Adventures of the USS Rutilicus

I recently uncovered evidence that an ancestor, Lawrence Suiter, served aboard the USS Rutilicus from September 1944 to January 1946. Naturally, we had to learn more about the ship and her missions.

Wikipedia starts us off:

USS Rutilicus (AK-113) was a Crater-class cargo ship commissioned by the US Navy for service in World War II. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. The Rutilicus received two battle stars for her service.

Wikipedia page, USS Rutilicus (AK-113), accessed 17 June 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Rutilicus_(AK-113)

Cruises and Campaigns

• 30 October 1943 – commissioned at San Diego, California
• November-December 1943 – delivered a load of general cargo to Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, then Tarawa and Abemana, Gilbert Islands
• January-February 1944 – supported the invasion of the Marshall Islands; delivered 150 Marines and general cargo to Majuro
• March 1944 – picked up Army Air Force equipment at Baker Island for delivery to Pearl Harbor
• April-May 1944 – island hopping in the Marshall Islands, including Kwajalein Atoll, Makin, Tarawa, Abemama, and Makin
• June-August 1944 – Tinian Invasion operations, Marianas Islands. Offloaded at Tinian and Eniwetok before returning to San Francisco for conversion to a fleet dry provisions issue ship.
• October – December 1944 – Philippine Invasion operations. Made stops at Manus, Funafuti, Hollandia, and Leyte, in the Philippines.
• December 1944-May 1945 – served to issue stores to the fleet at Hollandia, Nouméa, Espiritu, Santo, Manus, Ulithi, and Guam. Returned to San Francisco for repairs in May 1945.
• June-September 1945 – Okinawan operations with Task Group 55.7 at Nagasaki, Kyūshū Province, Japan, and later at Sasebo in Nagasaki Prefecture.
• October-December 1945 – returned to San Francisco, and the proceeded to Hampton Roads, Norfolk Virginia. Placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Virginia, 17 December 1945.
• 26 October 1971 – sold for scrap metal