USS Venus (AK-135)
Encyclopedia
The USS Venus (AK-135) was a Crater-class
cargo ship
in the service of the United States Navy
in World War II
. Originally liberty ship
SS William Williams (named after William Williams
a signer of the Declaration of Independence
), it was taken over by the Navy after being damaged in a torpedo attack and renamed after the planet Venus
. It was the only ship of the Navy to bear this name.
SS William Williams was laid down on 5 July 1942 under a Maritime Commission contract (MCE hull 263) by Permanente Metals Corporation, Yard No. 2, Richmond, California
; launched on 21 August; sponsored by Mrs. Paul S. Marrin; was delivered to her owners, the Isthmian Steamship Lines, on 8 September; and operated in the Pacific
for the remainder of 1942 and into 1943. The ship was commanded by Captain William Robinson Freeman Sr. up until the time she was torpedoed. On 2 May 1943, while near Suva, Fiji Islands, William Williams was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-19, commanded by Lt. Takaichi Kinashi who, while commanding this I-boat, had torpedoed Wasp (CV-7)
, North Carolina (BB-55)
, and O’Brien (DD-415)
with the same spread of torpedoes off Guadalcanal
on 15 September 1942.
At the time she was torpedoed, she was carrying lumber. Any other time, she would have been carrying munitions and surely would have been lost. With quick thinking by Captain Freeman, he ordered an immediate abandonment of the ship by most of her crew but Captain Freeman stayed behind with a small crew to put out the fires. Captain Freeman also ordered the radio operator, "Sparks" as they were called, to send out a distress signal that they were sinking rapidly with the hope that the Japanese ship would intercept the message. Believing the ship would blow from a cargo of munitions or believing that the ship was sinking and seeing the crew so hastily leave the ship, the Japanese vessel cleared the area believing a fatal blow had been struck. After the fires were put out, the crew returned and the William Williams built steam to continue to port. A Navy tug was sent out to pull her in but if need be, the William Williams could have made it on her own. Captain Freeman received a commendation for saving the "William Williams".
The William Williams was towed to Fiji
and thence to Auckland
, New Zealand
, where the Navy acquired the ship on 6 November 1943 from the War Shipping Administration under a bareboat charter. Enough repairs to make the ship seaworthy were effected, and she was commissioned as Venus on 10 November, Lt. Comdr. George H. L. Peet in command.
Towed from Auckland, Venus arrived at Sydney
, Australia, where she was decommissioned and placed "in service" on 4 December. Docking and conversion work at the port were delayed due to higher priorities being assigned to other ships and labor troubles at the dockyards themselves. Once these obstacles were overcome, work proceeded apace — a difficult task because the conversion was accomplished in a foreign yard with non-standard materials. Designated AK-135, the ship was placed back in commission on 26 September 1944. On 4 October, she commenced her shakedown and soon loaded general cargo and dry provisions before she sailed for the Admiralties
on 26 October.
She reached Manus
four days later and discharged some of her cargo. There, she also received her main battery, a single 5-inch, dual-purpose gun. The ship witnessed an air raid on 9 November, but the attack was directed at another vicinity, and the cargo vessel did not participate in the action. The following day, Mount Hood (AE-11)
blew up in a cataclysmic explosion while handling ammunition at Seeadler Harbor
. All but a few of her crew (those who were ashore at the time) were killed in the blast which not only atomized the ammunition ship but severely damaged other ships nearby. Venus responded to this emergency by sending a boat to assist in medical operations with 30 units of blood plasma.
During the ship's stay at Manus, several cases of diphtheria
developed on board, and all hands were restricted to the ship. On 28 November, Venus sailed for Dutch New Guinea
, arrived at Hollandia
the following day, and stayed until Christmas Eve
, when she headed for Aitape
— arriving there on Christmas Day. On 27 December 1944, the cargo vessel got underway for Cape Sansapor, where she supplied LST’s attached to Task Group (TG) 77.5, which later took part in the landings at Lingayen Gulf
. Proceeding to Morotai
upon completion of these operations, she unloaded the remainder of her cargo and fueled various small craft of the Royal Australian Navy
.
On 4 January 1945, during Venus’ stay at Morotai, Japanese aircraft conducted a bombing raid on the nearby land base, but the planes were driven off by antiaircraft fire and night fighters. Six days later, Venus, her holds empty, sailed with five other ships to Hollandia, where she took on board passengers. While proceeding thence to Australia, she encountered heavy gales but arrived safely at Brisbane
on 23 January.
