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SS John W. Brown
The SS John W. Brown, is the worlds oldest operational Liberty ship. She also holds the distinctions of being the last surviving WWII troop ship and the last surviving ship that took supplies to the Soviet Union during World War II. Today, she is a museum ship in Baltimore, Maryland and is located at Pier 1 on South Clinton Street, Dundalk, Maryland. In addition to her floating museum role, SS John W. Brown still puts out to sea for "Living History Day Cruises".

Building
Laid down as MCE Hull Number 312, she was the 62nd Liberty Ship built at the Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard in Baltimore, Maryland. Until a few days before launching, MCE Hull Number 312 had been assigned the name Ralph Izard. It had become apparent that she would be launched on September 7, 1942&mdash;the first Labor Day of World War II.

There were six Liberty ships due to be launched at the various shipyards on that day and, for ceremonial reasons, it was decided to name all six ships after labor union leaders. So, a few days before the launch, orders came down to rename MCE Number 312 after John W. Brown, a labor leader from Maine who had died in 1941.

After fitting out, the SS John W. Brown was delivered to the War Shipping Administration and was then operated by States Marine Corporation. She made 8 voyages during World War II, and 5 voyages in the immediate postwar years.

Maiden Voyage (August 29, 1942 : May 27, 1943)
On her first voyage, she delivered vital supplies to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease program. During World War II, British aid and American Lend-Lease supplies were transferred to the Soviet Union via three major routes: Convoys to Murmansk&mdash;the infamous "Murmansk run"; The Persian Corridor route; In addition, Soviet shipping carried supplies from the west coast of the United States and Canada to Vladivostok in the Far East.

On her maiden voyage, the Brown sailed from Baltimore to Norfolk where her degaussing gear was tested and calibrated. She the sailed to New York where her 50mm bow gun was replaced by a 3in/50 before taking on 915 tons of ammunition in addition to 8,400 tons of cargo. In her holds, she carried a varied load including motorcycles, trucks, armored scout cars, jeeps, dried beans, Spam, 45 caliber sub-machine guns as well as 24 sacks of mail. On deck, she carried two P-40 fighter planes, ten Sherman tanks, ten Valentine tanks. On October 15, 1942, she sailed in Convoy NG-314 from New York to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Around October 23 she left Cuba in Convoy GZ-7 bound for the Panama Canal. After leaving the Pacific side of the Canal, the Brown sailed south unescorted, along the western coast of South America, around Cape Horn, east to the Cape of Good Hope, then north in the Indian Ocean, along the east coast of Madagascar and into the Persian Gulf, arriving in Khorramshahr on December 25, 1942.

Because the port was choked with shipping, the Brown had to wait two and a half months to unload. On March 9, 1943 she finally left Khorramshahr for the voyage home. She initially sailed with the combined convoys PA-29 and PB-31, but after two days she steamed independently for Cape Town and then to Bahia, Brazil, where she joined convoy BT-11 to Paranam, Suriname where she took on 4,800 tons of bauxite, she then proceeded to Port of Spain, Trinidad where she took on a further 3,400 tons of bauxite. The Brown then joined convoy TAG-60 for Guantamno Bay, Cuba. Here she joined another convoy, GN-60 bound for New York. She arrived home after a voyage of eight months and thirty-three thousand miles.

Troopship Conversion
Even before the Brown had completed her first voyage, she had been selected to be the first of the 222 Liberty Ships that were to become limited capacity troop transports. After unloading, she proceeded to Bethlehem's Hoboken yard where she was modified to carry about 350 troops in the forward 'tween decks spaces in addition to cargo in the lower holds. The alterations included installing companionways (staircases) to provide easy access from the lower decks to the weather deck, and adding toilet and washroom facilities for the troops. Because of her new function, the Brown's armament was augmented by four 20-mm guns. She now had one 3"/50, one 5"/51 and eight 20-mm guns.

As a troop transport, the John W. Brown went on to spend most of the war years in the Mediterranean ferrying troops and equipment between ports during the Allied invasion of Italy. On her return trips to the United States, she sometimes carried German POWs.

Voyage 2: Algiers (June 24, 1943 : August 26, 1943)
The Brown sailed from New York in convoy UGS-11 bound for the Mediterranean. She was carrying a detachment of Military Police and the surviving crew members from a torpedoed Royal Navy ship. She  arrived in Algiers after steaming 4,700 miles in 22 days.

On August 4, 1943, the Brown embarked some 500 POW's from Rommel's Afrika Korps and then moved on to Oran. On August 7, she left Oran in convoy GUS-11, arriving at Hampton Roads on August 26, 1943. She had steamed 3,800 miles in just over nineteen days.

