VESTAL AR 4
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.
- USS VESTAL Collier No. 1
In Service October 4 1909 - Out of Service October 25 1912
- USS VESTAL Fleet Repair Ship No. 4
Commissioned September 3 1913
- USS VESTAL AR-4
Designated (AR) July 17 1920
Decommissioned August 14 1946
Struck from Naval Register September 25 1946
Sold July 28 1950 to the Boston Metals Co. Baltimore, Md. for scrap
Vestal Class Collier/Repair Ship
Ordered April 17 1904 as ERIE
Renamed October 1905
Keel Laid March 25 1907 - Launched May 19 1908
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.
- USS Vestal AR-4 Covers Page 1 (1913-44)
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 |
Postmark Date |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
|---|
Post Office Established September 15 1913 - Disestablished August 15 1946
|
Locy Type |
1918-02-23 |
 |
 |
As Fleet Repair Ship No. 4
Censored wartime (WWI) use
|
Locy Type |
1944-04-21 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
Censored wartime (WWII) use
|
Locy Type |
1913-11-10 |
 |
 |
As Fleet Repair Ship No. 4
Picture postcard of "Old Point Comfort VA".
|
Locy Type |
1916-03-30 |
 |
 |
As Fleet Repair Ship No. 4
|
Locy Type |
1917-02-28 |
 |
 |
As Fleet Repair Ship No. 4
Postcard use.
|
Locy Type |
1920-02-18 |
 |
 |
As Fleet Repair Ship No. 4
|
Locy Type |
1916-02-10 |
 |
 |
As Fleet Repair Ship No. 4
|
Locy Type |
1914 |
 |
 |
As Fleet Repair Ship No. 4
|
Locy Type |
1915-02-05 |
 |
 |
As Fleet Repair Ship No. 4
|
Locy Type |
1926-06-04 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
Official Business.
|
Locy Type |
1938-07-29 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
Cachet by Walter G. Crosby
|
Locy Type |
1939-06-15 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
|
Locy Type |
1922-12-13 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
|
Locy Type |
1937-10-04 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
28th Anniversary, Cachet by Frederick Horton
|
Locy Type |
1942-03-07 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
Censored. Add-on cachet by Bruce D. Liddell
|
Locy Type |
1931-10-30 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
|
Locy Type |
1924-11-09 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
|
Locy Type |
1925-02-24 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
|
Locy Type |
1915-02-22 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
Backside of Registered cover.
|
Locy Type |
1918-08-22
|
 |
 |
As AR-4
Mark from back of cover
|
Locy Type |
1937-12-25 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
Multiple mark cover, Christmas 1937 - New Year 1940
|
Locy Type |
1937-12-25 |
 |
|
As AR-4
Multiple mark cover, Christmas 1937 - New Year 1940
|
Locy Type |
1937-12-25 |
 |
|
As AR-4
Multiple mark cover, Christmas 1937 - New Year 1940
|
Locy Type |
1933-02-08 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
"North Bay Stamp Club" created postmark.
|
Locy Type F |
1940-06-16 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
|
Locy Type F |
1940-02-22 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
Blue Ink.
|
Locy Type F |
1940-02-22 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
Purple Ink. Cachet by Richard Buchwald
|
Locy Type F |
1946-05-07 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
Black Ink.
|
Locy Type Fz |
1941-06-14 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
Flag Day, cachet by Jacques Minkus
|
Locy Type SLK |
1915-02-22 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
Registered cover.
|
Locy Type SLK |
1937-12-25 |
 |
|
As AR-4
Multiple mark cover, Christmas 1937 - New Year 1940
|
Locy Type |
c1937 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
Undated straightline mark
|
Locy Type |
1937-07-04 |
 |
 |
As AR-4
Cachet is thermographed. The last digit of the date is illegible. 1937 is a best guess based on the known date range for this postmark.
|
N/A |
c 1930's |
 |
N/A |
As AR-4
Unused "Guard Mail" envelope.
Other Information
VESTAL earned 2 Battle Stars for WWII service
*
Pearl Harbor-Midway
Pearl Harbor, December 7 1941
*
Okinawa Gunto operation
April 23 to June 30 1945
The USS VESTAL earned the following awards during her Naval career- Combat Action Ribbon; Mexican Service Medal; China Service Medal; World War I Victory Medal; American Defense Service Medal (with Fleet clasp); American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 2 Battle stars; World War II Victory Medal and the Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp).
For his actions on December 7 1941 at Pearl Harbor, T.H., the VESTAL's Commanding Officer, Cdr. Cassin Young, was awarded the Medal of Honor
Members of the VESTAL's Repair Department that proceeded to sea in USS SARATOGA CV-3 before her repairs were completed were awarded the Navy Unit Commendation along with the SARATOGA's crew
NAMESAKE - Named for a virgin—dedicated to Vesta, the Roman goddess of hearth and fire—who tended the sacred fire kept perpetually burning on her altar
Undated postcard of the ship:
 |
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