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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USNS Pvt. Francis X. McGraw (T-AK-241)
ex
 USAT Pvt. Francis X. McGraw (1947 - 1950)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Quebec - India - Quebec
 NQIQ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

National Defense Service Medal (2)
Boulder Victory Class Cargo Ship:
  • Laid down as SS Wabash Victory a Maritime Commission type (VC2-S-AP2) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MCV hull 796) at California Shipbuilding Corporation, Los Angeles, CA.
  • Launched, 6 September 1944
  • Delivered to the War Shipping Administration, 7 June 1945
  • Operated by the Interocean SS Co until 14 June 1946
  • Acquired by the US Army Transportation Service, 14 June 1946
  • Renamed USAT Pvt Francis X. McGraw, 31 October 1947
  • Decommissioned by the US Army and acquired by the US Navy, 1 March 1950
  • Placed in service by the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) as USNS Pvt Francis X. McGraw (T-AK-241)
  • Placed out of service, date unknown
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Custody transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD), 8 May 1974
  • Permanent transfer to MARAD, 21 August 1974
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 21 August 1974, to National Unity Marine Salvage Corp.
    Specifications:
    Displacement 15,599 t.(fl)
    Length 455' 3"
    Beam 62' 1"
    Draft 29' 2"
    Speed 15.5 kts.
    Complement 24
    Armament none
    Propulsion steam turbine, single screw, 8,500shp.
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Pvt Francis X McGraw 85k
    Namesake

    Private First Class Francis X. McGraw U.S. Army, Company H, 26th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division was born in Philadelphia, PA on April 29, 1918. He was killed in action near Schevenhutte, Germany November 19, 1944. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on October 25, 1945 (Posthumously). Other awards included the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He is buried in Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Henri-Chapelle, Belgium in Plot A, Row 18, Grave 25.
    Congressional Medal of Honor Citation: He manned a heavy machinegun emplaced in a foxhole near Schevenhutte, Germany, on 19 November 1944, when the enemy launched a fierce counterattack. Braving an intense hour-long preparatory barrage, he maintained his stand and poured deadly accurate fire into the advancing foot troops until they faltered and came to a halt. The hostile forces brought up a machinegun in an effort to dislodge him but were frustrated when he lifted his gun to an exposed but advantageous position atop a log, courageously stood up in his foxhole and knocked out the enemy weapon. A rocket blasted his gun from position, but he retrieved it and continued firing. He silenced a second machinegun and then made repeated trips over fire-swept terrain to replenish his ammunition supply. Wounded painfully in this dangerous task, he disregarded his injury and hurried back to his post, where his weapon was showered with mud when another rocket barely missed him. In the midst of the battle, with enemy troops taking advantage of his predicament to press forward, he calmly cleaned his gun, put it back into action and drove off the attackers. He continued to fire until his ammunition was expended, when, with a fierce desire to close with the enemy, he picked up a carbine, killed 1 enemy soldier, wounded another and engaged in a desperate firefight with a third until he was mortally wounded by a burst from a machine pistol. The extraordinary heroism and intrepidity displayed by Pvt. McGraw inspired his comrades to great efforts and was a major factor in repulsing the enemy attack.
    Text from the city of Fairview Village, Wisconsin
    U.S. Army Photo    		 Bill Gonyo
    Pvt Francis X McGraw 77k USNS Pvt Francis X. McGraw (T-AK-241) moored pierside at Bremerhaven, Germany, summer-1970. Photo by Gerhard L. Mueller-Debus
    Pvt Francis X McGraw 90k USNS Pvt Francis X. McGraw (T-AK-241) underway, date and location unknown. Bill Valashinas
    Pvt Francis X McGraw 426k USNS Pvt Francis X. McGraw (T-AK-241) loading chemical weapons at Tengan Pier, Okinawa during Operation Red Hat in September 1971. Operation Red Hat involved removing chemicals stored on Okinawa to Johnston Atoll.
    US Army Communications Squadron photo from the US National Archives.    		 Robert Hurst
    USNS Francis X. McGraw (T-AK-241)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
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    Last Updated 6 September 2013