USS Aldebaran at War

The history of the Aldebaran dates back to the prewar runs to Pearl Harbor. She was initiated in the business of supplying the fleet with that commodity, frozen food, everlastingly vital and necessary to our fighting ships. Serving the fleet was her mission and one that has taken her crew to all Pacific areas. Efate, Espiritu Santo, Guam, Tulagi, Guadalcanal, Eniwetok, Kwajalein, Samoa, New Caledonia, Ulithi, and Manus arejust a few of the many ports that have seen her camouflaged hull enter the harbor, let go anchor, and commence provisioning. As the war progressed and the supply lines lengthened, the problem of logistics became crucial, vital issues to thefleet and outlying bases. A very minimum of time had to be spent loading, and availabilities for repairs were few and far between. The splendid efforts of the Naval Supply Depots to expedite loading, and return the ship to the forward area, played a major part in permitting the Aldebaran to accumulate the mileage that she had, 250,000 nautical miles over Pacific waters. A typhoon veteran, the Aldebaran was instrumental in the rescue of the crew of an LCT that floundered in the typhoon at Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands, in October 1944. Rescue operations were under the direction of Captain E.E. Burgess USN, then the commanding Officer. All but one of the crew were brought safely aboard. One officer and four crew members of the Aldebaran received the Navy Marine Corps medal for heroism. It was while operating with the Third Fleet off the coast of Japan that the Aldebaran rode out another, and far more severe typhoon on 5 June 1945, one that played havoc with ships of a much heavier class. In April 1945, the Aldebaran was chosen to be the first Fleet Provision Reefer ship to join the Navy's fabulous supply train whose mission it was to rendezvous and replenish the fleet at sea. Hitherto, the train had been composed of tankers, who fueled the various task units as they fell back from the battle line. The Aldebaran joined this task group and provided fresh food necessary to keeping the fleet constantly along the enemy's coast. A "smart" ship, all hands were justifiably proud of her record and the knowledge that, as in the words of Admiral Halsey, "You have played as great a part in delivering the goods as the planes and ships that bomb the Japs".

The above text was taken from an un-official US Navy release entitled
"U.S.S. Aldebaran - Feeding the Fleet". This information was provided for
use in personal correspondence and for hometown newspaper releases.