USS General George M. Randall (AP-115) - World War II

World War II

General George M. Randall sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, on 23 May 1944 with nearly 5,000 troops and casuals aboard, and sailing through the Panama Canal, put in at Bombay, India, on 5 July via Panama and Australia. She left Melbourne, Australia on 28 July, and arrived in San Pedro, California, on 12 August to debark over 2,000 wounded veterans. She made two more round-trip voyages from San Pedro to Bombay, via Melbourne, from 30 August 1944 to 28 February 1945. On one trip from 19 December 1944 to 2 January 1945, she carried the 596th Air Engineering Squadron from San Pedro to Hobart, Tasmania, and then on to Bombay. On one of these trips, one of the Army passengers wrote a song The General George M. Randall Blues for a variety show en route. After debarking passengers, she moved to drydock for repairs and alterations, including the mounting of additional 20mm guns. On 7 March 1945, Captain Lee H. Baker, USCG, reported on board, and on 12 March relieved Captain Von Paulsen, who retired for health reasons.

Moving to San Diego on 22 March, she embarked passengers for Pearl Harbor and Ulithi and sailed for San Francisco, California, where she embarked more Navy casuals for Pearl Harbor and Ulithi. She then sailed for Pearl Harbor on 27 March. Pearl Harbor was reached on 2 April, and after debarking passengers she picked up more passengers for Ulithi and sailed on 4 April. Arriving there on 14 April, she acted as receiving ship until 23 May, redistributing some 4711 Navy and Marine casuals to other fleet units. She sailed for San Francisco on 23 May with 459 Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine casuals returning to the states, and arrived there on 5 June 1945.

The ship stood out under the Golden Gate on 8 June 1945 for Norfolk, passing through the Panama Canal again, and arriving there on 20 June. She sailed from Norfolk on 8 July for Marseille, France, where she arrived on 17 July. There she embarked over 5100 troops for redeployment in the Pacific theater in preparartion of the invasion of Japan. She departed on 19 July, passing through the Panama Canal for the third time, with the destination of Okinawa. She arrived at Eniwetok on 16 August 1945 where she re-fueled, and left for Ulithi on 17 August. She departed Ulithi on 21 August with two other transports escorted by a destroyer escort. As the war had ended, she was directed to offload her troops at Manila rather than continue on to Okinawa. She arrived at Manila on 26 August, debarked the troops she was carrying, and loaded Army, Marine, and Coast Guard casuals for return to the United States. She took aboard more at Tacloban, then arrived at Ulithi on 6 September where she loaded still more. She departed Ulithi on 9 September heading for San Francisco, but was diverted in route to San Pedro, California, where she arrived on 21 September. While at San Pedro, on 25 September Captain Harold G. Belford, USCG, relieved Captain Baker as commanding officer.