USS Matsonia

Matsonia, built by the Newport News Ship Building Company of Newport News, Virginia, in 1913, served the Matson Navigation Company until taken over by the U.S. Shipping Board and turned over to the Navy at New York by way of the Panama Canal,[1] 22 January 1918, for use as a troop transport. She was commissioned 1 March 1918, Captain John M. Luby in command.[2]

Beginning 14 March, when she sailed for France with troops and Army cargo, Matsonia completed six round trips to Europe prior to the Armistice. The preparation to turn the Matsonia into a troop carrier involved ripping out mahogany staircases "as if they were worth nothing" and using every bit of space by rigging up 3,000 soldier bunks wherever they could be rigged. During her second France-bound trip during World War I the convoy was attacked by a German U-boat that was sunk about 800 meters from the Matsonia.[1] During that time she transferred 13,329 passengers to Europe, and carried back only 10. After the Armistice she continued her transatlantic crossings to return over 23,000 troops in 8 voyages, ending such crossings at New York on 20 August 1919. She was decommissioned on 12 September 1919 and returned to her former owner on 17 September.[2]

On 26 March 1937 S.S. Matsonia sailed from San Francisco to Honolulu with Captain F.A. Johnson, USNR, Commanding. In 1937, Matsonia was sold to Alaskan interests and renamed Etolin. The U.S. Army chartered her for troopship service in August 1940 and kept her through World War II, retaining her second name.[3] On 5 December 1941 Etolin with 1,400 troops embarked departed San Francisco in company with the then chartered Army transport Tasker H. Bliss bound for the Philippines.[4] The ships were turned back to San Francisco after the attack on Pearl Harbor and disembarked the troops 8–9 December.[5] She made prewar voyages to the Philippines on voyages that included Alaska and Hawaii and, in early 1942, steamed down to South America before returning to the Hawaiian transport route. Later in that year, Etolin went to Baltimore, Maryland, where she was extensively overhauled. After arriving back at San Francisco, California, in July 1943, she operated from the U.S. to Australia and Hawaii. After repairs that lasted from the last part of 1944 through first seven months of 1945, USAT Etolin twice crossed the Pacific to Japan and Okinawa. During early 1946, she served between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Panama, before being turned over to the War Shipping Administration in late April 1946 for layup in the James River (Virginia) Reserve Fleet. Etolin was scrapped at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1957.[3]

• USS Matsonia (ID # 1589), 1918–1919 – On Board and Close Up Views (Naval History & Heritage Command: Online Library of Selected Images)
• USS Matsonia (ID # 1589), 1918–1919 (Naval History & Heritage Command: Online Library of Selected Images)
• Photo gallery of Matsonia at NavSource Naval History