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USS Gold Star (AK-12)
Encyclopedia
USS Gold Star (AK-12) was a cargo ship
acquired by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II
. She was responsible for delivering necessary goods and equipment to ships and stations in the war zone.
Corp., Wilmington, Delaware
: taken over by the Navy as Arcturus from the USSB
8 November [1921]; commissioned as Arcturus (AK-12) 1 February 1922 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, Lt. Comdr. J. Katterfield, USNRF, in command and 5 days later renamed Gold Star (AK-12) on 6 February. The ship was reclassified AG-12, 12 May 1922.
, 1 July via the Panama Canal Zone
and California
ports. During the next 2 years she served as a cargo ship on the U.S. West Coast, making three voyages with supplies for Alaska
n radio
stations. The ship steamed out of San Francisco, California
, 9 October 1924 to assume her duties as station ship at Guam
, arriving 3 November.
. Though assigned as flagship
at Guam she made frequent voyages to Japan
, China
, and the Philippines
with cargo and passengers. Prior to World War II
, much of her crew was made up of Chamorros
, natives of Guam
.
, 7 December 1941, Gold Star was coaling at Malangas, Philippine Islands. She sailed for Manila
8 December, but was ordered by Commander, Asiatic Fleet, to proceed to Balikpapan
, Borneo
. She arrived 14 December as the Japanese advanced quickly southward; and after issuing urgently-needed provisions to units of the Asiatic Fleet there, steamed by way of Macassar
, Celebes
, to Darwin, Australia. Following her arrival at Darwin 28 December, Gold Star served as a coastal cargo carrier, steaming between such Australian ports as Brisbane
, Sydney, and Fremantle
. She thus contributed importantly to strengthening Australia
and to checking the Japanese advance in New Guinea
. After 15 August 1943 the veteran ship continued her coastal operations in Australia, but also began a series of cargo voyages to New Guinea and the Admiralty Islands
. Gold Star brought many loads of vital supplies to Milne Bay
as the Allies began the push toward the Philippines
.
6 January 1945 for repairs and conversion to squadron flagship for Service Squadron 9. Operating in this capacity the old ship supported the mounting American advance toward Japan, sailing to Leyte
and Morotai
. While conducting cargo operations at Morotai 28 June Gold Star was attacked by enemy aircraft but sustained no damage. She arrived Manila
26 July via Tawitawi and remained there issuing supplies until the surrender of Japan 15 August 1945.
, in February 1946 and decommissioned there 17 April 1946. She had served over 21 years in the Western Pacific Ocean
without once returning to the United States
, and had carried countless tons of supplies, items large and small, for the warships of the fleet. The old ship was delivered to the Maritime Commission 30 June 1946, and was sold for scrap 1 December 1947 to Dulien Steel Products, Inc.
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
acquired by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She was responsible for delivering necessary goods and equipment to ships and stations in the war zone.
Renamed Gold Star
Gold Star (AK-12) was built in 1920 by Bethlehem ShipbuildingBethlehem Shipbuilding
Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard was founded in 1887 as Maryland Steel in Sparrows Point, Maryland. It was acquired by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in 1916 and renamed Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard. The shipyard was sold in 1997 to Baltimore Marine Industries Inc....
Corp., Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
: taken over by the Navy as Arcturus from the USSB
United States Shipping Board
The United States Shipping Board was established as an emergency agency by the Shipping Act , 7 September 1916. It was formally organized 30 January 1917. It was sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board.http://www.gwpda.org/wwi-www/Hurley/bridgeTC.htm | The Bridge To France by Edward N....
8 November [1921]; commissioned as Arcturus (AK-12) 1 February 1922 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Lt. Comdr. J. Katterfield, USNRF, in command and 5 days later renamed Gold Star (AK-12) on 6 February. The ship was reclassified AG-12, 12 May 1922.
Post-World War I operations
Renamed Gold Star sailed from Philadelphia 18 March 1922, arriving Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, 1 July via the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
ports. During the next 2 years she served as a cargo ship on the U.S. West Coast, making three voyages with supplies for Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
n radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
stations. The ship steamed out of San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, 9 October 1924 to assume her duties as station ship at Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, arriving 3 November.
An Asia specialist
During the 1920s and 1930s Gold Star became a familiar sight in the far-flung ports of AsiaAsia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. Though assigned as flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
at Guam she made frequent voyages to Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
with cargo and passengers. Prior to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, much of her crew was made up of Chamorros
Chamorros
The Chamorro people, or Chamoru people, are the indigenous peoples of the Mariana Islands, which include the American territory of Guam and the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia. Today, significant Chamoru populations also exist in several U.S. states...
, natives of Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
.
In the Philippines when World War II started
When the Japanese attacked Pearl HarborPearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, 7 December 1941, Gold Star was coaling at Malangas, Philippine Islands. She sailed for Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
8 December, but was ordered by Commander, Asiatic Fleet, to proceed to Balikpapan
Balikpapan
Balikpapan is a seaport city on the eastern coast of the island of Borneo, Indonesia, in the East Kalimantan province, a resource-rich region well known for its timber, mining, and petroleum export products. Two harbors, Semayang and Kariangau , and the Sepinggan International Airport are the main...
, Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
. She arrived 14 December as the Japanese advanced quickly southward; and after issuing urgently-needed provisions to units of the Asiatic Fleet there, steamed by way of Macassar
Macassar
-Places:*Makassar, a city in Indonesia**Makassar Strait, a strait in Indonesia*Macassar, Western Cape, a town in South Africa*Macassar Village, Western Cape, an informal settlement in South Africa*Macassar, Mozambique, a village in north-eastern Mozambique...
, Celebes
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
, to Darwin, Australia. Following her arrival at Darwin 28 December, Gold Star served as a coastal cargo carrier, steaming between such Australian ports as Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Sydney, and Fremantle
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
. She thus contributed importantly to strengthening Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and to checking the Japanese advance in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. After 15 August 1943 the veteran ship continued her coastal operations in Australia, but also began a series of cargo voyages to New Guinea and the Admiralty Islands
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...
. Gold Star brought many loads of vital supplies to Milne Bay
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
as the Allies began the push toward the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
Supporting American invasion forces
The ship arrived Manus IslandManus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...
6 January 1945 for repairs and conversion to squadron flagship for Service Squadron 9. Operating in this capacity the old ship supported the mounting American advance toward Japan, sailing to Leyte
Leyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
and Morotai
Morotai
Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...
. While conducting cargo operations at Morotai 28 June Gold Star was attacked by enemy aircraft but sustained no damage. She arrived Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
26 July via Tawitawi and remained there issuing supplies until the surrender of Japan 15 August 1945.
End-of-war activity
After supporting occupation forces in Japan, Gold Star sailed to Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, in February 1946 and decommissioned there 17 April 1946. She had served over 21 years in the Western Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
without once returning to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and had carried countless tons of supplies, items large and small, for the warships of the fleet. The old ship was delivered to the Maritime Commission 30 June 1946, and was sold for scrap 1 December 1947 to Dulien Steel Products, Inc.
Military awards and honors
Gold Star received one battle star for World War II service. Her crew members were entitled to the following medals:- Combat Action Ribbon (28JUN45)
- American Defense Service Medal (with Fleet Clasp)
- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1)
- World War II Victory Medal
- Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia Clasp)