S. S. Segundo Ruiz-Belvis: Herman's First Ship Assignment
Built at the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation in Portland, S.S. Segundo Ruiz-Belvis was one of 2,710 Liberty ships built during World War II to support the U.S. military and the nation's Allies by transporting equipment and supplies. Over 200 were later adapted as troop carriers.
The inspiring story of the Liberty ships has been told most recently in Workhorse of the Fleet by the late Gus Bourneuf, (Houston, American Bureau of Shipping 2008)
Liberty ships were built to a standard design using pre-fabricated components enabling shipyards to assemble them much faster than with conventional methods. Eighteen shipyards built the fleet with an average construction time of 42 days. At the peak of production three ships were launched daily.
Below:
When Herman Pederson was assigned to the Segundo Ruiz-Belvis - named for an influential 19th century Puerto Rican abolitionist - she was still on the ways, and was launched November 19, 1943, with Herman among the onlookers.
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A newspaper account of the launch shows the first keel plate of another ship to be built on the same slipway. Notably, that ship was the first of the Victory ships, sleeker and faster than the "workhorse" Liberties, and several hundred were built.
The tide of war had already turned with the Battle of Midway in June, 1942. Victory over Japan was thought to be inevitable, hence the name chosen for the new design.
(Barely six months after the launch of the Ruiz-Belvis, D-Day the sixth of June, 1944, would be another turning point - of the war in Europe.)
Another clipping saved by Herman gives details about the Victory ships and the fact that Liberties will continue to be built at the yard.
The Victory ships had the same capacity as the Liberties. Their advantage was the greater speed possible with "sharp streamlined bows and improved underwater lines" together with more powerful engines.
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The ships of the merchant fleet were operated by the War Shipping Administration and a number of private shipping companies. The Segundo Ruiz-Belvis was one of three ships operated for the WSA by Shepard Steamship Co. of Boston. After traveling across the country from New York, Herman became an employee of a private company as well as a seaman in the U.S. Maritime Service.
This CREW GATE PASS indicates that the ship had not yet left port as of December 13, 1943, but we know Christmas was celebrated three days before she crossed the equator on December 28.
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Herman was given a seaman's passport just before the Segundo Ruiz-Belvis left on her first voyage. As a State Department document it was "signed" by FDR's Secretary of State Cordell Hull, who two years later was given the Nobel Peace Prize for his influence in creating the United Nations.
