Page 2, February 11, 1944

Mrs. George A. Howard, whose husband has been a duplicator on the graveyard shift at Oregon Ship for the past 16 months, was sponsor at the launching of the SS "Abigail S. Duaiway" on January 21. Her attendant were Mrs. Anna M. Merrill and Geraldine Ashcut, matrons of honor, and Miss Patsy Howard, flower girl.

The SS "Edward Lander," Oregon's 323rd ship, slid down the ways on January 25, with Mrs. Sally Tower as sponsor. The sponsor and her attendants were selected as bond sales winners from the Portland retail stores. Miss Lillian Youngquist, special labor recruitment cruitment officer for the U.S.E.S., was the speaker.

Third Victory ship to be launched at Oregon Ship slid down the ways on January 27, with Mrs. Lewis Castile, welder on the graveyard shift assembly, acting as sponsor. Special guest and speaker was Adolph Rytel, Portland representative of the Polish War Relief and other local Polish agencies.

The last of the Libertys, the SS "Peter Moran," is towed to the outfitting dock after a launching on January 28.

LAST LIBERTY

….never before in the history of the world has one shipyard produced a like number of one vessel

The SS "Peter Moran," Oregon's 325th ship, and the last of the yard's Liberty ships, was launched on January 28, with Mrs. Edmond C. Comstock, wife of a shipfitter on a specialty crew on the swing shift as sponsor. Principal speaker was Albert M: Bauer, assistant general manager of the yard.

THE final chapter in Liberty shipbuilding at Oregon Ship was closed on January 28, when the SS "Peter Moran" was launched. The "Peter Moran" was the 322nd Liberty ship built in two and one-half years, and Assistant General Manager Albert Bauer voiced the sentiments of hundreds of Oregon workers when he said that the Liberty ships built in the yard "have come to mean much more than just pieces of steel and machinery - each ship, true to the best traditions of the sea, has an animate quality not found in specifications and blueprints." Bauer commented that the Oregon yard, with its 11 ways, has produced over 17 per cent of the Liberty tonnage of the United States, and has set records unbeaten and unsurpassed by any other shipbuilding organization in the world. 'Nearly 142,000,000 man hours were expended in the building of the huge. fleet of 322 ships - the equivalent of one hour and five minutes of work for every man, woman and child in the

United States. Bauer reminded the workers that even more important than the individual production records set at Oregon is the fact that the yard's accomplishments have been an inspiration to every other yard in the nation and have resulted in a steppedup production that has exceeded the wildest hopes of those responsible for the planning of the over-all program.