It was a big job, placing the Imperator in commission for the first
time by American Navalmen. Fresh from the hands of the enemy into the
hands of proud Yankee sailors was the fate of this great leviathan of
the deep. She had been tied up alongside the docks at Hamburg, Germany,
for four years and nine months, and while her engines and boilers were
in fair condition, they were, nevertheless new to the men who were
first to sail her under the Stars and Stripes.
Getting a crew to man her was also a big proposition. Without men she
would not serve us our purpose, so her first commanding officer had to
draw his crew from several naval bases in France, London, and Cardiff,
Wales. The Imperator was brought to Brest by a German crew, including a
commodore, two captains and a score of other German officers. She was
officially placed in commission with Old Glory flying proudly at her
flagstaff on the 5th day of May, 1919. Captain John K. Robison, U. S.
Navy, was her first commanding officer, and Commander Laird, U. S.
Navy, was her first executive officer, and 2500 Yankee fighting men
comprised her crew.
Many of the Imperator's officers and enlisted men had been on foreign
station for some time, and her commanding officer was ordered from
Admiral Sims' headquarters in London.