 1 June 1973. It was then delivered by the Maritime Commission, for conversion to a training ship for the State University of New York Maritime College, at Fort Schuyler, N.Y. and renamed T.S. Empire State V.
It was returned to the Maritime Administration in 1990 for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Fort Eustis, VA. Final Disposition: Scrapping contract was awarded to Bay Bridge Enterprises, Chesapeake, VA on 13 June 2007 for $851,194.
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons:Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - National Defense Service Medal (2-stars)Korean Service Medal (1) - Vietnam Service Medal (3) - Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (11)United Nations Service Medal - Vietnam Campaign Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)
SOURCE:
USNS Barrett
14 comments:
my husband and I were on this ship back in 1962 on our way to Hawaii from San Francisco. Of coarse that was when it was no longer being used in war.
years later my brother-in-law told me he was on that ship also,many years before.
Where is the ship now ?
I also have a post card of the Barrett.
wow.. thank you for the information. i didnt know that it traveled the pacific! was it like a military transport? ill try to research more about the ship..
as far as i know what i found is that
on 18 July 2007, the ship was towed to the scrapyard at Bay Bridge Enterprises in Chesapeake. so it probably was scapped. :(
I sailed on the USNS Barrett from San Francisco to Vietnam in April 1968. It took about 3 weeks to get there. Quite a cruise for this Army draftee. There were about 1800 soldiers on the ship from a variety of units.
Kinda sorry they scrapped it. It literally held a boatload of memories for a lot of servicemen.
In 1953 (age 7 years) my Mother, brother and I sailed on this ship from San Francisco to Manila; we were USAF military dependents. We returned on her in 1956. I recall only stopping at Guam, going both ways. Trip out was ROUGH, lots of storms. I recall the flying fish well. I still have my 180th meridian certificate & perhaps a few ship's newsletters. Men had to wear jackets and ties or uniforms at the evening meal. My brother was only 16-17 in 1956, but he was big & tall, so he had to wear his Boy Scout uniform to last mess of the day. I still have that uniform.
It is interesting, but I have a real photo postcard of this ship with the name spelled incorrectly. It is inscribed on the photo "U.S.N.S. Barret" and shows the ship at sea under power.
May 1954, age 11, father in US Army. We traveled on the Barrett from San Franciso to Honolulu. Dad was stationed at Fort Shafter, at the "Pineapple Pentagon". a.k.a.: Headquarters, U.S.Army Base Command, Hawaii. Lt. Col. Jay W. Foster, Commanding Officer, US Army Finance & Accounting Center. I remember our trips to and from from the Islands. We had a blast ! I still have the little booklet titled: "The Ship I Sailed On....U.S. Naval Ship Barrett."
My wife of less than 2 years and I traveled from San Francisco to Subic Bay, Philippines in 1962 on the Barrett. The trip took 32 days and we were dodging storms all the way. At one point, we were taking 17-degree rolls. I loved it (being Navy) but she didn't.
My family left the Philippines on April 19th 1957 to return to the US after my father, an Air Force Master Sargeant's tour of duty was over in the PI. The Barrett was carrying thousands of troops at the time but we seldom got sight of them as the ship was so large. It was an incredible voyage, we stopped in Guam and could not leave the ship due to a measles quarantine. We did get to leave after a few days. Spent a day or two docked at Pearl Harbor and then on to San Francisco. Unforgettable.
I boarded on Guam in Aug. '57. Headed home for discharge in SFO. Rough seas all the way until we left Hawaii. I was amazed to see the ocean looking like a smooth mirror. You could see the ocean currents. Plenty of seasick ness. And, yes, flying fish by the millions. Great memories.
My mother, younger sister, and I sailed from Fort Mason (San Francisco) to Guam in Jan 1956. Dad was already at Andersen AFB. I too have a copy of the booklet "The Ship I Sailed On" and a desktop "180th Meridian Cigarette Lighter". Just before I came home from RVN in Dec 1971, I saw the Barrett at Cam Ranh Bay. Talked to a CPO from her who told me that they were transporting ROK troops to/from ROK.
