The ship was laid down as Koda and perhaps assigned the name Badger State at one point, but renamed American Legion before launch and one of only a few of the design not taking a state nickname. American Legion decommissioned on 28 March and was sold for scrap 5 February Brown, an Emergency Fleet Corporation inspector and member of the American Legion , who inspected the hull, proposed its name change to the Pennsylvania American Legion conference with passage of a resolution which was immediately publicized.
Frelinghuysen christening the ship. The ship was one of three intended to become United States Army transports already under construction at the yard: hull Wenatchee , hull Sea Girt and hull Koda. Before delivery American Legion and Sea Girt , soon to become Southern Cross , were modified for tropical service carrying about first class passengers. American Legion , flying the Munson Steamship Line's flag which had been allocated the ship for operation in fast passenger service to South American ports, left the Camden yards at five-thirty on the afternoon of 16 July for the one-day voyage to Hoboken, New Jersey with cabins filled with dignitaries.
Her enforced idleness did not last long. Over the next few months, the ship made five round-trip voyages to the Canal Zone , with stops at Charleston, South Carolina , and San Juan, Puerto Rico , carrying civilian and military passengers. The worsening situation in Europe, though, soon resulted in the ship's receiving a special mission. President Franklin D. Borden Harriman , the former American Minister to Norway , return in the same vessel. The transport would "likewise bring back to this country such Americans in Scandinavian countries as can be accommodated and as may not be able to return safely in any other way.
American Legion β her neutrality shown clearly by the U. The Army troopship also embarked a host of American nationals and refugees from a variety of countries: Poland , Finland , Estonia , Latvia , Lithuania , Sweden, Norway , Denmark , Germany, and the Netherlands , the total number of people being Among the passengers was a young Danish comedian and musician, Victor Borge. The American Legation in Stockholm, Sweden , also consented to the embarkation of 15 "prominent nationals of American republics Unbeknownst to probably all but a handful of individuals, American Legion also took on board an important cargo during her brief stay at Petsamo.
Before she sailed on the 16th, after an almost Herculean effort involving taking this special cargo by truck the entire length of Sweden, the transport loaded a twin-mount millimeter Bofors antiaircraft gun , "equipped with standard sight, and accompanied by spare parts and 3, rounds of ammunition. The move had been made none too soon, for American Legion was the last neutral ship permitted to leave Petsamo. American Legion sailed for the United States on 16 August, and reached New York , 12 days later, escorted the final leg of the voyage by several American destroyers.
