U.S.S. Blanche F Sigman

S.S. Stanford White, named in honor of American architect Stanford White, was built by California Shipbuilding Corporation of Los Angeles for the United States Maritime Commission in April 1943 as a Liberty ship. It was Laid down in March 1943 and launched the following month. The ship was assigned to United States Lines, Inc. for merchant operation by the War Shipping Administration (WSA). Stanford White made her way from California to New York and from that port made one transatlantic round trip to Liverpool.

In November 1943, the War Shipping Administration allocated the ship to the U.S. Army, which converted her to a hospital ship. Though initially assigned the name Poppy, she was instead named in honor of First Lieutenant Blanche F. Sigman, a U.S. Army nurse killed in action in Italy. The hospital ship was initially based in Charleston, South Carolina, and made multiple voyages to ports in England, the Mediterranean, and France. After her homeport was changed to New York in December 1945, she made several more runs to Europe as a hospital ship. In April 1946, she was converted to a transport ship and named the U.S.A.T. Blanche F. Sigman. As a transport, the ship made numerous trips bringing home nurses and military personnel prior to entering the National Defense Reserve Fleet in 1948. The ship was declared surplus by the Army in 1949, and sold for scrapping in 1974.

• Length: 134.6 m (441 ft 6 in)
• Beam: 171.1 m (56 ft 10.75 in)
• Draft: 7.3 m (24 ft)
• Propulsion: 1 triple-expansion steam engine, Single screw, 2,500 horsepower
• Speed: 11.5 knots (13-14 Mph)
• Capacity: 7,933 tons
• Occupancy: 595 patients and 500 crew
• Armanent Stern-mounted 4"/50 caliber gun for use against surfaced submarines, variety of anti-aircraft guns

Victor Langiano (Born: 1925) worked on this vessel in November of 1944 as a cook during World War II at the age of 19. The ship at the time was still running as hospital ship in route from Naples, Italy to New York.