The After house was home to part of the ship’s Naval Armed Guard crew. In wartime, merchant ships were a valuable target due to the critical supplies that they carried, and it was therefore necessary to arm these ships and provide military crews to man the guns.
US Naval Armed Guard detachments typically numbered anywhere from 15 to 30 men. These detachments were separate from the civilian crew that operated the ship, and were commanded by a junior naval officer. In addition to gun crews, they frequently supplied signalmen to assist with the additional communications activity that convoy operations required.
The Armed Guard crew was often very young, with sailors as young as 17 eligible to join. Many were adventure seekers who wanted to see action as soon as possible - gunnery training could be completed in a matter of weeks and then it was off to a posting on a merchant ship.
Following the end of the war most of the O’Brien’s Armed Guard detachment was sent home. The vacated After house was used to house a contingent of nine war brides and their babies who sailed on the ship from Australia to San Francisco’s Pier 45 to join their husbands in America.
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Below the Aft house is the ship’s Steering Engine Room, which is a restricted station.