U.S.A.T. Edmund B Alexander

In late 1940, as part of the National defense expansion undertaken in response to the Second World War, the thirty-five year old passenger liner America (formerly U.S.S America and U.S.A.T. America) was reactivated for U.S. Army service. It was renamed U.S.A.T. Edmund B. Alexander and she initially served as a barracks ship at St. John's, Newfoundland. After the middle of 1941, the ship was used as a transport in the Gulf of Mexico area. In May 1942, the vessel entered a Baltimore, Maryland, shipyard to begin a major modernization. This work, which was completed in April 1943, gave her new, oil-fired boilers, greater speed, and a much-changed appearance. U.S.A.T. Edmund B. Alexander spent the rest of the World War II era making transport runs between the United States, North Africa and Europe. She continued her work with the Army into the post-war era, primarily carrying military dependents. Placed in reserve in May 1949, U.S.A.T. Edmund B. Alexander was sold for scrapping in January 1957.

• Length: 209 m (687 ft)
• Beam: 22.99 m (75 ft 5 in)
• Draft: 12.02 m (39 ft 5.25 in)
• Propulsion: Two steam turbine engines, twin screw, 5,000 horsepower
• Speed: 17.5 knots (20-21 Mph)
• Capacity: 41,500 tons
• Occupancy: 1,000 passengrs
• Armament: Four 6", two 1-pounders, two .30 caliber Colt machine gun, one .30 caliber Lewis machine gun, and nine depth charge

Dominic Langiano (Born: 1923) was working on this ship on a voyage in January 1944 during World War II as a waiter.