SS Hope hospital ship, flagship of Project Hope

[Siamundo]

The US Navy hospital ship USS Consolation, AH-15, was commissioned in 1945 and arrived in the Pacific following VJ-Day. She later earned 10 battle stars for service in Korea and was the first hospital ship to be equipped with a helicopter landing pad. She was decommissioned in 1955, but enjoyed a second career beginning in 1960 as the SS Hope the first peacetime hospital ship with Project HOPE. Project HOPE is a humanitarian NGO that has brought medical care and training throughout many under served areas of the world. The SS Hope was retired in 1974 and was not replaced. Project HOPE is still in existence but sponsors land based operations today around the globe. Additional information on both the ship and the organization can be found on Wikipedia.