Interested in information on the Yugoslavia Victory service in WWII. My Uncle Delbert Ballard, now deceased, served aboard her. I recently saw a photo of the ship offloading mules in Greece during the war.
Re: SS Yugoslavia Victory
Posted by Greg Solis on April 21, 2013, 11:50 am, in reply to "SS Yugoslavia Victory"
My Grandfather, Frank Solis, was Captain of the Yugoslavia Victory. Been going through old photos. I know he was a Captain during WWII. He Captained the SS West Texas starting in the '30s, but I'm not sure what years he was on the Yugoslavia Victory. One of the pictures looks to be from 1950.
Shortly after my original post a truly great thing happened. My sister found a large Manila envelope tucked away in my father's closet. Inside were all the letters home he wrote to his folks, dating from his training in San Diego in 1944 to his discharge in May of 1946. It was pretty great to get a glimpse of who my Dad was at age 18. In a letter dated Sept. 30, 1944 we was unable (of course) to tell them where he was but I already knew that the SS Yugoslavia was offshore at Peleliu on that date. Some time ago in my endless internet search I found part of a Destroyer Escort Captain's log that mentioned receiving orders in Sept. 1944 to escort the SS Yugoslavia Victory to the spot where she could be unloaded at Peleliu. My father could only write about the sights, sounds of the naval bombardment and the terrible smell as they got closer. I can remember him telling me of how sad it made him to see so many badly injured US Marine's after their costly Victory.
Re: SS Yugoslavia Victory
Posted by Jim Nelson on February 16, 2010, 2:55 am, in reply to "SS Yugoslavia Victory"
What a coincidence! I haven't checked back here for many months until tonight. My Dad (died in 1996) served on the SS Yugoslavia Victory! Best regards, Jim Nelson
