I just now found your message as it had slipped to the second page of the message board.
Merchant marine logbooks, whether for Liberty ships or any other classes of ships, are typically held at the National Archives regional research facility closest to the port in which a particular voyage terminated. Therefore, the logs for the voyage you describe are presumably held at the National Archives regional facility in New York City.
However, even that information is limited. What the Archives holds are the "official logbooks" of a voyage. According to the National Archives: "The logbooks document the names and assignments of crew members, drills conducted during the voyage, brief descriptions of situations and events and some personnel-related information. Some of the regional archives hold official merchant marine logbooks for ports served by that region. Some have declassified merchant marine "secret logbooks" from 1942-1945 that may contain more specific information than the official logbooks." See http://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/ww2-participation.pdf.
Therefore, the "official logbook" and the "secret logbook" (if any) have rather limited information on a given voyage. Day-to-day logbooks, variously known as deck logs, engine room logs, captain's logs, rough logs, smooth logs, etc., that would have documented in detail what happened during the voyage, no longer exist. In fact the Archives destroyed many such logs back in the 1970s, presumably on the assumption that they were of limited interest. What a loss! See http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq73-1.htm#anchor189351.
Obviously you are not in a position to do in-person research at the New York facility. It may be possible that staff at that facility will do research for you, for a fee. You may want to contact the New York regional archives facility for more information via e-mail (newyork.archives@nara.gov) or toll-free telephone at 1-866-840-1752. Also see http://www.archives.gov/northeast/nyc/.
Another avenue is to obtain a copy of the U.S. Navy Armed Guard officer's report for the voyage in question. The officer's report is typically a more detailed, often day-by-day, diary of events related to the voyage, of interest to the Armed Guard unit assigned to the ship. Since the Armed Guard detachment was responsible for the defense of the ship and the operation of its weapons, any encounter with enemy forces would likely be recorded, in greater detail than found in the official log or secret log. See http://www.skylighters.org/milinfo/vessinfo.html.
Armed Guard officers' reports are stored at the National Archives research facility in College Park, Maryland. See http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/college-park/; contact information is by e-mail (see http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/contact.html) or telephone (301-837-3510, not toll-free). Again, Archives staff may be able to do research for you, for a fee.
Finally, if you would be willing to share your uncle's name, I will see what I can find on him, whether aboard WILLIAM F CODY or otherwise.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster
Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website
www.armed-guard.com
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