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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS President Jackson (T-APA-18)
ex
USS President Jackson (APA-18) (1943 - 1949)
USS President Jackson (AP-37) (1942 - 1943)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Charlie - India - Foxtrot
NCIF

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Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons





Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (1 Nov 43, 21 Feb 45)
Second Row - Navy Unit Commendation (8) - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal
Third Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (9) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Fourth Row - National Defense Service Medal - Korean Service Medal (4) - Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation
Fifth Row - Philippines Liberation Medal - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

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During WWII USS President Jackson was assigned to Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
TransRon Eleven, COMO. D.W. Loomis USN (18);
TransDiv Thirty-Two (flagship), CAPT. C.W. Weitzel and participated in the following campaigns:

Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Guadalcanal-Tulagi landings, 7 to 9 August 1942	New Georgia Group operation New Georgia-Rendova-Vangunu occupation, 30 June 1943
Capture and defense of Guadalcanal, 12 November 1942	Marianas operation Capture and occupation of Guam, 21 to 26 July 1944
Treasury-Bougainville operation Occupation and defense of Cape Torokina, 1 and 8 and 9 November 1943	Luzon operations Lingayen Gulf landings, 11 and 12 January 1945
Guadalcanal (Third Savo), 12 to 15 November 1942	Iwo Jima operation Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 19 to 6 March 1945
Consolidation of the Solomon Island Consolidation of southern Solomons, 17 February 1943

Following World War II USS President Jackson was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal	China Service Medal (extended)
15 to 20 July 1946	21 to 22 July 1946
24 July to 11 August 1946	27 July to 12 August 1947
27 July to 12 August 1947	8 to 15 September 1947
15 to 21 September 1947
20 to 26 December 1947
8 to 11 August 1949
30 August to 4 September 1949
13 to 16 November 1949

During the Korean War USS President Jackson participated in the following campaigns:

Korean War Campaigns
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
North Korean Aggression 18 to 20 September 1950	Inchon Landing 15 to 17 September 1950
Communist China Aggression, 5 to 20 November 1950	Second Korean Winter 25 to 26 January 1952

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 23 April 1973, to N.W. Kennedy Ltd. (Canada), % Mitsui & Co. (PD-X-957 dated 15 March 1973) for $467,390.00. Delivered 15 May 1973

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Specifications:
Displacement 9,500 t.(lt), 16,000 t.(fl)
Length 491'
Beam 69' 6"
Draft 26' 6"
Speed 18.4 kts (trial)

Complement

35 Officers

477 Enlisted

Troop Accommodations

70 Officers

1,312 Enlisted

Flag Accommodations

Officers 8

Largest Boom Capacity 30t.

Cargo Capacity 6,800 DWT

non-refrigerated 185,000 Cu. ft.

Armament

four single 3"/50 dual purpose guns

two twin 40mm AA gun mounts

three single 40mm AA gun mounts

twelve single 20mm AA gun mounts

Boats

thirty-two LCVPs

three LCM(3)

Fuel Capacities

NSFO 10,950 Bbls.

Diesel 800 Bbls

Propulsion

one Newport News Shipbuilding geared turbine drive

two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, 450psi 750°

double Westinghouse Main Reduction Gear

Ships Service Generators, four 300Kw 120V/240V D.C.

