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 USS Admiral W. S. Benson (AP-120)
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Namesake
William Shepherd Benson was born in Macon, Georgia, on 25 September 1855. Completion of his U.S. Naval Academy studies in 1877 was followed by years of sea duty, including a cruise around the World in USS Dolphin during the 1880s. He was also active in coast survey and hydrographic duties, was an instructor at the Naval Academy, commanded the cruiser USS Albany and served as a flag aide and fleet chief of staff, in addition to other assignments. In 1911, Captain Benson became the first Commanding Officer of the battleship USS Utah (BB-31). He was Commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1913-15, and from there was ordered to Washington, D.C., where he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral and became the Navy's first Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). Benson was heavily involved in defining the functions of the new CNO position and strengthening the Navy during a period marked by internal Navy Department tensions, U.S. interventions in the Caribbean and Central America, and the European war crisis. Promoted to the rank of Admiral in 1916, his responsibilities greatly expanded when the United States entered the First World War in April 1917. Over the next year and a half, he oversaw a huge expansion of the Navy, the extension of its operations to European waters and the transportation of the United States' Army to France. After the November 1918 Armistice, he was an active participant in the lengthy peace negotiations held in France. Admiral Benson retired from the Naval service in September 1919. Over the next decade, he was active in the leadership of the U.S. Shipping Board. Admiral William S. Benson died in Washington, D.C. on 20 May 1932.
US Navy photo # NH 58904. Admiral William S. Benson, USN, Chief of Naval Operations, portrait photograph, in Special Full Dress uniform, circa 1916-1919. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. |
Bill Gonyo |
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Admiral W. S. Benson (AP-120) launching, 22 November 1943, at Bethlehem-Alameda Shipyard Inc., Alameda, CA.
Photos from the archives of the San Francisco Examiner. |
S. Dale Hargrave and
David Smith |
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Admiral W. S. Benson (AP-120) anchored in San Francisco Bay, 5 August 1944. Note 5"/38 dual-purpose guns forward, groups of 20mm guns, kingposts fore and aft, and life floats stacked amidships (as opposed to the boats that equipped these ships later in their careers). A censor has carefully deleted the radar at the transport's foremast
US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 96631. |
Robert Hurst |
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USS Admiral W. S. Benson (AP-120) underway, date and location unknown. |
Hyperwar US Navy in WWII |
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USS Admiral W. S. Benson (AP-120) anchored, date and location unknown.
Photo from Lanier (APA-125) cruise book, 1944-46. |
Russ Padden |
 USAT General Daniel I. Sultan
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Namesake
Daniel Isom Sultan, born December 9, 1885 at Oxford, Mississippi, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1907 and was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. Prior to World War I, he served in the Philippine Islands and was in charge of the construction of fortifications on Corregidor. In 1918 he was assigned to the War Department General Staff in France. From 1929 to 1931, he commanded troops during a survey of the proposed Inter-Ocean Canal route through Nicaragua; and, from 1934 to 1938, he presided as a Commissioner of the District of Columbia. Promoted to Brigadier General July 8, 1939, he was in command of the 38th Infantry Division at the beginning of World War II. Following his command of the VIII Corps, he was ordered to the China-Burma-India Theater in 1943 to act as Deputy Commander under General Joseph Stilwell. He was promoted to Lieutenant General September 2, 1944 and on October 24 became Commander of the India-Burma Theater. Returning to the United States June 26, 1945, he was appointed Inspector General of the Army on July 14. General Sultan died January 14, 1947 at Washington, D.C., while on active duty.
U.S. Army Photo |
Bill Gonyo |
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USAT Admiral W. S. Benson under way on the Whangpoo River at Shanghai, China on 10 December 1946. The Army fitted lifeboats and modified all of the ships of this class for operation by civilian crews during an initial austere
conversion in 1946. They otherwise retained much of their wartime configuration.
Photo courtesy Shipscribe.com. |
Robert Hurst |
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USAT General Daniel I. Sultan underway, date and location unknown.
US Navy photo |
Military Sea Transportation Service Society |
USNS General Daniel I. Sultan (T-AP-120)
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USNS General Daniel I. Sultan (T-AP-120) underway, date and location unknown. |
Carl R. Friberg Jr. |
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USNS General Daniel I. Sultan (T-AP-120) underway in San Francisco Bay, date unknown. |
Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. |
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USNS General Daniel I. Sultan (T-AP-120) underway, circa 1950s, date unknown. |
James T. Ezell for his father Col. Bert P. Ezell, USA (ret), deceased. |
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USNS General Daniel I. Sultan (T-AP-120) arriving Yokohama, Japan in 1950s. |
Terrence Maher |
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Accommodations for families of junior officers were spartan aboard USNS General Daniel I. Sultan (T-AP-120) This the family of USAF Captain Maher in their cabin. Mother's were warned to keep children away from portholes as they were dangerous. |
Terrence Maher |
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"COLOR GUARD FOR INAUGURAL PARADE. Designated the Inaugural Color Detachment, 84 army and 12 marine non-commissioned officers, representing
every army and marine regiment in the Korean combat area, are pictured on their arrival in San Francisco yesterday aboard the transport
{USNS General Daniel I. Sultan (T-AP-120)] (background).
All the men are combat veterans scheduled for rotation to the United States and will be sent to various camps for reassignment after the inauguration ceremonies."
"Cleveland Plains Dealer", 9 January 1953. |
Tommy Trampp |
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USNS General Daniel I. Sultan (T-AP-120) postcard, circa , 1957. |
Millard Greer |
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USNS General Daniel I. Sultan (T-AP-120) under way in San Francisco Bay, date unknown.
US Navy photo. |
Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. |
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General Daniel I. Sultan (T-AP-120) moored pierside Naha, Okinawa, 1957. |
Millard Greer |
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USNS General Daniel I. Sultan (T-AP-120) moored pierside Oakland, CA., 1957. |
Millard Greer |
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USNS General Daniel I. Sultan (T-AP-120) moored pierside Oakland, CA., 1957. |
Millard Greer |
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USNS General Daniel I. Sultan (T-AP-120)] underway, date and location unknown.
U.S. Navy - Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) photo. |
Nicholas Tiberio |
