SS Lane Victory 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 area of Los Angeles , California . As a rare surviving Victory ship, she was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark .
31-710: SS Lane Victory was named after Lane College , which was established as a high school for black youths in 1882 at Jackson, Tennessee , by Isaac Lane , a bishop of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America. Lane Victory was built in Los Angeles by the California Shipbuilding Corporation and launched on May 31, 1945. On her first voyage, June 27, 1945, Lane Victory carried war supplies in
62-712: A Black graduate of Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University) was elected president of Lane College, after T. F. Saunders resignation. Lane College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate's and bachelor's degrees . The Lane College Department of Athletics sponsors men's intercollegiate baseball, basketball, football, cross country, and tennis, along with women's intercollegiate softball, basketball, cross country, volleyball, and tennis. The school's athletic teams are nicknamed
93-474: A covering fire. After unloading she evacuated 7,010 men, women and children, taking them south to safety. When the ship arrived 7,011 passengers disembarked, as a baby had been born during the voyage. On October 10, 1953, she was laid up in Suisun Bay, California, storage. An annual Korean War tribute day is held aboard SS Lane Victory in honor of those saved. In 1966 the ship was restored to duty again for
124-810: A member of the Memphis Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South , was appointed the first president of Lane Institute. In 1896 the college department was formed, and the Board of Trustees voted to change the name to Lane College. Around 1902, many letters were written calling for a Black president for Lane College to the Christian Index , a magazine published by the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1903, James Albert Bray ,
155-553: A new area north of the Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands of the Santa Barbara Channel. These whales are at risk to be struck by ships passing through a shipping lane used to move goods south to Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. About 100 collisions have been documented off of the coast of California since 1982, which includes a rate of about 6 per year today, possibly more due to the difficulty of observing
186-608: A representative of the service and sacrifices of the U.S. Merchant Marine to the nation during times of conflict: "Whereas vessels of the United States merchant marine fleet, such as the S.S. LANE VICTORY, provided critical logistical support to the Armed Forces by carrying equipment, supplies, and personnel necessary to maintain war efforts" In February 2012 she moved from Berth 94 in Los Angeles Harbor by
217-404: A single island that was only five miles (8 km) off the coast. The islands are visible from the mainland on clear days. Excursion boats cross the channel, taking visitors to watch whales and visit the islands. In the perpendicular (east-west) direction, huge cargo ships and tankers occupy a major shipping lane on their way to or from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach . The Channel
248-677: Is a private historically black college associated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and located in Jackson, Tennessee . It offers associate and baccalaureate degrees in the arts and sciences. Lane College was founded in 1882 by the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church (C.M.E.; now known as Christian Methodist Episcopal Church) as the C.M.E. High School. It was named after Methodist Bishop Isaac Lane , who co-founded
279-652: Is a partial list) The engine housed in Lane Victory ' s forward hold exhibit space was used as the engine for the fictitious gunboat USS San Pablo in The Sand Pebbles (1966). Lane Victory earned one ribbon for World War II service , two for Korean War service – United Nations Korea Medal & Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation – and one for Vietnam War service . See also, similar role:- Empire ship , Fort ship , Park ship , Ocean ship . Lane College Lane College
310-610: Is a partial list) The ship was featured in Visiting... with Huell Howser Episode 406. Some TV shows she was featured in are: Alias , Baywatch , California Gold , Mail Call (episode #70), MacGyver , Murder She Wrote , the National Geographic Channel , NCIS , Port Chicago Mutiny (TV movie), Return of the Pirates ( History Channel ), Special Ops Mission and Unsolved Mysteries . In