Voyage 3: Oran (August 31, 1943 : March 18, 1944)
On the Brown's third voyage she carried 7,800 tons of cargo which including some 300 tons of explosives, inflammables and other "hazardous articles", as well as Sherman tanks, a railroad locomotive, Purple Heart medals, cigarettes, and skirts for female officers. She also carried 36 officers and 303 enlisted men. The convoy arrived in Oran on October 4, 1943 having steamed 3,800 miles in nineteen days.

After discharging her cargo in Oran, the Brown embarked on a series of excursions around the Mediterranean. First she took on 15 officers and 346 enlisted men of the First Armored Division plus 274 pieces of equipment including half-tracks, motorcycles and tanks. She left Oran on November 1, arrived Augusta, Sicily November 6, and then moved on to Naples the next day, having steamed 1,090 miles in just under 5 days. After discharging the First Armored Division and their equipment in Naples, the Brown departed in convoy NV-8 on November 12. November 25 at Oran: took on 241 French and American troops. To Naples: discharged December 9. Departed Naples December 10 for Augusta then to Bizerte December 16. Took on French 6 officers and 305 men plus 958 ton of cargo including truck, car, weapons carriers and ambulances. Left Bizerte for Naples on December 24

The Brown arrived in Oran having steamed 4,800 miles in just over 25 days.

Voyage 4: The Mediterranean and Southern France (March 23, 1944 : October 10, 1944)
Later on, she was part of the liberation force of Southern France during Operation Dragoon in August, 1944. The US Navy Armed Guard gunners of the Brown may have shot down one enemy plane during the liberation of Southern France in August, 1944, though this was never confirmed as a kill.

Voyage 5: Naples (October 19, 1944 : December 29, 1944
At Hampton Roads on October 21, 1944 the Brown loaded 30 USAAF fighter pilots and 326 troops of the 758th Tank Battalion, and sailed on October 22. Arrived Leghorn November 24 - debarked troops

Voyage 7: Antwerp (April 5, 1945 : June 11, 1945)
May 8 : VE Day Brown was in Straits of Dover.

May 10 : Antwerp p.180

May 19 : B left Antwerp

May 22 : embarked 351 American including released POWs

May 27 : B departed for New York

June 11 : B arrived Brooklyn and debarked passengers.

August 14 : B entered a shipyard in Yonkers for modifications to increase her troop carrying capacity.

September 13 : all guns removed

Voyage 8: Antwerp - Last voyage of WWII (June 23, 1945 : August 16, 1945)
June 23 : Left New York

July 2: left Philadelphia for Antwerp.

July : Arrived Antwerp, loaded 419 returning troop, plus V2 rocket parts for US to study.

July 28 : Left Antwerp.

August 11 : Arrived Manhatten and debarked passengers.

August 15, 1945 : VJ-Day

Voyage 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13: The peacetime trips
After the war, the John W. Brown carried government cargoes to help rebuild war-torn Europe and returned American troops to the United States.

Voyage 9........: Balto-Marseilles    - September 25, 1945 : October 17, 1945  - Cargo of grain; Ran aground Marseilles-New York - October 22,1945    : November 14, 1945 - Troops

Radar Installed

Voyage 10.......: Albany-Naples	      - November 20, 1945  : December 20, 1945 - Cargo of wheat Marseilles-New York - January 7, 1946    : January 26, 1946  - 565 Officers and men of 100th Infantry Division

End as troop transport

Voyage 11.......: Baltimore-Copenhagen - February 19, 1946 : March 11, 1946    - Cargo of coal Copenhagen-Baltimore - March 21, 1946    : April 10, 1946    - in ballast with ten passengers, all civillian airline pilots

Voyage 12.......: Baltimore-Hamburg   - June 10, 1946      : July 5, 1946	- Cargo wheat Hamburg-New York    - July 9, 1946       : July 23, 1946     - in ballast

Voyage 13.......: Houston-England     - August 8, 1946     : October 22, 1946  - New York to Galveston. SIU strike from September 5 until September 21. Loaded grain. Left Houston September 28 London-New York     - November 1, 1946   : November 15, 1946 - Cargo books, musical instruments, personal effects

Training ship
On November 19, 1946 the demand for cargo carrying capacity was declining, so the war Shipping Administration had the Browns propeller disconnected and she was transferred to the Board of Education of the City of New York, where she became a floating maritime vocational high school, the only one in the United States. The ship served in that capacity from 1946 to 1982, graduating thousands of students prepared to begin careers in the Merchant Marine, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard.

When her schoolship days ended in 1982, the first Project Liberty Ship was formed in New York City to preserve the ship. They were not successful in finding her a berth in New York and she was towed to the James River Reserve Fleet in July 1983 with her future in serious doubt.

