The Unit Citation for the SS Meredith Victory by the US Department of Commerce August 24, 1960 stated "At the height of the epoch-making evacuation of Hungnam, Korea, by the United Nations Forces in December, 1950, the MEREDITH VICTORY was requested to assist in the removal of Korean civilians trapped and threatened with death by the encircling enemy armies. Most of the military personnel had been pulled out, and the city was aflame from enemy gunfire. Despite imminent danger of artillery and air attack, and while her escape route became more precarious by the hour, the MEREDITH VICTORY, her tanks full of jet fuel, held her position in the shell-torn harbor until 14,000 men, women and children had crowded into the ship. "

"One of the last ships to leave Hungnam, the MEREDITH VICTORY, set her course through enemy mine fields, and although having little food and water, and neither doctor nor interpreter, accomplished the three-day voyage to safety at Pusan with her human cargo, including several babies born enroute, without loss of a single life."     ⇦ Back to 8    On to 10 ⇨