It might be interesting to note that there also has been only one vessel, ship or boat registered with the name "USS Screven." The ship was the Alamosa Class Cargo ship AK-210.
    Built at the Leatham D. Smith Shipbuilding Company in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin under a United States Maritime Commission contract, the ship was launched Nov. 30, 1944.
    The Screven was 388 feet long, 50 feet across, and displaced 7,450 tons when fully loaded. Onboard was a crew consisting of 15 officers and 70 enlisted men. For protection, the Screven boasted 3-inch and 50-caliber dual gun mounts as well as six single 20 MM anti-aircraft guns.
    The Screven's first Port of Call was the Gulf Coast town of Gulfport, Miss. After transiting the Panama Canal, the ship arrived at the United States Navy's at Pearl Harbor for orders.
    From here the Screven proceeded to conduct to carry loads of cargo between San Francisco, California and the South Pacific and the island of Guam throughout the post-war occupation of Japan and its former territories.
    After completing its final mission to the South Pacific, the Screven returned to San Francisco on Jan. 9, 1946. From here it proceeded to Baltimore, Md., where it prepared for its decommissioning on April 30, 1946.
    After being placed in the "Mothball Fleet" the Screven was removed from the roles of active and inactive Navy ships. Then, the United States Maritime Commission then sold the vessel in 1947 to the commercial shipping firm of Benham and Boyesin in  Norway.
    This company then renamed the vessel the MV Norlindo and sold it to the Peruvian Navy in 1959, who christened it the naval vessel "Ilo." The Screven's final act was to be sold to Spanish shipbreakers who ordered it scrapped in 1968.

    Roger Allen is a local lover of history. Allen provides a brief look at the area's historical past. Email Roger at rwasr1953@gmail.com.