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wars: WWII, Korea and Vietnam.
n Cover photo by Adam Schwuchow
“Amazing to think that after all these years, she still serves today.” Procopio gushes. “FBI and S.W.A.T. do maritime drills here and she provides training opportunities for the Coast Guard…police and fire dog training–she really serves the community well.”
ith Glen Miller’s “Moonlight Serenade” crooning in
the background, the iconic WWII-era ship quietly floated from its mooring spot and down
Sparkman Channel. Black smoke gently puffed from its stacks as the S.S. American Victory carried more than 600 passengers and volunteer crewmembers out to Hillsborough Bay for a five-hour n The view above the gunnery deck, coming down Seddon Channel. Two vets on the gun’s turret began to prepare smaller canons for a series of volleys further down towards the Convention Center. (Photo: Kim Fatica)
cruise May 11. It’s a unique mix of old and new: GIs in WWII khaki uniforms, helmets and leggings wander about as young passengers, ear buds in, kick back in their flip-flops and tank tops to take it all in.
Destined for scrapping in 1996, Tampa resident and harbor pilot Captain John
C. Timmel worked diligently to bring her to port from Virginia. On September 16, 1999, American Victory arrived in tow. The ship received a $2 million rehab over the course of the following year. Consider that in 1945 it was built at a cost of $2.5 million, or to put it in modern dollars, about $40 million had it been built at the turn of the millennium. The restoration to functionality seems the very least Americans could do, given the fact the ship served the country in three
A sea breeze provided some relief from the searing sunlight beating down on the open deck. It was enough to bring the American flag snapping at full attention, and with so many people aboard it simply made the ship feel vibrant again while it passed a modern freighter. Approaching the confluence of Seddon and Sparkman Channels, people stood ashore on Davis Islands, waving; among them is 92-year-old resident David Altenbernd. His son, also an islander, is the Honorable Chris Altenbernd of
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When you tell someone you went on a cruise aboard a WWII vessel, the look you get back is one of surprise and for good reason: of the 534 Victory ships built in 1944-45, only three remain functional. The S.S. American Victory is one of those three, making it a treasured piece of U.S. history.
This is one of only two voyages the ship will make this year as part of its “Relive History Cruise” program. According to Thomas Procopio of the American Victory Museum, this is one of the most popular cruises they’ve had since the program began. Everyone understands just how special it is to be aboard this ship, and at $99 a person, it was well worth the experience.
As the 455-foot matte gray leviathan floated peacefully down the channel, it was oddly out of its element against the colorful orange clay rooftops of modern homes and the architecture of downtown buildings. In certain areas of the ship the scent of old steel commingles with oil, and parts of the ship are bumpy with multiple coats of maritime paint with an occasional canker of rust appearing. Weathered ropes are coiled neatly around the ship and old brass shines back aboard the bridge.
Local Postal Customer
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