The ship underwent repairs soon after she arrived while concurrently loading equipment of the 109th Fleet Hospital unit and of the 544th Construction Battalion (CB or "Seabees") for transport to the Philippine Islands
. She departed Brisbane on 4 February, proceeded via Manus and Hollandia, and joined a convoy off the Dutch New Guinea coast. The Allied
ships arrived at Guiuan Roadstead off Samar
on 27 February. Part of the Seabee unit soon went ashore to begin building the hospital, while the remainder stayed on board to unload equipment and stores. Eventually, as more Seabees could be accommodated ashore, the job of unloading passed on to Venus’ crew. Despite the lack of barges and experienced stevedores, Venus succeeded in unloading all equipment and supplies earmarked for the hospital unit before she joined a southbound convoy on 8 April, got underway for the Admiralties, and arrived at Manus one week later.
Proceeding thence to Emirau, Venus loaded the remnants of the 77th Construction Battalion and their equipment, accomplishing this on 25 April before getting underway for Brisbane to load more of the 77th Battalion's equipment. Besides the full load of cargo, Venus also accommodated 600 passengers, and additional galley and bunking facilities were set up on deck beneath makeshift shelters to take care of these men. The cargo vessel then headed north for the Philippines, via Milne Bay
, and arrived at Manila
on 13 June to commence offloading and to disembark her passengers. Five days later, the ship shifted to a berth alongside a sunken Japanese cargo ship.
With the erstwhile enemy freighter serving as a dock, Venus offloaded the remainder of her cargo — experiencing two air raid alerts during her stay at Manila — and completed these operations by 30 June. She then pressed southward for the Admiralties and loaded 1,500 tons of bombs for transport to Bougainville
in the Solomons
. The installation of a gyro compass delayed her sailing until 25 July, but the ship arrived at Empress Augusta Bay
on 29 July.
Eleven days later, Venus departed Torokina
, Bougainville, bound for the New Hebrides
and arrived at Espiritu Santo
on 11 August. She loaded material for drydock ABSD-1, loading from lighters in Pallikulo Bay. Due to poor loading conditions, the job was not completed until 7 September, when she was ready to sail for the Philippine Islands. During her stay at Espiritu Santo, word arrived that Japan had surrendered; and, for the first time since commissioning, the ship could sail at night without having to "darken ship."
Venus arrived at Samar
on 20 September and discharged her cargo before moving on to Subic Bay
. She sailed from Cebu on 15 December, bound for the Hawaiian Islands
, and arrived at Pearl Harbor
on 16 March. Decommissioned on 18 April 1946, the ship was subsequently towed by Hitchiti (ATF-103) to the west coast, departing Pearl Harbor on 5 December 1947 and arriving at San Francisco on 13 December.
Declared surplus to Navy needs, the ship was struck from the Navy list on 19 February 1948. Stripped for disposal, she was returned to the Maritime Commission on the 27th and was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet
at Suisun Bay
, California. The ship was scrapped at Oakland, California
, in August 1961.
Venus received one battle star for her service during World War II as William Williams. Her crew were eligible for the following medals:
Crater class cargo ship
Crater-class cargo ship is a category of freighter that was constructed for use by the United States Navy during World War II under Maritime Commission EC2-S-C1 type....
cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
in the service of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Originally 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...
SS William Williams (named after William Williams
William Williams (signer)
William Williams was a merchant, and a delegate for Connecticut to the Continental Congress in 1776, and a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Williams was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, the son of a minister, Tim Solomon Williams, and Mary Porter. He studied theology and graduated from...
a signer of the Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
), it was taken over by the Navy after being damaged in a torpedo attack and renamed after the planet Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
. It was the only ship of the Navy to bear this name.
SS William Williams was laid down on 5 July 1942 under a Maritime Commission contract (MCE hull 263) by Permanente Metals Corporation, Yard No. 2, Richmond, California
Richmond, California
Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905. It is located in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a residential inner suburb of San Francisco, as well as the site of heavy industry, which has been...
