USS Henry R. Mallory

After the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, the United States Army, needing transports to get its men and materiel to France, had a select committee of shipping executives pore over registries of American shipping. The committee selected Henry R. Mallory and thirteen other American-flagged ships that were sufficiently fast, could carry enough fuel in their bunkers for transatlantic crossings, and, most importantly, were in port or not far at sea.[5][6] After Henry R. Mallory discharged her last load of passengers and cargo, she was officially handed over to the Army on 24 May, one of the first three ships acquired.[4]

Before any troop transportation could be undertaken, all of the ships were hastily refitted. Of the fourteen ships, ten, including Henry R. Mallory, were designated to carry human passengers; the other four were designated as animal ships. The ten ships designated to carry troops had all of their second- and third-class accommodations ripped out and replaced with berths for troops. Cooking and toilet facilities were greatly expanded to handle the large numbers of men aboard. Gun platforms were installed on each ship before docking at the Brooklyn Navy Yard to have the guns themselves installed.[7][Note 1] All the ships were manned by merchant officers and crews but carried two U.S. Navy officers, Navy gun crews, quartermasters, signalmen, and wireless operators. The senior Navy officer on board would take control if a ship came under attack.[8]

The American convoy carrying the first units of the American Expeditionary Forces were broken into four groups;[9] Henry R. Mallory was in the third group with San Jacinto and Finland, and escorts consisting of cruiser Charleston, armed collier Cyclops, and destroyers Allen, Preston, and McCall.[10] Henry R. Mallory departed with her group on 14 June for Brest, France, steaming at a 13-knot (24 km/h) pace.[11] A thwarted submarine attack on the first convoy group,[12] and reports of heavy submarine activity off of Brest resulted in a change in the convoy's destination to Saint-Nazaire.[13]

After her return from France, Henry R. Mallory sailed again in the 5th convoy on 31 July,[14] the 7th convoy on 8 September,[14] and the 12th convoy on 26 November,[15] all of which sailed from the New York embarkation point in Hoboken, New Jersey.[14] In January 1918, Henry R. Mallory became the first transport to sail from the Newport News embarkation port, when—loaded with eight aero squadrons—she sailed on 17 January.[16][Note 2] Departing again from Hoboken on 14 March in the 24th convoy, Henry R. Mallory began her last journey under Army charter. After arriving in France on 26 March and landing her troops, Henry R. Mallory began her return to the United States with Army transport Tenadores and Navy transport Mercury. At 11:45 on 4 April, a German submarine fired torpedoes at the group. Through evasive maneuvers, none of the ships were hit, and with timely gunfire targeting the sub, no more was seen of the threat.[17] Arriving back in the United States on 13 April,[18] Henry R. Mallory was handed over to the U.S. Navy.[1]

After problems with crew discipline aboard Army transports Antilles and Finland when they were torpedoed,[Note 3] the U.S. Navy, led by the recommendations of Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves, insisted that all troop transports be manned entirely by Navy personnel. This was accomplished soon after so as to avoid the need for what Gleaves called "ignorant and unreliable men" who were "the sweepings of the docks".[19] Accordingly, Henry R. Mallory was handed over to the Navy on 13 April 1918 and commissioned on 17 April.[1]

Other than the official change command of the vessel, little else change for Henry R. Mallory. She sailed in her first convoy under Navy command on 23 April, and continued carrying troops to France, making five additional trips before the Armistice in November 1918.[20] In all, Henry R. Mallory carried 9,756 troops to France.[21]

With the fighting at an end, the task of bringing home American soldiers began almost immediately.[22] Henry R. Mallory did her part by carrying home 14,514 healthy and wounded men in seven roundtrips. Henry R. Mallory returned from her last Navy voyage on 29 August 1919, and was returned to the Mallory Lines the following day.[21]