BOLIVAR APA 34

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Bayfield Class Transport
Keel Laid March 13 1942 under Maritime Commission contract at Western Pipe and Steel Co., San Francisco, CA
Launched September 7 1942 as SEA ANGEL


1. SEA ANGEL (U.S. Maritime Commission)
Assigned to U.S. Navy as Transport (AP-79)
Redesignated Attack Transport (APA-34) February 1 1943
Acquired by U.S. Navy March 15 1943


2. USS BOLIVAR APA-34
Placed in Reduced Commission for conversion March 15 - April 23 1943
Commissioned (Full) September 1 1943 - Decommissioned April 29 1946
Struck from Naval Register July 19 1946
Returned to the Maritime Commission September 12 1946


3. PRESIDENT VAN BUREN (Commercial Service)
Title transferred to American President Lines, 23 October 1948 and renamed


4. PRESIDENT HARDING (Commercial Service)
Renamed in August 1967
Official Number: 257213


5. THAILAND BEAR (Commercial Service)
Sold to Pacific Far East Lines Inc., 25 March 1968 and renamed


6. SANTA MONICA (Commercial Service)
   Sold in November 1970 to Prudential-Grace Lines and renamed
   
   Sold for scrapping 30 March 1973

 

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. Covers Page 1    (1943-46)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Date From to Date To	Thumbnail Link To Close-Up Image	Thumbnail Link To Full Cover Image

 

Locy Type 2(n)

1946-03-15

Notes:

 

Locy Type 2z

1943-10-21

Note:

 

Locy Type 9efu

1945-09-08 to 1945-09-27

Mark from back of cover

 

Other Information

BOLIVAR earned 5 Battle Stars (WWII)
* Marshall Islands operation, Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls January - February 1944
* Marianas operation, Capture and occupation of Saipan, June 1944 - Capture and occupation of Guam, July 1944
* Leyte operation, Leyte landings, October - November 1944
* Luzon operation, Lingayen Gulf landings, January 1945
* Iwo Jima operation, Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, February - March 1945

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons...
American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (5) - World War II Victory Medal - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)

NAMESAKE - Named for a county in northwestern Mississippi established on February 9 1826 honoring Simon Bolivar y Ponte (1783-1830), the South American soldier, statesman, and revolutionary leader

 

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