The USS Justin (IX-228), formerly the liberty ship

Liberty ship

Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...

 Gus W. Darnell, was built by Todd Houston Shipbuilding Corporation, Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

, in 1944. She was operated as a cargo ship in the Pacific and acquired by the US Navy on 2 September 1945; and commissioned at Guiuan Roadstead, Philippine Islands on 4 September 1945 with Lieutenant William T. Hamilton in command.

Justin departed for Shanghai, China, 20 October where she embarked naval passengers for transport to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. She picked up a cargo of 3,000 bags of mail at Guam

Guam

Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

 before arriving San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

 23 December 1945. Justin decommissioned at San Francisco 23 January 1946 and was turned over to the War Shipping Administration

War Shipping Administration

The War Shipping Administration was a World War II emergency war agency of the US Government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the US needed for fighting the war....

. She was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet

National Defense Reserve Fleet

The National Defense Reserve Fleet consists of "mothballed" ships, mostly merchant vessels, that can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping for the United States of America during national emergencies, either military or non-military, such as commercial shipping crises.The NDRF is...

 at Suisun Bay, California, until being sold 25 May 1954 to the Boston Metals Corporation and scrapped.