USS Allen (DD-66) in the foreground escorts troopships SS France and USS Mount Vernon (ID-4508) across the Atlantic Ocean.  Following the United States’ entry into World War I, the ships of the Cruiser and Transport Force carried troops and supplies of the American Expeditionary Force to France.  A lack of available ships forced the Navy to rely on commandeered or requisitioned ships to take millions of men and supplies to the shores of Europe.