14 June 2008
We traveled back in time today — to 1942 to be precise.
Our weekend getaway started with an overnight stay in Baltimore that included dinner at Fells Point, on the far side of the Inner Harbor. The next morning, we made our way to the South Locust Point Cruise Terminal for a cruise like no other. Our vessel of choice was the SS John W. Brown, a WWII-era Liberty ship that was later converted to transport troops as well as goods.
What were the Liberty ships? They were the product of a WWII emergency shipbuilding program that resulted in the construction of more than 2,700 ships. Designed as cheap and quickly built cargo steamers, these ships formed the backbone of a massive sealift of troops, arms, materiel, and ordnance to every theater of war.
Originally nicknamed “Ugly Ducklings,” the ships got the “Liberty” moniker from Patrick Henry’s words … "Give me liberty or give me death." He was the namesake of the first Liberty ship to be built. Although 200 of the ships were sunk by enemy action, there were simply too many for the enemy to find and attack them all. Thus, despite the best efforts of the enemy to close the shipping lanes, they remained open for the duration of the war.
The SS John W. Brown is one of two Liberty ships that remains afloat today. Although she looks like a warship in many ways — she’s painted gunmetal gray and has several gun tubs — the Brown served as a merchant ship that was under the control of the War Shipping Administration.
Today, the SS John W. Brown is a museum ship that is maintained by Project Liberty Ship.
We had a hot, hazy, humid day for our cruise from Baltimore into the Chesapeake Bay. It was crowded aboard the ship, with limited seating. Luckily, we had our own chairs with us, and found a corner near the #2 hatch that was relatively comfortable, with some shade to boot. Later, we moved to a quiet spot on one of the top decks where the light breeze off the water made for more comfortable conditions.
After General MacArthur boarded the ship and President Roosevelt was winched aboard to a flurry of Ruffles and Flourishes, we set sail on our cruise into history. There was entertainment of all sorts — a big band played war era music, a barbershop quartet wandered from deck to deck, Abbott and Costello kept people in stitches with their comedy routines. There were speeches by the VIP guests, and even Rosie the Riveter put in an appearance to talk about the role women played in the war.
Brownie is the pin-up mascot of the ship.
Breakfast and lunch was served buffet style on the #2 ‘tween deck. Seating was limited and it was much too hot below decks so we opted to carry out our food. Passengers were free to wander around and tour the ship at will. Even the engine room was open to visitors, but it was hot as you know what down there, so we skipped that part of the ship.
Later in the day, the SS John W. Brown came under attack as enemy fighters dive-bombed the ship. Fear not; the gunners were ready for them. Briefing Time, a WWII-era B-25 bomber (the real McCoy I might add), eventually showed up to save the day and the fighters took off.
This is pretty much the scene we experienced during the air show.
(There is no other credit that I can find, so perhaps the photo was taken
by Captain Brian Hope as noted below the caption in the photo.)
[Scanned from Live, the magazine that we received aboard the ship.]
We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise into history.
For more photos from this special day, click here.
