From the Log of the Mighty “I” [U.S.S. Incessant Route Map]

“A damn good ship – manned by a damn good crew.”

This uncommon souvenir presents the WWII service of the USS Incessant (AM-248), an Admirable-class minesweeper launched in late 1943. The ship (pictured on the left) sailed thousands of miles across the Caribbean, North Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans, traced in the central map with a faint black line. Accompanying text provides a chronology of the major actions during her two years in service, between commissioning in March 1944 to ‘More Overseas Active Duty’ in March 1946. During this period, the Incessant destroyed over 75 enemy mines – an effort (pictured on the right) that earned the ship two battle stars.

Likely published in 1946 in Los Angeles by the Thompson Photo Service, a firm that produced a number of similar commemorative maps/photos for American naval ships of various classes. Considering the Incessant had a complement of only about 105, it is likely that the number originally printed was in the dozens, making this example a scarce survivor. The piece is unlisted in WorldCat or other online repositories as of January 2025.