; launched on 21 August; sponsored by Mrs. Paul S. Marrin; was delivered to her owners, the Isthmian Steamship Lines, on 8 September; and operated in the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
for the remainder of 1942 and into 1943. The ship was commanded by Captain William Robinson Freeman Sr. up until the time she was torpedoed. On 2 May 1943, while near Suva, Fiji Islands, William Williams was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-19, commanded by Lt. Takaichi Kinashi who, while commanding this I-boat, had torpedoed Wasp (CV-7)
USS Wasp (CV-7)
USS Wasp was a United States Navy aircraft carrier. The eighth Navy ship of that name, she was the sole ship of her class. Built to use up the remaining tonnage allowed to the U.S. for aircraft carriers under the treaties of the time, she was built on a reduced-size version of the Yorktown-class...
, North Carolina (BB-55)
USS North Carolina (BB-55)
USS North Carolina was the lead ship of her class of battleship and the fourth in the United States Navy to be named in honor of this U.S. state. She was the first new-construction U.S. battleship to enter service during World War II, participating in every major naval offensive in the Pacific...
, and O’Brien (DD-415)
USS O'Brien (DD-415)
USS O'Brien was a World War II-era Sims-class destroyer in the service of the United States Navy, named in honor of Captain Jeremiah O'Brien and his five brothers, Gideon, John, William, Dennis and Joseph, who captured the HMS Margaretta on 12 June 1775 during the American revolution.The O’Brien...
with the same spread of torpedoes off Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
on 15 September 1942.
At the time she was torpedoed, she was carrying lumber. Any other time, she would have been carrying munitions and surely would have been lost. With quick thinking by Captain Freeman, he ordered an immediate abandonment of the ship by most of her crew but Captain Freeman stayed behind with a small crew to put out the fires. Captain Freeman also ordered the radio operator, "Sparks" as they were called, to send out a distress signal that they were sinking rapidly with the hope that the Japanese ship would intercept the message. Believing the ship would blow from a cargo of munitions or believing that the ship was sinking and seeing the crew so hastily leave the ship, the Japanese vessel cleared the area believing a fatal blow had been struck. After the fires were put out, the crew returned and the William Williams built steam to continue to port. A Navy tug was sent out to pull her in but if need be, the William Williams could have made it on her own. Captain Freeman received a commendation for saving the "William Williams".
The William Williams was towed to Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
and thence to Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, where the Navy acquired the ship on 6 November 1943 from the War Shipping Administration under a bareboat charter. Enough repairs to make the ship seaworthy were effected, and she was commissioned as Venus on 10 November, Lt. Comdr. George H. L. Peet in command.
Towed from Auckland, Venus arrived at Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia, where she was decommissioned and placed "in service" on 4 December. Docking and conversion work at the port were delayed due to higher priorities being assigned to other ships and labor troubles at the dockyards themselves. Once these obstacles were overcome, work proceeded apace — a difficult task because the conversion was accomplished in a foreign yard with non-standard materials. Designated AK-135, the ship was placed back in commission on 26 September 1944. On 4 October, she commenced her shakedown and soon loaded general cargo and dry provisions before she sailed for the Admiralties
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...
on 26 October.
She reached Manus
Manus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...
four days later and discharged some of her cargo. There, she also received her main battery, a single 5-inch, dual-purpose gun. The ship witnessed an air raid on 9 November, but the attack was directed at another vicinity, and the cargo vessel did not participate in the action. The following day, Mount Hood (AE-11)
USS Mount Hood (AE-11)
USS Mount Hood was the lead ship of her class of ammunition ships for the United States Navy in World War II. She was the first ship named after Mount Hood, a volcano in the Cascade Range in Oregon...
blew up in a cataclysmic explosion while handling ammunition at Seeadler Harbor
Seeadler Harbor
Seeadler Harbor, also known as Port Seeadler, is located on Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea and played an important role in World War II...
. All but a few of her crew (those who were ashore at the time) were killed in the blast which not only atomized the ammunition ship but severely damaged other ships nearby. Venus responded to this emergency by sending a boat to assist in medical operations with 30 units of blood plasma.
During the ship's stay at Manus, several cases of diphtheria
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
developed on board, and all hands were restricted to the ship. On 28 November, Venus sailed for Dutch New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, arrived at Hollandia
Jayapura
Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....
the following day, and stayed until Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
, when she headed for Aitape
Aitape
Aitape is a small town of about 8,000 people on the north coast of Papua New Guinea in the Sandaun Province. It is a coastal settlement that is almost equidistant from the provincial capitals of Wewak and Vanimo, and marks the midpoint of the highway between these two capitals...
— arriving there on Christmas Day. On 27 December 1944, the cargo vessel got underway for Cape Sansapor, where she supplied LST’s attached to Task Group (TG) 77.5, which later took part in the landings at Lingayen Gulf
Lingayen Gulf
The Lingayen Gulf is an extension of the South China Sea on Luzon in the Philippines stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central...
