SS Wheaton Victory

SS Wheaton Victory was launched on March 22, 1945 by California Shipbuilding Co., Los Angeles with several alumni in attendance including Rev. John Shearer (on the platform), Alice Trathewy and Mary Ann and Eleanor Nyman. Named for Wheaton College, this vessel was among of a group of 150 Victory Ships named for American colleges and universities. Its keel was laid January 27, 1945 and like all victory ships had 10,500 D.W. tonnage with speed suitable for war and peacetime service. It served a total of 77 days. After the SS Wheaton Victory was decommissioned it became a Taiwanese merchant vessel, Hai Fu, which went aground on a reef at the mouth of Kewalo Basin near the entrance to Honolulu Harbor. It was evaluated as a total loss, sold for scrap and towed to Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 1965.