The United States of America (USA) “Victory Ships” are not as acclaimed as they deserve. The Merchant Marines who served aboard the victory ships are a venerable group. There is a significant monument dedicated to them near the waterfront on Harbor Boulevard in San Pedro (SP) - the port of Los Angeles - that is a touching and meaningful tribute. Victory ships are a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by American shipyards during World War II, many located in SP. They were a more modern design than earlier Liberty ships, slightly larger with more powerful steam turbine engines allowing for high-speed convoy.

San Pedro is privileged to have S.S. Lane Victory (LV) permanently located in the outer harbor. The LV launched May 31, 1945 is a National Historic Monument, commemorating its 80th anniversary August 10 at the annual "Spirit of '45" event that celebrates the end of WWII. The ship now functions as a museum and event venue located in at 2400 Miner Street, SP 90731. Open for visitors Wednesday and Saturday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; closed major holidays for special events. (Links for website and for event tickets at end of article).

The LV was built by California Shipbuilding Corporation (CalShip) at Terminal Island, California, in 1945 and owned by American President Lines (APL), however it was immediately commissioned by the wartime administration to become a cargo ship for the WWII convoy fleet with a Naval armed guard aboard her for protection. The ship has designation of VC2-S-AP2 indicating she is a "V" for "Victory," "C2" for large capacity cargo carrier, "S" for "steam"; and "AP2" stands for the 6,000 shaft horsepower type of Victory. Post WWII she went back into service for APL as a cargo freighter, until the Korean War when she was again a convoy ship.

Named for Lane College, high school for black youths established in 1882 by Isaac Lane a bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church, located in Jackson, Tennessee. The school grew into a prominent liberal arts college named in honor of the self-educated former slave who founded it. The ship is fascinating and well worth visiting.

Several years ago the LV received a unique historical artifact, a 48 star “Old Glory” USA flag that came from the Grace Lines Merchant Marine ship S.S. Santa Olivia. According to Barrie Getz, head of LV archives and collections/museum curator: “During her wartime (1936-1946) Commission as a sub-bare US Army Transport Ship (USAT) she was renamed the USAT David W. Branch and carried several battalions to the islands of Attu and Kiska, Alaska (Aleutian Island Campaign) most notably the 93rd Battalion during ‘Operation Landcrab’ and onto Kiska during ‘Operation Cottage’.”

The five and a half by eight foot flag has been kept in reserve and recently custom framed by The Distinctive Edge Framing and Gallery (TDEFG) in Rancho Palos Verdes. It will be unveiled and on permanent display from August 10 in the ship’s museum. “Its inherent and antique value is immense and a great honor for the ship to have in its collection and at last on view,” commented Getz.

“The challenge of framing the flag was extreme because the space needed to lay it out. We actually had to finish the framing aboard the ship because of its immense size and how it was mounted. A special wall was built just to hang the flag,” states Ron Sesco founder and expert framer of TDEFG.

There are not many films that reveal the attributes and efforts of the Merchant Marines and the Victory ships, however there are a few worth viewing for story and entertainment value, including Action In The North Atlantic that New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther espoused "it's a good thing to have a picture which waves the flag for the merchant marine. Those boys are going through hell-and-high-water…." Take a look, appreciate and learn.

Action In The North Atlantic (USA, Warner Bros., 1943, 126 min., dir. Lloyd Bacon, Byron Haskin, Raoul Walsh)

Merchant Marine Lt. Joe Rossi (Humphrey Bogart) is First Officer on Liberty Ship SS Northern Star under command of Captain Steve Jarvis (Raymond Massey) in a convoy bound from Halifax to Murmansk. After German u-boat sinks the ship and some crew manage to stay alive for 11 days aboard a raft and is heading to Murmansk. Later at the maritime union hall the Northern Star survivors await new assignments that turn out to be to a brand new Liberty ship, the S.S. Seawitch, commanded by Jarvis, with Rossi once again his First Officer.

