Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Army Ship Photo Archive

USAHS Marigold

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Hospital Ship:
  • Built in 1920 as the passenger/cargo ship SS Old North State for the US Shipping Board (SB 2585) at New York Shipbuilding, Camden N.J.
  • Launched, date unknown
  • Delivered, 21 October 1920, to the United States Mail Steamship Co.
  • Names changed to SS President Van Buren in 1922 when acquired by United States Lines
  • Purchased by Dollar Steamship Co. in 1924, name retained
  • Laid up at San Francisco in 1936
  • Returned to service in 1940 operated by American President Lines
  • President Fillmore was requisitioned by the War Shipping Administration (WSA), 9 February 1942, and operated by American President Lines as the WSA agent
  • During World War II SS President Fillmore was utilized for troop carrying primarily to Alaska
  • Purchased by the War Shipping Agency, 8 October 1943, for conversion to a hospital ship
  • Converted at Seattle-Tacoma Shipyard
  • Renamed USAHS Marigold
  • Marigold served in both the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Decommissioned, 8 June 1946, name revered to President Fillmore
  • Transferred to the War Shipping Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 30 December 1947, to Kaiser Co. (PD-X-395 dated 5 September 1947) for $55,530.00, withdrawn 14 January 1948
    Specifications:
    Displacement 11,342 gross tons
    Length 522'8"
    Beam 62'
    Draft 27'2"
    Speed 12 kts.
    Complement
    212th Hospital Ship Complement
    Officers unknown
    Enlisted, unknown
    Patient Capacity 763
    Fuel Capacities unknown
    Cruise Radius 10,000 nm
    Propulsion
    Triple expansion steam engine
    single propeller
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Merchant Service
    Marigold
    30081204    		 294k United States Mail Steamship Co. passenger/cargo ship SS Old North State moored pierside, circa 1920, location unknown.
    Photo from author's collection, scanned from "Wartime Standard Ships", by Nick Robins. Pub. by Seaforth Publishing, A division of Pen & Sword Books Ltd., 47 Church Street, Barnsley, S70 2AS. ISBN: 978 1 84832 376 6.     		Robert Hurst
    Marigold 21k Model of New York Shipbuilding passenger/cargo ship SS President Fillmore
    Photo from New York Shipbuilding web site     		 
    Marigold
    30081205    		 23k SS President Van Buren promotional card for the United States Lines.
    Image courtesy of navios e navegadores: setembro 2009     		Robert Hurst
    USAHS Marigold
    Marigold 113k USAHS Marigold underway, date and location unknown
    Photo from Wikipedia web site     		 
    Marigold
    30081203    		 42k USAHS Marigold underway, date and location unknown
    Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society, courtesy Nauticapedia.ca.     		John Spivey
    USAHS Marigold history is from "Troopships of World War II", by Roland W. Charles, Published by The Army Transportation Association, Washington, D.C., 1947
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database - President Fillmore
    MARAD Vessel History Database - Marigold
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The US Army Ship Index Back To The US Army Hospital Ship Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 30 January 2026