341-526: Is the location of numerous oil fields, some of which have substantial reserves. These include the Ellwood , Summerland , Carpinteria offshore and Dos Cuadras fields. In 1969, the Dos Cuadras was the point of origin of a major oil spill , which came about when oil spurted at high pressure through faults and cracks around a zone which had recently been drilled for the first time. Public outrage over
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#1732772581851372-622: The Season 6 King of the Hill episode "Returning Japanese: Part 2" (2002), Cotton is sent back to the U.S. aboard Lane Victory . The History Channel series Mail Call episode 6/04, "Lane Victory", was an hour long episode about the ship and the World War II Merchant Marine,. (note: this is a partial list) In 1999, the ship was used in a Ford Super Duty commercial and Disney's "Golden Dreams" commercial. (note: this
403-523: The Vincent Thomas Bridge to Berth 46 in Los Angeles Harbor at the end of Harbor Boulevard-Miner Street, south of the bridge. She was reopened to the public on February 17, 2012. She was moved, again, to Berth 49 in early 2013 as Berth 46 was being converted into a future super cruise ship dock. Lane Victory has been used in a number of movies, TV shows and commercials because of her excellent working condition. The ship's wakes were used in
434-524: The 1997 blockbuster movie Titanic for the titular ocean liner 's wakes. She also served as the setting for the climax of the comedy film The Pest the same year. Other films in which the ship appeared are: Black Ops (Deadwater) (2008), Flags of Our Fathers (2006), GI Jane (1997), Pearl Harbor (2001), The Thin Red Line (1998), U-571 (2000) and Twin Sitters (1994) (note: this
465-901: The Atlantic Ocean in time to arrive for the D-Day Anniversary. It was reported on the Maritime Mobile Service Net later in May that the Victory Ship had chosen to return after repairs were completed to a California port to await the return of the Jeremiah O'Brien . In June 1994 Lane Victory participated in a mock Normandy invasion in the Santa Barbara Channel in celebration of the 50th anniversary of D-Day . In September 1994 she escorted
496-811: The Baja Peninsula with the intention of joining the Liberty ship SS Jeremiah O'Brien on the 50th Anniversary of D-Day in France. On May 2, 1994, she passed the Sailing Vessel Blythe Spirit about 500 feet off the starboard side according to the day log of S/V Blythe Spirit. This encounter was just north of Cabo San Lucas. Before reaching the Panama Canal the Lane Victory had engine problems that prevented it from going across
527-745: The Dragons and compete in Division II of the NCAA . The athletic teams compete in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference . Former Lane football player Jacoby Jones became the first player in history to score a receiving touchdown and a return touchdown in a Super Bowl as a member of the Baltimore Ravens. SS Lane Victory , a World War II Victory Ship , one of the few surviving,
558-643: The Liberty ship SS Jeremiah O'Brien from San Pedro to San Francisco in celebration of Jeremiah O'Brien ' s return from her voyage to Normandy. On October 9, 2007, SS Lane Victory received a Special Heritage Award from the World Ship Trust in San Diego. She serves as a training facility for the Los Angeles County Fire Department , Los Angeles City Fire Department , local law enforcement agencies, FBI,
589-554: The Pacific. The War Shipping Administration gave the operations of the ship to the American President Lines . United States Merchant Mariners operated the ship. The United States Navy Armed Guard, who manned the ship's guns, worked as signalmen and radiomen. She made two Pacific cruises, beginning July 10, 1945, to Manus Island , and the second starting August 30, 1945, to Guam, Saipan and Hawaii. The trip to Guam
620-675: The Reserve Fleet. Volunteers from the United States Merchant Marine Veterans of World War II worked for three years to restore the ship to working condition after she had sat, slowly deteriorating, in Suisun Bay for nearly two decades. Many upgrades were performed in order to bring Lane Victory up to Coast Guard standards. She was drydocked in 1992, and her hull was found to be sound. On September 10, 1992, her sea trials started and proved her seaworthy. In May 1994 Lane Victory sailed south along
651-619: The U.S. Coast Guard and other United States Armed Forces. After her 1988 acquisition by the U.S. Merchant Marine Veterans of World War II, Lane Victory was towed to the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro on June 12, 1989. She was turned into a museum and work ship again. In 1990 Lane Victory was designated a National Historic Landmark . A volunteer crew maintain and operate the ship and her two onboard museums. On September 13, 2000, Congress passed Resolution 327, recognizing SS Lane Victory as
