Sgt. Sylvester Antolak AP-192

Sgt. Sylvester Antolak
(AP-192: dp. 7,604, 1. 455', b. 62', dr. 29', s. 16 k.;
cpl. 112; trp. 1,070; cl. Boulder Victory; T. VC-2-SAP-2)

Sgt. Sylvester Antolak, a converted VC2-S-AP-2 type built under a Maritime Commission contract (MCV hull 830), was laid down as Stetson Victory on 3 May 1945 by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc., Baltimore, Md., launched on 16 June 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Joe Hendricks, and delivered to the Maritime Commission's War Shipping Administration on 18 July 1945 for operation by the Isbrandtsen Co., Inc.

After World War II, Stetson Victory was returned to the War Shipping Administration and was transferred to the War Department on 18 July 1946 for operation by the Army. Renamed Sgt. Sylvester Antolak on 31 October 1947, the ship carried Army cargo until the late 1940's when she was returned to the Maritime Commission for berthing in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, Calif. On 22 July 1950, shortly after the start of the Korean Conflict, she was returned to the Navy for operation by the Military Sea Transportation Service.

By mid-August, alterations-including the addition of limited, but modern, medical spaces-had been accomplished, and her civil service crew had reported on board. On 24 August as USNS Sgt. Sylvester Antolak (T-AP-192), she sailed from San Francisco and transported troops to Yokohama, Japan. She remained in the western Pacific, shuttling troops from Japan to the Philippines and to Korea, into June 1951, then returned to the United States to embark more soldiers for transportation to the Far East. She continued to carry American fighting men on transpacific runs and shuttle runs between Japanese ports and between Japan and Korea until April 1952. She then operated briefly along the east coast of the United States and in the Caribbean until June, when she retransited the Panama Canal to resume operations in the Pacific. By the end of July, she had conducted a round-trip run to Bangkok out of Saseho and was en route to the Aleutians, whence she returned to the west coast for inactivation

Sgt. Sylvester Antolak arrived at Seattle on 10 August and was returned to the Maritime Administration on 17 September for berthing in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 6 November 1952. In December 1971 Sgt. Sylvester Antolak was sold by the Maritime Administration.