SS President Taft
SS President Taft began life as Buckeye State, one of the US Shipping Board’s “state” liners. It was laid down at Bethlehem Steel’s Sparrows Point yard as Bertrice, renamed Buckeye State before launching on 24 July 1920, and completed in April 1921. Built as a Design 1029, it was operated by Matson, then Pacific Mail, then Dollar Steamship Co, and later American President Lines, serving as a cargo-passenger liner.
In May 1922 the Shipping Board renamed Buckeye State as President Taft, part of a group of ships named after U.S. presidents. It ran on the San Francisco to Honolulu and Asia route, with refurbishment in 1924–25 that increased refrigerated space and updated interiors. In 1924 it helped rescue crew from the British tramp Mary Harlock.
From 1925–26 Dollar Steamship Co acquired the ship, which later passed to American President Lines in 1938 after a government adjustment of the fleet. In June 1941 the War Department requisitioned the ship, renaming it USAT Willard A. Holbrook. As Willard A. Holbrook, it carried troops to the Pacific, notably making runs toward the Philippines in late 1941 and early 1942, and taking part in convoys across the Pacific.
During the war it was prepared to be converted into a hospital ship named Armin W. Leuschner, but the conversion was halted in August 1945 and the ship remained Willard A. Holbrook. After the war it served as a transport for dependents traveling to Europe, then was laid up in the Hudson River in 1948 and transferred to the James River Reserve Fleet. It was sold for scrapping to Bethlehem Steel on 21 October 1957.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 16:31 (CET).