San Francisco Port of Embarkation information

The San Francisco Port of Embarkation (SFPOE) was a United States Army command responsible for movement of supplies and troops to and from the Pacific during World War II with extensive facilities in the San Francisco area. SFPOE was established 6 May 1932 and disestablished 1 October 1955. It was originally composed of the long term Pacific terminal at Fort Mason that had been the home port and terminal for the Pacific Army Transport Service ships. That facility was far too limited to serve the requirements of a full port of embarkation. In 1940 the port began expansion to include Army owned and leased facilities throughout the San Francisco Bay area and for a time sub ports at Seattle and Los Angeles. Those eventually became separate commands as the Seattle Port of Embarkation and Los Angeles Port of Embarkation.

Sea transportation was a responsibility of the United States Army Quartermaster Corps but World War II requirements showed weakness in the corps' transportation role. The Army reorganized in March 1942 creating a Transportation Division under the United States Army Services of Supply with a Chief of Transportation. In July the U.S. Army Transportation Corps took over surface transport responsibilities including the ports of embarkation.

The San Francisco Port of Embarkation, established in 1932, was the second largest POE after the New York Port of Embarkation (NYPOE) which had existed in World War I and was the model for such commands and facilities. An Army Port of Embarkation involved far more than a marine terminal. Under the command of the port were subsidiary Army camps, large rail and storage facilities, and local transportation networks. The Fort Mason facilities were far too limited to support the marine logistics required for war in the Pacific and were quickly supplemented.

Eventually thirteen facilities, beyond the headquarters and old port at Fort Mason, composed the San Francisco Port of Embarkation. Leased piers and warehouses could not support such a port and by January 1941 a large Army owned facility was being constructed in Oakland to be commissioned in December 1941 as the Oakland sub port and later the Oakland Army Base. To serve as a staging area for troops Camp Stoneman, processing over a million troops in World War II and 1,500,000 including the Korean War, was constructed. Those were connected by transportation networks, both commercial and Army owned, to feed the overseas transportation. One of the divisions, the Water Division, manned, maintained, and converted the Army ocean transports based in the Pacific.

The command also managed troop and freight movements from their origin to their destination. Troop and freight trains destined for the port moved only under orders of the port commander. The ships, under the port until reaching their destination, had representatives of the port commander aboard. Troop ships had a Transport Commander, with overall command of all embarked personnel but ship's crew, as representative of the port commander.

The command was disestablished 1 October 1955.