Always thought she was a beautiful ship.
Old Army Colonel
I sailed on the USNS Barrett with the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor from Oakland (San Francisco) to Vung Tau, Vietnam by way of Subic Bay, Philippines. We left SF on August 22, 1966 and arrived in Vung Tau on September 10, 1966, a 20 day voyage. We originally were planned to go by way of Okinawa but a typhoon caused us to be diverted to Subic Bay.
When I was 8 years old, in 1965, my mother, 2 sisters and myself sailed from San Francisco to Okinawa, by way of Hawaii and Japan. My dad was an officer in the Army who had flown to Okinawa about 6 months before we could join him. It took us 27 days to get to Japan. I remember seeing whales breaching before we got to Hawaii. My mother got so seasick she spent about a week in the infirmary. The ship's chaplain taught me how to play chess every day for about 2 hours. We also saw the movie West Side Story about 20 times on that voyage. They did everything they could think of to keep us occupied. I have very fond and vivid memories of that ship.
Old Soldier here...
I sailed on the Barrett in August/September of 1963. I was a radio teletype crypto operator. I was in the top three of my class. We three were sent to Korea and the other 44 were sent to Europe. Shows you what good grades get ya!!! :) We sailed from Oakland Army Terminal to San Diego. We were given a day pass and had to be back on board for the evening meal. We left Diego and sailed to Pearl Harbor which was only a quick stop of a few hours there. The highlight was seeing Diamond Head as we sailed around it to Pearl. Our next stop was Guam and again we had a whole day on the beach that was part of the Naval base. From there to Manilla and then on to Subic Bay in the Philipines. The ships paper constantly reported our speed at 19 knots so when we left Subic Bay we were ahead of schedule. The ship headed south towards Indonesia for a few day and then turned northward towards our destination of Inchon, Korea. When we arrived at Inchon we did not dock in a normal manner but "docked" aside a large barge out in the harbor. We had to disembark the ship on a steep gang way, carrying our duffle bag on our shoulder. We boarded LST's and were taken to shore in them. When I say "shore" I mean shore and not a dock or anything like that. There was a troop train right there and boarded it and were taken to a distribution center where we all got assigned to our posts. I was assigned to a tank battalion known as the 2nd Battalion of the 15th Armor. As a PFC shortly after I got there, I became section leader of the Commo Platoon at about 5 months into my tour due to personnel rotations back to the USA. As a radio teletype operator my duty was 6 hours on and 36 hours off. Our shifts were midnight to six; six to noon; noon to 6 p.m.; and 6 p.m. to midnight. So we were constantly on different shift times. My ride on the Barrett was a 30 day milk run across the Pacific. We never encountered any storms during that period and only encountered "ground swells" about a day out of Inchon. Those were quite a ride up and then crash down into the water. All in all I enjoyed it but the ocean is boring day after day when that is all there is to see. The flying fish and the dolphins were a real treat to see. So that's my Barrett experience. I hope more folks stop by and leave a note here. Dick Bishop July 1, 2019 Age 75
JFK Assassination - Where I was.
I was scheduled to sail aboard the Barrett the day after Pres. Kennedy was killed. We were delayed several days for our voyage to Korea (1st Cavalry Division), and then spent the next 22 days at sea with no news of the aftermath. Prior to stop in Yokohama I was designated currency exchange officer and converted approximately $60,000 greenbacks to Military Payment Certificates (MPC's). Prior to next overnight stop in Okinawa, I had to convert $40,000 back to greenbacks. Upon departure for Inchon, Korea, I got to convert $20,000, back to MPC's. Our troops fattened the economies of each port along the voyage. I have fond memories of the experience, and sailed in good company. Was very sad to learn of the USNS Barrett's demise, and would love to have salvaged a piece of her.
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