Moment in History
The USS Juliette Low
by Margaret Sheriff

     Note: When I read this letter, written 60 years ago, I knew it had to be shared with all of you as a “Moment in History.” By 1945 the United States had been involved in World War II for four long years. Everyone was involved in the “war effort.” Girl Scouts gave many hours of community service. There were special awards for Girl Scouts to wear on their uniforms recognizing the hours of service they gave.
     The USS “Juliette Low” was one of a special class of merchant ships called Liberty Ships which were built for carrying supplies to the US military forces all over the world. All of them were named for well known Americans. After the war these ships eventually ceased being used. A number of them were moth balled in Beaumont, including the USS “Juliette Low.” In the early 1970s our then Council president, Dorothy Lockwood, went to Beaumont and was able to board the USS “Juliette Low” by clamboring from ship to ship to ship until she reached the right one. After her visit she requested that some items of interest from the ship be given to San Jacinto Girl Scouts. Subsequently our Council received from the US Department of Commerce a number of keepsakes from the ship. Included were the aft wheel, compass, and a collection of brass keys all of which are on display in the Lodge at Camp Casa Mare.

Mrs. Samuel L. Lawrence,
(Note: First to join the national organization)
Charleston, West Virginia

My Dear Mrs. Lawrence,

     A few lines to let you know that your good ship Juliette Low has returned safely from voyage No. 3 this day. (January 23, 1945–New York City)
     We sailed from New York on November 24 with a cargo consisting mostly of heavy tanks, heavy guns, and mail. We were three hours late sailing due to waiting for some priority cargo but caught up with the convoy and was in our position No. 41 before dark. Our destination was Belfast, Ireland but that doesn’t mean a thing. It’s always changed after we get to sea, and we arrived in the Solent, England, December 9 for orders.
     And what a trip. We left New York in such a hurry that the deck cargo, which was mostly those big 35-ton Sherman tanks, was only partly secured and when we got outside the ship started to roll and those tanks started going places. Believe me we had some time. Engineers, firemen, cooks, messboys, radio operator, and even the purser were all out there with ropes, chains, cables, and anything that could be found, trying to secure those tanks.
     Several times I was tempted to turn back, but from all accounts that I have read of Juliette Low, and I have read a lot, nothing ever daunted her. I fail to find where she turned back even once. When the going was toughest, that’s when she went the hardest. Imagine me telling you about her. But really it was her spirit that kept us going on, with due thanks to the navy gun crew for the hard work and valuable assistance they gave us, General Eisenhower received a most valuable cargo on time.
     We layed in the Solent for five days then proceeded to Le Havre, France. We arrived there December 17 and started discharging right away. My sincerest regret is that I don’t have the ability to even start to describe to you what Le Havre looks like after 18,000 tons of bombs landed there in four hours. Prior to the war, Le Havre had a population of 100,000. Now it has 8,000. And no place for people to come back to. It used to rate along with the finest ports of the world. Now they can squeeze 14 ships into the harbor. They all anchor out in the stream because there isn’t one dock left intact where a ship can tie up. All the cargo goes ashore in barges and (ducks) amphibious trucks. It took 14 days to discharge but we had 30,000 sacks of mail which took lots of time.
     All the time we were there, the crew was restricted to the ship because of so much subversive activity. The whole place is honeycombed with spies. One morning ten parachutes were found. No doubt spies landed the previous night. Seventeen ships, including four large transports were lost right outside the harbor, and the V-1 type flying bombs drop in quite often. We were all glad to get out of there, and believe now more than ever that a million Girl Scouts pray for us every night.
     We spent Christmas in Le Havre and permit me to extend a million thanks from each man aboard this ship to the Girl Scouts for the nice Christmas presents and decorations they gave us before we left. We were the only ship in the port that had any decorations and we all feel grateful for having such thoughtful and generous sponsors. Of the beautiful lot of books Miss. Rusk gave us, I left 210 of them with the United Seaman’s Service which has just opened up a place in Le Havre. While we were there, there were crews of seven ill-fated American ships, and books seemed to be very much in need. Since Miss. Rusk told me to pass them along when we were finished with them, I gave them two boxes full, and their thanks and appreciation is extended along with ours. I will give Miss. Rusk the receipt for these as soon as I see her.