The Seagoing Cowboys of the SS Clarksville Victory

BY PEGGY REIFF MILLER

The SS Clarksville Victory provided the “trip of a lifetime” for 224 men from across the country in the aftermath of World War II. The ship was one of 73 vessels run by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) that transported livestock to Europe and China to help devastated allied countries rebuild. Over the course of less than two years, the UNRRA transported 300,000 animals across the oceans – mostly horses, heifers and mules. These animals needed men to feed, bed and watch over them in transit. The UNRRA hired the Brethren Service Committee of the Church of the Brethren (BSC) to recruit these livestock tenders. In return, the UNRRA agreed to include some of BSC’s Heifer Project animals in their shipments, free of charge. The livestock tenders soon became known as “seagoing cowboys.”

From December 12, 1945, through February 1947, the Clarksville Victory made seven trips for the UNRRA. The ship transported 3,725 horses, 776 mules and 794 head of cattle to Poland and Greece. Each trip required 32 seagoing cowboys. Nearly 7,000 men and boys from all walks of life, ages 16 to 72, served the UNRRA as seagoing cowboys over its lifespan. Of that number, 224 found the Clarksville Victory their home for six weeks or longer. Some signed up for adventure, others to do something positive after the war.

The seagoing cowboys had to join the United States Merchant Marine to work on a merchant ship. Their classification: “cattleman.” For their service, the Merchant Marine paid them one cent per month – simply a token to make them legal workers. The UNRRA, however, paid them $150 per trip. had to be done, in often smelly holds. Storms at sea added further challenges, and the danger of leftover mines lurked in European waterways. Sighting land in Europe brought relief and anticipation of shore leave once the animals were offloaded.

In Greece, the cowboys could explore various Greek antiquities, like the Parthenon or the ruins of Philippi, depending where the ship docked. Those who went to Poland had a more sobering experience. They saw some of the worst damage of World War II in the city of Gdańsk, which was over 90% destroyed. They explored battlefields, witnessed evidence of horrible Nazi atrocities and interacted with destitute survivors trying to sell the cowboys whatever they had left of any value.

The SS Clarksville Victory delivered hope to these devastated people. Its livestock trips also changed the lives of many seagoing cowboys. Clarksville Victory cowboy Robert Epp said, “The trip exposed me to the realities of war in a way that we couldn’t imagine without seeing it.” Many cowboys came home with a new purpose in life – to do all they could for peace in the world and the betterment of humankind. And many of them did.