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#1732772581851682-667: The Vietnam War. She also saw duty during the conflict moving ammunition and supplies to and from the war zone in Vietnam. On April 29, 1970 Lane Victory was laid up again at Suisun Bay for storage in the National Defense Reserve Fleet . During her three-war career, she traveled through the Far East Pacific, made a few transatlantic crossings and one circumnavigation of the globe. Because of
713-584: The city of Santa Barbara , and west of the Oxnard Plain in Ventura County . It trends east–west, is approximately 130 kilometres (70 nmi) long and averages about 45 kilometres (24 nmi) across, becoming narrowest at its easternmost extremity where Anacapa Island is about 30 kilometres (16 nmi) from the mainland. During the last ice age, the four northern Channel Islands, including Santa Rosa Island, were conjoined into Santa Rosae ,
744-420: The massive environmental damage inflicted by this spill, which covered hundreds of square miles of the channel and fouled beaches from Ventura to Goleta, was a major spur to the budding environmental movement . The Santa Barbara Channel contains the world's largest natural oil seepage – Coal Oil Point . Goleta Point is a nearby extension into the channel. Point Arguello , a headland near the city of Lompoc ,
775-399: The school. Planning for the school had begun in 1878, but the establishment was delayed by a yellow fever epidemic in the region in 1878. Its primary purpose was the education of newly freed enslaved persons , and the original curriculum focused on the preparation of "teachers and preachers." It became Lane Institute in 1883. In 1887, Rev. T. F. Saunders, a White former enslaver, and
806-496: The ship's excellent condition in storage at Suisun Bay, the Maritime Administration decided to set aside Lane Victory for preservation. President Ronald Reagan signed into law H.R. 2032 on October 18, 1988, which turned over the ship to the United States Merchant Marine Veterans of World War II. Joe Vernick, John Smith and a group of Merchant Marine veterans had worked for years for the ship to be released from
837-473: The theories of colonization of the rare species Torrey Pine , Pinus torreyana to the islands, suggesting that it is likely that Chumash peoples carried the initial cones in their Tomols. The pygmy mammoth , an extinct, endemic species, were capable swimmers able to cross the channel and adapt to the island environment by insular dwarfism . As of at least 2011, a few endangered species of whale (including blue , fin , and humpback ) have begun to feed in
868-538: Was named for Lane College. It is now docked in San Pedro, California (which is part of the commercial harbor area of Los Angeles to the south of downtown). It is now open as a museum. Santa Barbara Channel The Santa Barbara Channel is a portion of the Southern California Bight and separates the mainland of California from the northern Channel Islands . It is generally south of
899-554: Was taken out of storage and by October 1950 was back in service. She was then deployed to evacuate Korean civilians and United Nations personnel at Wonsan , North Korea. During December 1950 she evacuated over 3,800 U.S. troops and 1,100 vehicles from Hungnam while under attack during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir . Lane Victory offloaded troops, vehicles and cargo as the cruiser USS Saint Paul and destroyers laid down
930-786: Was the site of the Honda Point disaster in 1923, in which seven US Navy destroyers ran aground, in the largest peacetime loss of US Navy ships. Prior to the Holocene era sea levels were considerably lower, such that the water width separating the islands from the mainland was much less, making biological colonization as well as human transport across the channel easier. In recent times the Native American Chumash peoples navigated these waters with ease in small watercraft , allowing communication and trade between island and mainland villages. C. Michael Hogan reviews some of
961-491: Was to bring food to the island. On the way Lane Victory sailed through a typhoon and was tossed around for 14 days. On February 27, 1946, her second voyage ended. With the end of World War II, she started shipping aid. In March 1946 she started delivering goods to Europe under the Marshall Plan . With the end of the aid plan, on May 11, 1948 Lane Victory was laid up at Suisun Bay , California. In 1950 Lane Victory