Restoration and Heritage
In 1988 Project Liberty Ship Baltimore was able to rescue her and restore her, and found her a home in Baltimore, Maryland near where she was built. In September 1988, the John W. Brown was rededicated as a memorial museum at ceremonies at Dundalk Marine Terminal.

After three years of restoration effort, on 24 August 1991, she steamed again under her own power for the first time in 45 years. After completing sea trials in the Chesapeake Bay, she joined the previously restored SS Jeremiah O'Brien in San Francisco as one of the last two surviving fully operational Liberty ships in the world.

One month later, on 21 September 1991, John W. Brown carried about 600 members and guests on her Matron Voyage, her inaugural cruise.

SS John W. Brown was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

In 1994, the SS John W. Brown received Coast Guard Certification for coastwise ocean voyages, and in April made her first offshore voyage since 1946&mdash;to New York Harbor. In August 1994 she made her first foreign voyage since 1946&mdash;to Halifax, Nova Scotia, then to Boston, Massachusetts and Greenport, New York. In 2000 she visited the Great Lakes for dry docking and hull work in Toledo.

Partners In Care, Maryland
Partners In Care, Maryland, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) founded originally in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, for the purpose of helping older people remain productively, happily and safely in their homes. A second office in Frederick County, Maryland, was opened in 1998, and a third in 2009 in Talbot County, Maryland. Using the principle of time exchange hours exchange, which is related to the concept of Time Banking, members of Partners In Care can volunteer as drivers, handymen, LifeLine installers, safety equipment fabricators/installers, Boutique staff, office staff, and in other capacities. In exchange, members’ hours are “banked” through a proprietary software system so that they can call on those hours of service when they, themselves, need services later in life.

The three founding women CITATION envisioned an organization spanning the continent so that a volunteer member in, say, Idaho could “spend” his or her earned hours to take care of a parent in Maryland or Massachusetts or Memphis. Growth has not been quite that rapid, but finances have been the only limiting factor. Delegations from municipalities in Florida, Japan, Ireland and Russia have visited PIC in recent months to see how they can replicate the program established in Maryland.

In Fiscal Year 2010, the cumulative number of volunteer hours worked was 27,863. In the same year, 2,335 members drove 153,595 miles taking people to the grocery, pharmacy, doctor, clinic, or other types of excursions. 7,912 rides were provided. 486 different repairs were completed by volunteer handymen and 77 safety equipment installations were made by the same cohort. 256 emergency kits were either distributed or refreshed.

One-fifth of the annual operating budget comes from sales in the Upscale ReSALE Boutique CITATION located in Pasadena, Maryland, where donated items are displayed and sold to the public. In November of 2009, a furniture line was added and augmented the income by 10%. Other significant income streams come from foundation support, public funds, Annual Fund donations, gifts of automobiles/trucks/boats, and from estate planning.

Far more important than the impressive numbers generated by the non-profit are the emotional and intellectual returns that members derive from helping others. In a society that some critics say disposes of older people as unwanted, unwelcome and unloved encumbrances, our organization finds and celebrates the dignity and worth of every member.

History
In 1991, three Severna Park friends finished work on their graduate degrees with the thought of "doing something together for older adults." Maureen Cavaiola and Sandra Jackson received their master’s degrees in adulthood and aging from the College of Notre Dame in Baltimore. At the same time, Mrs. Cavaiola’s sister, Barbara Huston, completed her work for a master’s in health care administration at the University of Maryland. They decided to create "Partners in Care," a program that would enable seniors and disabled people to remain in their homes with the help of volunteer friends and neighbors who do errands and household duties for them. It would be the first program that matched the volunteer to an individual who needed assistance in Maryland. Before they could get the program into operation, they had to look for funding sources, a job that took two years. They received a "start-up" grant of $15,000 from the Jacob and Anita France Foundation and the Robert F. and Anne M. Merrick Foundation. To this was added a three-year $45,000 challenge grant from the same foundations, which was matched two-to-one in money and services by North Arundel Hospital. They also received a donation from the Severna Park Kiwanis Club. The group set up in an office in North Arundel Hospital and started finding volunteers to help in the program. The primary focus was on the need for transportation, seniors who could not get to doctors or to stores to pick up groceries needed someone who would drive them. There was also a need for light household work and small repairs like changing light bulbs or hanging curtains. This system was set up so the volunteers could earn "credit hours," which they could store up for their own future needs or donate to someone else. In other words, every hour of volunteer time given to a senior client can be used as credit. The system would only deal with time. There was no money involved.

