Scrapbook

The Beginning

Construction

North Carolina Shipbuilding Company, Wilmington, NC

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Please note: These pictures are not specifically of the USS Great Sitkin. They are pictures of the construction of Liberty, C2, AKA and other military type ships built by the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company. Between May of 1941 and April 1946 they built 243 merchant type ships including the USS Great Sitkin (AE-17), their 197th ship. The pictures are included here to pay tribute to the hard working men and women who supported the war effort on the home front.

The Shipwrights

Christening

(The following 2 pictures are photocopies taken from the January 21, 1945 edition of the Wilmington Sunday Star-News. The picture of Miss Dimond is courtesy of the New Hanover County Public Library, Wilmington, NC. The photo copy of the news article that accompanied the picture is courtesy of the J. Y. Joyner Library North Carolina Collection, East Carolina University , Greenville, NC.

Commissioning

U.S. Naval Station, Charleston, SC

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While She Sailed

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	POD 7 Dec 1945	POD 4 May 1954	POD 4 May 1954 cont'd	Memo from CO - '60
POD 30 Jun 1969	Ship's Birthday 1972			Collision with USS Midway
Jim Pino feeding Italian orphans - 1953	Ship's Menu Christmas 1955	Change of Command 1957	Over the side painting -1952	Ship's newspaper from Radio Central "The NUID". Nov 1963
Change of Command '72

Swabbing the decks. - 1954	Waiting for Personnel Inspection Pier 26 New York City - 1952	Pier 26 New York City - 1952
Leaving New York Harbor, Pier 26 - cir. 1957 (photo ID courtesy of George Schnyer, area ID courtesy of George Mitchell)	Pier side Bayonne - cir. 1970	Main Gate Military Ocean Terminal, Bayonne - Feb. '75 (courtesy Bayonne Free Public Library)
Floating Dry Dock, Todd Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, NY - April 1970	DCFN George Kaiser at bow in Dry Dock - Todd Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, NY - April 1970	Firing Exercise - Twin 20mm cir. '48
40MM Mount - cir. '48	Brooklyn Navy Yard - cir. '48	New York Harbor - cir. '48
USS R.K. Huntington (DD-781) Pierside, MOTBY cir '70	Awards Ceremony, Athens, Greece Med cruise 1971 Capt Rohrer & BT3 Jim Dunno	Personnel Inspection - 1958
Engine Room view from Boiler section - '59	Throttleboard - cir. '49	Fireroom, cir. '49
#2 Boiler Mascot - cir 1971	Crews Lounge - '57	Ship's Post Office "Cancellation Stamp" 1953
Letterhead Stationary 1953		"Home Sweet Home"- cir '72 "casket" style bunk - mattress on the lid, lots of storage in the box - well at lease more than the old wall lockers had.
		The 2 news articles to the left were about the ship returning from the Cuban Missile Crisis blockade. Click on the picture for a larger view.

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Military Ocean Terminal Bayonne (MOTBY)
Bayonne, NJ

Art work used by Zippo Lighter Co., cir. 1970's

New York skyline 1972

Ship's Patch, cir. 1970's

Ship's Plaque, cir. 1972

Ship's Shoulder Patch

Ship's Patch, cir. '68
Viet Nam / WESTPAC Cruise
(compliments of RM3 Larry Dulin)

Ship's store postcard - cir '57
(courtesy Larry Teeter)

Picture Postcard cir. '52
(compliments of BM2 Herb Cason)

Decal purchased from Ship's Store cir. '57
(compliments of MM3 Dennis Domansky)

Cartoon drawn by unknown shipmate
Brent Screw Incident

Engine "Patti" - 1972

Ship's Photo Card Holder, back was
a "Track Chart" - cir. '57

US Geological Survey maps of
Great Sitkin Volcano

The End
(click on picture for larger view)

"Navy News" message - Spring '73

Personnel Barge tied astern - June '73
(compliments WO McClane - wife Patti in foreground)

Engine Room - Christmas 1972

Pierside Bayonne, NJ prior to Decommissioning

News Article
News article from Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. '74
Scrapping of USS Great Sitkin (AE-17)

This plaque was placed on the ship at the time it was built. It is one of the few items of the ship that is still in existence. It is stored by the Dept of the Navy, Historical Branch

These news articles about the death of the ship's sponsor were courtesy of Mr. Bruce Merrell, Alaska Bibliographer, Z. J. Loussac Public Library, Anchorage Municipal Libraries, Anchorage Alaska.

We appreciate his research on Ms. (Dimond) Reilly and providing the Association with the information on who she was and part of her life. Without his efforts, this historical information about the lady who christened the ship would not have been known.

Last up dated on: 08/01/08