. Proceeding to Morotai
Morotai
Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...
upon completion of these operations, she unloaded the remainder of her cargo and fueled various small craft of the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
.
On 4 January 1945, during Venus’ stay at Morotai, Japanese aircraft conducted a bombing raid on the nearby land base, but the planes were driven off by antiaircraft fire and night fighters. Six days later, Venus, her holds empty, sailed with five other ships to Hollandia, where she took on board passengers. While proceeding thence to Australia, she encountered heavy gales but arrived safely at Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
on 23 January.
The ship underwent repairs soon after she arrived while concurrently loading equipment of the 109th Fleet Hospital unit and of the 544th Construction Battalion (CB or "Seabees") for transport to the Philippine Islands
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. She departed Brisbane on 4 February, proceeded via Manus and Hollandia, and joined a convoy off the Dutch New Guinea coast. The Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
ships arrived at Guiuan Roadstead off Samar
Samar
Samar, formerly and also known as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located to the west of the mainland...
on 27 February. Part of the Seabee unit soon went ashore to begin building the hospital, while the remainder stayed on board to unload equipment and stores. Eventually, as more Seabees could be accommodated ashore, the job of unloading passed on to Venus’ crew. Despite the lack of barges and experienced stevedores, Venus succeeded in unloading all equipment and supplies earmarked for the hospital unit before she joined a southbound convoy on 8 April, got underway for the Admiralties, and arrived at Manus one week later.
Proceeding thence to Emirau, Venus loaded the remnants of the 77th Construction Battalion and their equipment, accomplishing this on 25 April before getting underway for Brisbane to load more of the 77th Battalion's equipment. Besides the full load of cargo, Venus also accommodated 600 passengers, and additional galley and bunking facilities were set up on deck beneath makeshift shelters to take care of these men. The cargo vessel then headed north for the Philippines, via Milne Bay
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
, and arrived at Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
on 13 June to commence offloading and to disembark her passengers. Five days later, the ship shifted to a berth alongside a sunken Japanese cargo ship.
With the erstwhile enemy freighter serving as a dock, Venus offloaded the remainder of her cargo — experiencing two air raid alerts during her stay at Manila — and completed these operations by 30 June. She then pressed southward for the Admiralties and loaded 1,500 tons of bombs for transport to Bougainville
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
in the Solomons
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
. The installation of a gyro compass delayed her sailing until 25 July, but the ship arrived at Empress Augusta Bay
Empress Augusta Bay
Empress Augusta Bay is a major bay on the western side of the island of Bougainville, in Papua New Guinea, at . It is a major subsistence fishing area for the people of Bougainville. It is named after Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein, wife of German Emperor William II.In November 1943, the...
on 29 July.
Eleven days later, Venus departed Torokina
Torokina
Torokina is a coastal village on the island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. It is located on the western coast of that island, at ....
, Bougainville, bound for the New Hebrides
New Hebrides
New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
and arrived at Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....
on 11 August. She loaded material for drydock ABSD-1, loading from lighters in Pallikulo Bay. Due to poor loading conditions, the job was not completed until 7 September, when she was ready to sail for the Philippine Islands. During her stay at Espiritu Santo, word arrived that Japan had surrendered; and, for the first time since commissioning, the ship could sail at night without having to "darken ship."
Venus arrived at Samar
Samar
Samar, formerly and also known as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located to the west of the mainland...
on 20 September and discharged her cargo before moving on to Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
. She sailed from Cebu on 15 December, bound for the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and arrived at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
on 16 March. Decommissioned on 18 April 1946, the ship was subsequently towed by Hitchiti (ATF-103) to the west coast, departing Pearl Harbor on 5 December 1947 and arriving at San Francisco on 13 December.
Declared surplus to Navy needs, the ship was struck from the Navy list on 19 February 1948. Stripped for disposal, she was returned to the Maritime Commission on the 27th and 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
Suisun Bay
Suisun Bay is a shallow tidal estuary at in northern California, USA. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, forming the entrance to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an inverted river delta...
, California. The ship was scrapped at Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, in August 1961.
Venus received one battle star for her service during World War II as William Williams. Her crew were eligible for the following medals:
- Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive SS William Williams, 2 May 1943)
- American Campaign Medal
- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1)
- World War II Victory Medal
- Philippine Liberation Medal