First Sailing of the S.S. Smith Thompson: Serving in the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II

Merriam Press Military Monograph 130. First Edition (December 2011). The S.S. Smith Thompson was a World War II armed cargo ship built on an emergency basis by the U.S. War Shipping Administration. The Smith Thompson was one of those “ordinary” Liberty ships that did her job during extraordinary times. One thing struck me that conveys the sense of urgency those many years ago, and that was the fact that within 30 days of the Smith Thompson’s completion, she was crossing the Pacific Ocean with her first load of war materiel! The story that follows chronicles one man’s version of a typical voyage aboard a World War II Liberty ship. The man at the center of the story is Albert F. Miller, or “Al” as he was called by his friends and family. The story being told here is by Al’s grandson, Steve Miller. The story set here is intended to provide enjoyment and some nostalgia for the reader; not to be a textbook or reference manual. The public then and now is ignorant about the Merchant Marine, in that merchant seamen in World War II suffered more deaths per capita than any branch of the U.S. military. In fact, the War Shipping Administration deliberately refused to reveal the casualty figures during the war in order to avoid creating a shortage of volunteers. When all is said and done with this story, I hope the reader will come to understand what it was like to serve aboard an armed merchant vessel, as it was for the vast majority of those that served. They served quietly, without distinction, and felt no particular grandeur; they thought they were “just doing their job.” 22 photos, illustrations and drawings