postcard On Board \"America\" WW1 troop transfer 1905 Signed Willy Stower 6156 For Sale

Hours before theAmerican entry into World War I,Amerikawas seized and placed under control of theUnited States Shipping Board(USSB). Later transferred to the U.S. Navy for use as a troop transport, she was initially commissioned asUSSAmerikawithNaval Registry Identification Number3006 (ID-3006), but her name was soon Anglicized toAmerica. AsAmericashe transported almost 40,000 troops toFrance. She sank at her mooring in Hoboken in 1918, but was soon raised and reconditioned. After theArmistice,Americatransported more than 51,000 troops back home from Europe. In 1919, she was handed over to theWar Departmentfor use by theUnited States ArmyasUSATAmerica, under whose control she remained until 1920.