San Francisco Port of Embarkation
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.
The U.S. Army had based its Pacific marine transportation at Fort Mason in San Francisco since before World War I.
The NYPOE was the model for an Army command and facilities structure capable of sustaining massive overseas transport and extended far beyond a specific location such as Fort Mason.
The Oakland port facility, 624.5 acres (2.527 km2) at the terminus for the transcontinental railroads, was an integral part of the San Francisco POE.
Seattle was established as a sub port in August 1941 relieving San Francisco of its historic role in Alaskan supply.
[8][6] A sub port was developed at Portland, Oregon operating under SFPOE until transferred in November 1944 to the Seattle POE.
For troops, the originating location would receive movement orders about five days prior to transport with details of the destination and time of arrival.
[12] The days immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack had demonstrated the necessity for port control of incoming shipments of troops and cargo.
[17] On large troop ships the transport command included a permanent staff of administration, commissary, medical and chaplain personnel.
The port had accommodation space for 34,338 persons in its staging areas to include both transit troops and station personnel.
[23][note 1] Shortly after the Pacific war began the press of troops transshipping in the attempt to reinforce the Philippines required vacating the Presidio by the garrison and use by the port as a staging area.
[24][21] The staging camps were connected to the terminals and piers in Oakland and San Francisco by water transport.
Army harbor boats made routine trips but the main transport for troops was by means of ferries.
[25] The Oakland-San Francisco ferry Yerba Buena, later renamed Ernie Pyle, also joined the fleet.
Two rail lines served Pittsburg and the San Joaquin River offered water access.
[28] Fort McDowell on Angel Island was the staging area for unassigned enlisted men termed "casuals" and also served as a prisoner of war facility.
At the end of the war returning soldiers were processed and sent to troop trains in Oakland and San Francisco.
[29] At war's end the port's function reversed and its facilities became separation centers ensuring rapid processing so soldiers could be sent home.
[30] This total represents two-thirds of all troops sent into the Pacific and more than one-half of all Army cargo moved through West Coast ports.
While its operations got good mention from inspectors and visitors an independent trend of its divisions created some difficulties.
