Original Item: One-Of-A-Kind. Now this is an absolutely wonderful example of a “going home” French Briar hand carved pipe, made by the Colossus Pipe Factory. The pipe comes with the original “Warranted French Briar” case. The pipe features a beautiful carving on the Statue of Liberty, Patriotic Eagle, the name of the ship USS OHIOAN and the sailor’s home town; Cleveland, Ohio. Other carvings include AEF 1918 and the ship’s destinations; Bordeaux, Le Havre, Hororata and New York City. The shank was banded with a silver plated band that was stamped C.P.F. in an oval with three false hallmarks above that stamp.
A lovely example ready for further research and display.
SS Ohioan (1914)
SS Ohioan was a cargo ship built in 1914 for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company. During World War I, she was taken over by the United States Navy and commissioned as USS Ohioan (ID-3280).
Ohioan was built by the Maryland Steel Company as one of eight sister ships ordered by the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company for inter-coastal service cargo via the Panama Canal. When the canal was temporarily closed by landslides in late 1915, Ohioan sailed via the Straits of Magellan until the canal reopened in mid 1916. During World War I, USS Ohioan carried cargo, animals, and a limited number of passengers to France, and returned over 8,000 American troops after the Armistice, including the highly decorated American soldier Alvin York. After Ohioan's naval service ended in 1919, she was returned to her original owners.
Ohioan's post-war career was relatively uneventful until 8 October 1936, when she ran aground near Seal Rock at the Golden Gate, the entrance to San Francisco Bay. Attempts to free the ship were unsuccessful and, because of the close proximity of the wreck to San Francisco, the grounded Ohioan drew large crowds to watch salvage operations. Angelo J. Rossi, the mayor of San Francisco, toured the wreck on 19 October. Ohioan's hulk caught fire in March 1937, and the wreck broke into two pieces in a storm in December. As late as 1939, some of Ohioan's rusty steel beams were still visible on the rocks.
World War I
Unlike her surviving sister ships,[Note 3] there is no evidence that Ohioan was ever chartered by the United States Army;[Note 4] Ohioan's activities between the United States' declaration of war on Germany in April 1917, and her acquisition by the United States Navy on 5 August 1918, are unknown. She was commissioned into the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS) two days later, under a loan charter. After a refit and taking on a load of cargo, Ohioan sailed for Saint-Nazaire, France, where she arrived on 29 August. Dividing the next month between that port and Brest, Ohioan sailed for New York on 1 October. Fitted there with horse stalls, she loaded 60 officers and men, and equestrian and general cargo, before sailing on 1 November for La Pallice.
With the signing of the Armistice on 11 November the fighting came to an end, and the task of bringing home American soldiers began almost immediately. Upon her return to the United States on 5 December, Ohioan was selected to become a troop transport and transferred from the NOTS to the Cruiser and Transport Force. Before she could begin returning troops, Ohioan had to be converted from a cargo and animal ship. Although sources do not indicate the specific modifications Ohioan underwent, typical conversions for other ships included the installation of berths, and adding greatly expanded cooking and toilet facilities to handle the large numbers of men aboard. Similar modifications on Ohioan's sister ship Minnesotan took three months, but it is not known how long Ohioan's refit took.
In March, Ohioan returned 1,627 men to New York, mostly from the 348th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. 87th Infantry Division, followed by another 1,596 officers and men, and 1,000 homing pigeons on 16 April. Among the pigeons was Cher Ami—the only bird sent out by the Lost Battalion that was able to get a message through—and 100 captured German pigeons. Cher Ami had received the French Croix de Guerre with Palm and had been recommended for the U.S. Army Distinguished Service Cross by General John J. Pershing.
Ohioan docked at New York on 22 May on her next voyage with a portion of the 328th Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Division. One of the members of the unit was Sergeant Alvin C. York, who had led an attack on a German machine gun nest during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and captured 132 German officers and men. York had been honored with the U.S. Medal of Honor and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm (among other awards), both of which he wore on his coat on arrival at New York. After Ohioan docked, York held a well-attended press conference on board.
On 20 June, Ohioan returned another load of troops that included Base Hospital 98, and the 20th Engineers. By the time Ohioan had completed her sixth and final trooping voyage on 16 September 1919, Ohioan had carried home 8,383 healthy and wounded men. USS Ohioan was decommissioned on 6 October 1919, and returned to American-Hawaiian.