single propeller, designed shaft horsepower 8,500

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Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Contributed By
Merchant Service American President Lines
	226k	Namesake Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh President of the United States (1829–1837). He was military governor of Florida (1821), commander of the American forces at the Battle of New Orleans (1815), and eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy. A polarizing figure who dominated American politics in the 1820s and 1830s, his political ambition combined with widening political participation, shaping the modern Democratic Party. His legacy is now seen as mixed, as a protector of popular democracy and individual liberty, checkered by his support for Indian removal and slavery. Renowned for his toughness, he was nicknamed “Old Hickory”. As he based his career in developing Tennessee, Jackson was the first president primarily associated with the American frontier. His portrait appears on the U.S. twenty-dollar bill. Image, courtesy Library of Congress.		Bill Gonyo
	86k	SS President Jackson one day prior to launching, 6 June 1940, at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock, Corp. Newport News VA. At this time the ship is about 60% complete. Library of Congress Photo # LC-USE6- D-000702		Mike Green
100301830	87k	SS President Jackson launching, 6 June 1940, at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock, Corp. Newport News VA. Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Corp. photos.		Dale Hargrave
100301829	75k
	226k	SS President Jackson in the service of American President Lines, New York Harbor, circa, late 1940, early 1941.		Steve Newbauer for his father and Scott Dyben for his grandfather Bill Newbauer USS President Jackson
	117k	Advertisement for the SS President Jackson maiden voyage from New York to the Orient and around the world, November 2, 1940.		Tommy Trampp
USS President Jackson (AP-37)
	89k	USS President Jackson (AP-37), in the distance, alongside an oiler, probably at Noumea, New Caledonia, as seen from USS Wasp (CV-7) on the eve of the Guadalcanal-Tulagi invasion. Photo is dated 4 August 1942. Ship in the foreground is an as-yet little modified "flush-deck" destroyer, with no hull number showing. US National Archive photo # 80-G-K-559, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.		US Naval Historical Center
	117k	Ships maneuvering between Tulagi and Guadalcanal during the Japanese aerial torpedo attack on 8 August 1942. USS President Jackson (AP-37) is at left. HMAS Australia is in the center distance, with anti-aircraft shells bursting nearby. Photographed from USS Ellet (DD-398). US National Archive photo # 80-G-K-385, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.		Scott at LBS Products
	108k	USS President Jackson (AP-37) maneuvers under Japanese air attack off Guadalcanal, 12 November 1942. In the center background is smoke from an enemy plane that had just crashed into the after superstructure of USS San Francisco (CA-38), which is steaming away in the right center. Photographed from USS President Adams (AP-38). Note the anti-aircraft shell bursts. US National Archives photo # 80-G-32366, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.		Scott at LBS Products
	202k	USS President Jackson (AP-37) LCM-2 beached with ramp down and 3/4 ton Dodge T214-WC56 command reconnaissance truck about to disembark, date and location unknown. US Navy photo from "Allied Landing Craft of World War Two", published by Arms and Armour Press.		Robert Hurst
USS President Jackson (APA-18)
	99k	USS President Jackson (APA-18)'s LCVPs maneuvering off Townsville, Australia, during amphibious exercises in 1943. Note signalmen at work with semaphore flags. US Navy photo # NH82763 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, Courtesy of Chief Warrant Officer Keith L. Anderson, USN (Retired), 1974.		Gerd Matthes
	107k	USS President Jackson (APA-18)'s LCVPs maneuvering off Townsville, Australia, during amphibious exercises in 1943. Note the dented bow of the boat at right. US Navy photo # NH82765 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, Courtesy of Chief Warrant Officer Keith L. Anderson, USN (Retired), 1974.		Scott at LBS Products
	97k	Army troops load a 155mm gun into one of USS President Jackson (APA-18)'s LCMs, during amphibious exercises at Townsville, Australia, in 1943. US Navy photo # NH82768 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, Courtesy of Chief Warrant Officer Keith L. Anderson, USN (Retired), 1974.		Scott at LBS Products
	160k	USS President Jackson (APA-18) date and location unknown. US Navy photo
	86k	Sailors checking damage to the bow of USS President Jackson (APA-18) date and location unknown. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # UA 570.03.01, courtesy Oneida County Historical Society		Mike Green
	74k	USS President Jackson (APA-18), date and location unknown. She is painted camouflage Measure 33/6T.		Hyperwar US Navy in WWII
	96k	USS President Jackson (APA-18)'s LCVP's bringing Marines ashore at Bougainville, undated USMC photo # 17		Scott at LBS Products, and Tom Kerman courtesy Andy Vigil
	117k	USS President Jackson (APA-18)'s LCVP's and other landing craft off the Bougainville beachhead, November 1943 USMC photo # 68267, from the collections at the US Naval Historical Center		Submitted by Scott at LBS Products
	82k	One of USS President Jackson (APA-18)'s LCVPs approaching a Bougainville beach during a resupply mission, 5 January 1944.The ship in the center right distance is USS George Clymer (APA-27). US National Archives photo # 80-G-55881, a US Navy photo now in the collections at the US National Archives		Submitted by Scott at LBS Products
	194k	USS President Jackson (APA-18), probably during operation Magic Carpet bringing home soldiers and sailors after the end of World War II, circa December 1945.		Military History Museum
	98k	USS President Jackson (APA-18), photographed, 8 March 1947, in the Elizabeth River below the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, VA. Note the snow on the ship. US Navy photo # NH 97886 from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.		Scott at LBS Products
	109k	USS President Jackson (APA-18), photographed, 8 March 1947, in the Elizabeth River below the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, VA. Note the snow on the ship and on the building ashore. US Navy photo # NH 97887 from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.		Scott at LBS Products
	89k	USS President Jackson (APA-18), photographed, 8 March 1947, in the Elizabeth River below the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, VA. with a harbor tug alongside. Note the snow on buildings ashore and on the old ferry boats at right. US Navy photo # NH 97888 from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.		Scott at LBS Products
	94k	USS President Jackson (APA-18), photographed, 8 March 1947, in the Elizabeth River below the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, VA. with a harbor tug alongside. Note the snow on the ship and the buildings ashore. US Navy photo # NH 97889 from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.		Scott at LBS Products
	69k	USS President Jackson (APA-18), photographed in the vicinity of Norfolk, VA. from a NAS Norfolk, aircraft, 12 March 1947. US Navy photo # NH 97890 from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.		Scott at LBS Products
	94k	USS President Jackson (APA-18) photographed in the vicinity of Norfolk, VA. from a NAS Norfolk, aircraft, 12 March 1947. US Navy photo # NH 97891 from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.		Scott at LBS Products
	220k	Chief Petty Officer George A. Dedic with model built by him of USS President Jackson (APA-18) while he was assigned to the ship. CINCPACFLT photo dated 1/31/50 courtesy Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum.		Darryl Baker
	144k	USS President Jackson (APA-18) under way with the assistance of a tug in the harbor at Yokohama, Japan in November 1954.		Photo by Robert S. Jennings, CWO3 USN
	172k	USS President Jackson (T-APA-18) cards issued to passengers, restricted areas, traffic rules and drills and Abandons Ship station card.		Tommy Trampp
	401k	USS President Jackson (T-APA-18) Decommissioning program cover and invitation.		Wolfgang Hechler

