During the darkest days of World War Two, the United States began building thousands of merchant marine ships to transport supplies and war materiels to England and the Soviet Union. Dubbed Liberty Ships (and nicknamed “ugly ducklings” by President Franklin Roosevelt), these vessels made the hazardous voyage across the U-boat-infested waters of the North Atlantic. The ships were often named for eminent Americans, including presidents, military leaders, writers, and many others ranging from Knute Rockne to Annie Oakley. In March, 1944, the fleet was joined by a new vessel, Number 1546, the William W. Loring. The ship was built in Panama City, Florida by the J.A. Jones Construction Company. (Other Liberty Ships included the Charles C. Long and the Henry H. Sibley, two of Loring’s compatriots in Egypt.)

In June of 1944, the Loring took part in Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy. Each of the Liberty ships involved carried about 480 men and 120 army vehicles across the English Channel. The Loring’s U.S. Navy Armed Guard crew were awarded Navy Battle Stars for their actions during the invasion. (For more information on the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War Two, see the excellent American Merchant Marine at War site.)

By helping transport America’s might across the very seas once traveled by its namesake, the William W. Loring in a sense helped complete the worldwide export of American know-how and technology begun in the 1870s by Loring and the other Americans who served in Egypt.

In February, 1962 (a century since Loring had sparred with Stonewall Jackson and sent Confederate cavalry into Ohio), the William W. Loring, its mission long since accomplished, was scrapped in Baltimore.