It’s hard to tell in this picture if the ferry has just picked up servicemen from the Pittsburg waterfront or if it has arrived at the San Francisco Port of Embarkation. I’d be very tempted to say my pap and his fellow servicemen were one step closer to setting out for Manila, but after looking at some awesome vintage photographs of Fort Mason and a historic structure report, I’m doubtful because I didn’t see a building with those stars. I just don’t know for sure.
Edit: A helpful commenter on this post guessed “that that photograph was taken along the San Francisco dock area. The “ornate” buildings with stars on them would be more representative of a building found in that area. The Army did not “decorate” their buildings.” Another helpful post confirmed that this is not the Camp Stoneman ferry building as it is not tall enough. “The ferry dock was completely covered over, with three walls. It was open on the river side. The roof was very high.”
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Strange to see these fotos. I also rode the ferry from Camp Stoneman to Ft. Mason and then got on the USS Butner, except it was 1952 and we were headed for Yokohama and then Korea. Wish I’d had a camera with me at the time.
Wow, thank you for sharing… and for your service!
Do you know if this picture was taken at Camp Stoneman or Fort Mason?
My dad was on the Butner in 1952 Fran Lorscheider
Hi Ron! Thanks for your comment! I’d like to know more about the Butner. Did your dad ever tell you anything about his experiences on this ship? Thank you to your dad for his service? Where did he serve?
Usually the troops from Camp Stoneman disembarked in San Francisco piers, keeping the dock areas at Fort Mason open for loading transport ships. The men would march from Camp Stoneman down to the wharfs to take the ferries down to San Francisco. The only photos I have seen of the Pittsburgh (Fort Stoneman) docks appear to be open and did not have buildings that close to the docks. I would guess that that photograph was taken along the San Francisco dock area. The “ornate” buildings with stars on them would be more representative of a building found in that area. The Army did not “decorate” their buildings.
Ft. Mason was an army base. All the buildings on it, including the three big docks bldgs, were army.
Thank you for the info! 🙂
Not completely correct. I was an Army dependent at Camp Stoneman (it was never a Fort). My dad was a young officer stationed there. The ferry dock was completely covered over, with three walls. It was open on the river side. The roof was very high. Troops were not marched to the ferry building. They were usually taken in big “cattle car” type truck trailers. The photo above is not the Camp Stoneman ferry building. It’s not tall enough. I fished off the ferry pier every weekend during the school year and nearly every day of Summer Vacation so I have some pretty vivid memories of that huge structure.
Troops all lived in the traditional WWII two story wood barracks. Our family quarters were long WWII hospital wards each cut into 4 or 5 two bedroom apartments. They are all gone now, but were along the Contra Costa Canal east of Railroad Ave.
BTW, local residents always got very upset when you put an H on the end of Pittsburg. 🙂
Thank you for sharing your memories Eric! Here, our residents get very upset when people leave the H off the end of Pittsburgh. 🙂
Thanks for the info and for agreeing with the above commenter that the picture is not of the Camp Stoneman ferry building. Would you agree that this would have more likely been taken in San Francisco?