MV Dunnottar Castle
On 25 January 1936, MV Dunnottar Castle was launched at the Harland & Wolff yard at Belfast. Built for Union-Castle Line for the London to Cape Town service, she was delivered in 27 June 1936. She sailed as a passenger liner for a remarkable 68 years. She was built as an Intermediate steamer of 15,007 GRT carrying 258 first class and 250 tourist class passengers, with a crew of 250. She entered service on the mail run while the other ships were being refurbished. She took her name after Dunnottar Castle, a ruined castle on the northeast coast of Scotland.

She departed on her maiden voyage from Southampton to Cape Town in July 1936, and upon her return to the UK, commenced her regular London-Suez-South Africa- St. Helena-London service. In September, her sister ship MV Dunvegan Castle joined her.

World War II service
With the outbreak of the Second World War, on 28th August 1939 she was requisitioned by the British Royal Navy for war service as an Armed merchant cruiser. She was renamed HMS Donnottar Castle and she started her first tour of duty on October 14, 1939, serving with the South Atlantic patrols.

In 1942, more purpose-built cruisers entered service, so she was released and converted into a troopship and on 5 April 1942 she carried engineers of the British Army to Tristan da Cunha for the construction of a meteorological and wireless station. In 1944, she shuttled troops between Southampton and Normandy for the allied invasion of Western Europe. In 1948, after carrying over 250,000 men and sailing over a quarter of a million miles, she was released from troop service and decommissioned from the Royal Navy.

Post War
She was returned to commercial service in 1948 and, after a refurbishment by Harland & Wolff, on February 10, 1949 she resumed deployment on the clockwise Round Africa service for Union-Castle Line. Her Ports of call were London, Gibraltar, Algiers, Port Said, Massawa, Aden, Mombasa, Zanzibar, Dar-es-salaam, Tanga, Beira, Lourenco Marques, Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Walvis Bay, Las Palmas (Canary Islands), Casablanca, Lisbon, London. London-Suez-South Africa-London.

By 1958, the demand for liners like MV Dunnottar Castle had began to diminish and after 94 voyages she was offered for sale.

MV Victoria
In 1958 she was sold to Liberian registered, Italian operated Incres Line. On 16 January, 1959 she was towed to Flushing in the Netherlands for a total rebuilding as cruise ship by the Wilton-Fijenoord yard, Schiedam. Her original Burmeister &Wain engines were replaced by new FIAT diesels All cabins now with private facilities, fully air-conditioned. 600 passengers, one class. Decor by a leading Italian designer. Bow stretched and raked. a new superstructure, a new funnel with mast, and a striking new raked bow. The only original parts of the ship left were the hull and inner portion of her upper superstructure. Her interior was styled by the Italian mid-century design master Gustavo Pulitzer Finale and she was considered to be one of the most modern ships of her day. Upon completion the traditional Union-Castle profile of Dunnottar Castle had been transformed into the sleek, deluxe cruise ship MV Victoria.

In 1964, she was sold to Victoria SS Co, Monrovia, a subsidiary of Swedish Clipper Line, Malmo. She retained both her name and service. Incres Line continued as agents for the ship. Victoria as a cruise ship was greatly admired, and for the next eleven years she continued cruising from New York to the Caribbean.

length 174,4 m). Masts replaced by two derricks of foredeck. New Fiat diesel-engines (16.800 hp for max.21 kn). 14.917 GRT.

B&W 9,500 BHP two stroke diesels by FIAT capable of 16,800 BHP which increased her service speed from 15 knots to 18 knots.

She was now 14,917 gross ton, 573 ft long by 72 ft wide vessel with

MV The Victoria
In 1975, after fifteen years of service in the United States, Chandris Lines purchased Victoria. Chandris considered her as the perfect all round cruise ship. She was refitted, her capacity increased from 430 to 548 passengers, and with new funnel markings and a blue ribbon around her hull, she given the slightly amended name of The Victoria. She recommenced her duties in June 1976, and cruised for Chandris both in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean until 1993.

MV Princesa Victoria
In 1993 Chandris sold The Victoria to Louis Cruise Lines, a company that had operated Mediterranean cruises from Cyprus for some time. Louis Cruise Lines registered their new acquisition in Limassol, Cyprus as MV Princesa Victoria. For the next ten or so years she was kept in excellent condition as she cruised the Mediterranean from Limassol to Egypt and Israel.

By now her nearly 60-year-old hull and forty-year-old machinery were in need of expensive maintenance, and she was believed to be the oldest large cruise ship over 10000grt still in passenger service. Following a decline in European tourism caused by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, she was laid up at Eleusis, Greece.

Princesa Victoria was sold to the breakers in April 2004. Under the delivery name Victoria I, she sailed from Greece in the spring of 2004, arriving at Alang, India on May 25, 2004. She was beached on August 2, 2004 and demolition began September 1, 2004.