Mare Island

Written by: Kelly Durham

Wister Austin Martin, Jr. of Greenville was an engineering major who attended Clemson College for a single semester during the 1936-37 academic year. In 1938, he joined the Navy.

We know very little about Martin’s Clemson experience and his military service.  In 1944, with Allied forces on the offensive in the Pacific, Martin was assigned for duty at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard.

Mare Island was the first US Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean back in 1853.  Located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco at Vallejo, California, the shipyard rests on a peninsula separated from the mainland by the passage of the Napa River through the Mare Island Strait.  During World War II, Mare Island was the premier west coast submarine port and served as the controlling authority for shipbuilding and repair efforts in the San Francisco Bay area.

Naval vessels required frequent overhauls, particularly during sustained combat operations.  Enemy action, battle damage, hurricanes and storms, collisions, accidents and the normal wear and tear of time at sea would trigger a ship’s need for repair.  Ships in the Pacific Theater often returned to Mare Island for needed work.  In addition, rapid technological advances during the war, particularly with respect to radar and sonar systems, meant that ships often arrived at Mare Island for the installation of new antennae and related electronic equipment.

Mare Island’s workers, civilian and military, built and repaired hundreds of ships during the war.  The yard also hosted a High Frequency Direction Finding station, which tracked Japanese naval and merchant shipping.

Wister Austin Martin, Jr. drowned on May 1, 1944.  He was survived by his parents and buried at Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church in Anderson.

See Wister Austin Martin, Jr.’s information at:

https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/wister-austin-martin-jr/

Learn more about Clemson University’s Scroll of Honor at:

https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/