Rene Torres is a retired assistant professor from the University of Texas at Brownsville, and Texas Southmost College. He has a long history in the Rio Grande Valley as an educator, sports historian, and humanitarian with a wealth of community service to his credit.
The given photo shows the “Hope” taking its final voyage to a scrapping yard in the Port of Brownville. The Brownsville Times was on site when the photo was taken by Patti Patane on Wednesday, March 4, 1975.
The dawn was beautiful, and the Gulf of Mexico was relatively calm as it welcomed this decorated vessel. The waters of the Gulf subsided its choppy tone, making its movement a smoother one.
The SS Hope was originally commissioned as a naval hospital ship U.S.S Consolation, recommissioned in 1960 as the world’s first peacetime hospital ship S.S Hope. The vessel was finally retired to mothballs in 1973.
Three weeks before her journey to Brownsville, she rammed her own tug during her flight through the Delaware River. Badly injured, but like the great ship that she was, she made it to the jetties.
Unfortunately, approaching the first bend through the channel, she paused to heal her wounds taken at the Delaware River. While stationed there, thousands of sight-seers marveled at her beauty and reminisced about her past. She finally was well enough to be towed to begin a new life at Andy’s International, Inc. In her heydays, the world-famous ship traveled 250,000 miles delivering modern medicine to underdeveloped nations.
She had served during World War II and the Korean War as a Naval Hospital ship. Following the Korean conflict, the Navy retired the ship, and she was mothballed. But she was a proud lady destined for more life. In 1958 President Eisenhower brought her back to life to serve her tenure out until her final resting place at the Port of Brownsville.
She served her purpose magnificently; she was a veteran of 31 years and desired a dignified retirement. In 1975, the retired Hope was sold by a sealed government bid to Richard Jaross, President of Andy International, Inc., Brownsville, Texas.
Mr. Jaross stated, “I consider it an honor and a privilege to be in the position to give this mighty ship yet another life. Our dismantling of this vessel will take place as soon as we dock her, so that the raw materials that built her can begin to be recycled and put to productive use again for mankind.”
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