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Photo by Steve Brooks |
Six times a year, history repeats itself off the coast of San Pedro, Calif., when the SS Lane Victory disembarks on a 26-mile, round-trip cruise that gives hundreds of passengers an up-close look at what life was like serving on board a World War II cargo ship.
A national historic landmark, the 455-foot-long Lane Victory is a floating maritime museum that sets sail twice monthly in July, August and September toward Catalina Island. Many of its crew are Legionnaires from across California, including chief ship's steward Jay Morales, adjutant of Post 8 in Los Angeles. Like other volunteer crewmembers, he spends two days a week, year-round, working on the ship, making sure supplies are stocked and the crew is fed.
"To me, this is something to do that has meaning," Morales says, who has volunteered on the ship for 11 years. "It's the duty, my duty, my responsibility - or the responsibility of my generation. To make sure the sacrifices that those American Legionnaires in World War I, who created this American Legion, and those guys in World War II - it's important that we pass this on to the next generation."
Originally launched in 1945 from the Cal Shipyard of Los Angeles, the Lane Victory carried materials to U.S. servicemembers during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. In 1982, the U.S. Merchant Marine Veterans of World War II moved to acquire the ship to preserve it as a living memorial to the men and women of the U.S. Merchant Marine and U.S. Navy Armed Guard. The group also wanted to operate the ship as a working museum, dedicated to the maritime trades. The venerable "victory ship," named after a former slave who founded Lane College, was towed from San Francisco to San Pedro in June 1989.
During the cruise, tour guides tell the ship's wartime history in the personal terms of the Merchant Mariners and Naval Armed Guard veterans who served on the ship.
LANE VICTORY WEBSITE
ADDITIONAL LANE VICTORY INFO
