USS Deliver (ARS-23)

USS Deliver (ARS-23)

U.S.S. Deliver (ARS-23)

World War, 1939-1945

Veterans--Florida

The USS Deliver (ARS-23) departing from the Navy Yard, Mare Island, on March 25, 1946. The mission of the USS Deliver after World War II was an occupation and China service in the Far East. In July 1946, the USS Deliver was assigned to Joint Task Force 1, Task Unit 1.2.7 Target Vessel Group - Salvage Units for Operation Crossroads the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll.

A notable soldier who served on the USS Deliver was Ralph Edward King (1920-1995). Born on May 2, 1920, in Sanford, Florida, King enlisted in the United States Navy on March 14, 1939. He was assigned to the Dobbin-class destroyer USS Whitney in Pearl Harbor by 1940. Approximately ninety percent of the crew were on board when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941. In January 1943, King and the USS Whitney were deployed into World War II. The Whitney returned to Pearl Harbor in January 1946, and sometime between then and October of the same year, King was transferred to the USS Deliver, a Diver Class Rescue and Salvage Ship. At the time of his discharge, King held the rank of Engineman Chief Petty Officer. He spent time as a Chief Engineer for the Merchant Marines. After leaving the Navy, King returned to Sanford and married his wife, Norma. In 1956, he moved to Lutz, Florida, where he would live out the rest of his days. King passed away on May 17, 1995, at the age of 75. He is memorialized at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida.

In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program Project. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and writing and fosters collaboration between students, faculty and local Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculum for k-12 students. The corresponding website exhibit uses RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive of related data. The public can use the project-developed augmented-reality app at more than 100 gravesites at the Florida National Cemetery, where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.

United States Navy

Digital reproduction of original black and white photograph.

United States Navy

1946-03-25

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1 black and white photograph

Still Image

Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Mare Island, California

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History Teacher

Originally created and published by the United States Navy.

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Connolly, Lehman

Cravero, Geoffrey

Abney, Barb. "VA Selects UCF Historians to Archive Stories of Deceased Veterans Veterans." UCF Today, March 13, 2017. Accessed August 9, 2017. https://today.ucf.edu/va-selects-ucf-historians-archive-stories-deceased-veterans/.

Black, Jeremy. World War Two: A Military History. London [u.a]: Routledge, 2003.