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USS President Jackson (AP-37 / APA-18 / T-APA-18)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

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Commanding Officers
01	CDR. Weitzel, Charles William, USN	16 January 1942 - 20 August 1943
02	CAPT. Abernathy, Elmer Paul, USN (USNA 1921-B)	20 August 1943 - 28 March 1944
03	CAPT. Junker, Alexander Foster, USN (USNA 1922)	28 March 1944 - 23 October 1944
04	CAPT. Hamblett, Cyril Bertram, USN :ADM	23 October 1944 - 12 April 1945
05	CAPT. Weaver Jr., William Henry, USNR	12 April 1945 - 27 October 1945
06	CAPT. Wheeler, Homer Boozer, USN (USNA 1924)	27 October 1945 - ?
07	CDR. Milton, Coleman W., USNR	no dates
08	CAPT. Stewart, L. P.	no dates
09	CAPT. Miller, Daniel Byrd, USN (USNA-1926) :RADM	no dates
10	CAPT. Smith, S. P.	no dates
11	CDR. Pace, James Roland, USNR :RADM	no dates
12	CAPT. Hutson, Albert Lockett, USN (USNA-1918)	? - 1950
13	CAPT. Ferriter, Charles Arthur, USN (USNA 1924)	1950 - July 1951
14	CAPT. Jackson, Charles, USN (USNA 1926)	July 1951 - August 1952
15	CAPT. Newsome, James Hillman, USN (USNA 1930)	August 1952 - January 1953
17	CAPT. Lyon, Hyland Benton, USN (USNA 1931)	January 1953 - 1953
18	CAPT. Harwood, Richard Drury	1953 - 1954
19	CDR. Peak, Doyle	1954 - 6 July 1955

Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

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Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
MARAD Vessel History Database
Life Magazine photos of USS President Jackson (APA-18) and USS Hayes (APA-20) beach and boat crews

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This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 10 March 2023