Armed with anti-aircraft guns and dual-purpose cannon manned by trained Navy gunnery personnel the Seawitch embarks with a convoy carrying supplies to the Soviet port of Murmansk, however, the convoy is forced to disperse when attacked by a U-boat. The Seawitch takes evasive action, hiding out at the edge of the Arctic icepack to elude a U-boat hunting her. In spite of attacks by German planes and subs, Rossi gets the ship to Murmansk. Supporting cast includes Alan Hale (Boots O’Hara) and Ruth Gordon (Sarah Jarvis). Film concludes with excerpt from a speech by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt paying tribute to the valor of America's Merchant Mariners and their important contribution to the war effort: "From the freedom-loving peoples of the United Nations to our merchant seaman on all the oceans goes our everlasting gratitude.” Academy Award® nomination for best screenplay.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035608/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1

The Long Way Home (USA, Argosy Pictures, Walter Wanger Productions; 1940, 95 min., dir. John Ford)

En route from the West Indies to Baltimore aboard the British Merchant Ship the S.S. Glencairn, motley crew including young Swede Olsen (John Wayne), Irishman Driscoll (Thomas Mitchell), and Brit Smitty (Ian Hunter) cope with their personal demons and the threats of World War II. When the ship takes on a cargo of dynamite commencing a perilous transatlantic journey transporting explosives and ammunition from USA to London, England suspicion grows that one of the crew members may be a German spy; and tension and fear threaten the men’s camaraderie.

Script by Dudley Nichols based on four Eugene O'Neill one-act plays captures the intense experiences of seafaring life and one of the six Oscarâ nods for the picture as is superb cinematography of Greg Toland (Citizen Kane). Stellar cast includes Ward Bond, Barry Fitzgerald, Joe Sawyer and Mildred Natwick among others.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032728/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1

Blood Alley (USA, Warner Bros., 1955,110 min., dir. William A .Wellman)

For two years American Merchant Navy Captain Tom Wilder (John Wayne) has been prisoner of the Chinese who seized his ship. Mysteriously he receives a message hidden in a mattress with a Russian uniform, a revolver and that the guards have been bribed to allow his escape. He meets a man waiting for him in a sampan and they head to the Chiku Shan village. He meets the village leader Mr. Tso (Paul Fix) and the American Cathy Grainger (Lauren Bacall) who reveal that they have recruited him to take about 200 villagers from Red China to Hong Kong in a ferry boat. He is reluctant, since the old boat is adequate to inland waters only and does not have maps or charts. But soon he is convinced to accept the dangerous trip, Screenplay penned by Albert Sidney Fleischman based on his novel.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047889/

Forgotten Victory (USA, C.A.R.E. Project, 2021, documentary, dir. H.K. Lee)

The S.S. Lane Victory, launched in 1945, is an American Victory-class cargo ship used in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War. The ship was preserved in 1989 to serve as a museum ship in the San Pedro, Port of Los Angeles, California, As a rare surviving Victory ship, she is designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15314218/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1

If you haven’t ever or recently been aboard the LV consider a visit to the ship – here’s link for more about

S.S. Lane Victory at: https://lanevictory.org/

Tickets for the August 10 “Spirit of ‘45” event that includes live “big bands”, swing dancing, classic cars, reenactments at:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/spirit-of-45-la-tickets-1508065587769

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Stephanie Mardesich, a native of San Pedro from a family who arrived in the harbor area over 100 years ago. An alumna of U.S.C. School of Cinematic Arts; founder-director of the LA Harbor International Film Festival; credited journalist and public relations consultant, she launched "Cinema Stephanie" film critique blogette in 2017. More recently, she created "Eclectic Culture" lifestyle stories and reviews blog. She is also co-producer with Jack Baric (S.P. native and R.P.V. resident) of the oral history project Stories of Los Angeles Harbor Area: For Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (SOLAHA) - Volume II debuted in March 2020