Source: Puka Puka Parade, February 1948, Vol. 3 No. 1
Description: Article about the sale of the S.S. Maui for scrap and its significance as the ship that transported the men of the 100th Infantry Battalion from Hawaii to the mainland in June 1942.
An obituary appearing in a newspaper which caught the eyes of the writer said: ”Old Steamer Maui, Onetime Queen of Matson Line, sold for Scrap.”
The S.S. Maui is well remembered by the men of the 100th Bn. as the good ship which safely transported us to the Golden Gate when the Battalion left Hawaii on June 5, 1942.
The Maui went on her maiden voyage in 1917. During World War I she was used as a troop carrier and returned to regain her position as the Queen of the Matson lines follow1ng the end of hostilities.
A large Aloha was staged for the Maui when she left Honolulu on her last voyage as a passenger ship in 1934.
The Maui became a freighter thereafter until the beginning of World War II when she was used as a troop transport.
Consensus of opinion among the men of the 100th is that the S.S. Maui besides being a good ship probably holds the distinction among army transports of having been THE vessel which saw money pass into different hands the greatest number of times.
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This article was originally published by Club 100 in its Puka Puka Parade newsletter. The content reflects the author’s personal recollections, perspectives, and information known to them at the time.
This publication is available through eVols, the open-access digital institutional repository of the University of Hawaiʻi (https://hdl.handle.net/10524/11835)