The correct designation of the ship that you reference is “SS GEORGE HAWLEY” not “USS GEORGE HAWLEY.” USS stands for “United States Ship” and is reserved for commissioned vessels in the U.S. Navy. GEORGE HAWLEY was never a part of the Navy but instead was a civilian-operated merchant ship. “SS” stands for “steam ship,” which describes the type of ship, specifically the type of engine.
Information that I have found from several sources is that GEORGE HAWLEY was torpedoed by U-1199 on the afternoon of January 21, 1945, while sailing in convoy TBC-43, near Falmouth, England. Falmouth is about 160 miles west of the Isle of Wight so I suspect that the Isle of Wight is not correct for the location of the attack. Two merchant marine crewmen were killed in the engine room but the remaining crewmen abandoned the ship in lifeboats and were rescued. The ship was badly damaged but did not sink and remained afloat. Four crewman later re-boarded the ship, which was towed to and then deliberately beached near Falmouth. She was later refloated and repaired at least to the point she could float on her own. In 1946 she was towed to Bremerhaven, Germany, loaded with obsolete ammunition, and later scuttled and sunk at sea. See http://skaphandrus.com/en/shipwrecks/4519-george-hawley.
U-1199 was destroyed by depth charges just hours later, after being attacked by two British warships that had been escorting the convoy. The submarine sank with the loss of 48 crewmen. One man survived and was rescued. See:
http://uboat.net/boats/u1199.htm
https://books.google.com/books?id=TQ8cBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA176&lpg=PA176&dq=%22ss+george+hawley%22&source=bl&ots=vEC88tNQXg&sig=70vP5Z1UO_f4uFWJfyk7c7xwGTI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5VKRVaTfOYT7-AHLoJvIAQ&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22ss%20george%20hawley%22&f=false
https://books.google.com/books?id=bxhagW8X1h0C&pg=PT112&lpg=PT112&dq=%22ss+george+hawley%22&source=bl&ots=j2qXg2wNcf&sig=tbVUX5yySU4YpquGNpb3zO25Yr8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5VKRVaTfOYT7-AHLoJvIAQ&ved=0CDMQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=%22ss%20george%20hawley%22&f=false.
https://books.google.com/books?id=LV6CAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA84&lpg=PA84&dq=%22ss+george+hawley%22&source=bl&ots=KRJCcyThwt&sig=878AyS7u14CLKI_InyCWfaNKwLA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=LFSRVbSVMMPY-QH10pCIBg&ved=0CB0Q6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=%22ss%20george%20hawley%22&f=false
GEORGE HAWLEY, a Liberty ship, was constructed by the New England Shipbuilding Company, South Portland, Maine, in 55 days between April 6 and May 31, 1944. See http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergencylarge/wwtwo/newengland.htm and scroll to hull number 3025. She made her maiden voyage in June-November 1944, during which she carried supplies from Britain to the Normandy beach heads after D-Day, but I do not think your father was aboard for that voyage. From what I have been able to find, it is likely that your father joined the ship prior to GEORGE HAWLEY’s departure from New York City on or about December 9, 1944, destination Liverpool. The ship was named after George Hawley (1869-1934) who was a prominent official for several coal and shipping companies in Boston.
I have been unable to find any information about your father serving in any other merchant ship (which includes Liberty ships), on which Armed Guard units were placed. This does not suggest that he did not serve in other merchant ships/Liberty ships, only that I did not find any such records. I did find several records for Lawrence E. Burress and Lawrence Edwin Burress serving aboard U.S. Navy warships (therefore named with the designation “USS”) in 1945-1948. These assignments included USS KALININ BAY (a small aircraft carrier, designated CVE-68) in 1945; USS LST-220 (a landing craft) in early 1946; USS LSM-383 (another type of landing craft) in mid to late 1946; USS LST-285 in early 1947; and USS PC-1172 (a submarine chaser) in 1948. It was typical for Armed Guard sailors to be reassigned “to the fleet,” meaning to warships, late in World War II to take advantage of their experience as gunners.
See respectively:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Kalinin_Bay_%28CVE-68%29
http://www.navsource.org/archives/03/068.htm
http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/16/160220.htm
http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/14/14383.htm
http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/16/160285.htm
http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/011172.htm
If you are successful in obtaining his service record, it may show additional assignments and more specific dates.
Here’s an idea for you. Since your father is still living, he may be interested in becoming a member of the U.S.N. Armed Guard World War II Veterans Association. Mr. C.A. Lloyd, with whom I am in regular contact, is the National Chairman of the Association and is always looking for Armed Guard veterans. Mr. Lloyd, an Armed Guard veteran himself, publishes a magazine, titled “The Pointer,” several times a year with information and stories about the Armed Guard. Best of all: membership is FREE! Mr. Lloyd recognizes that many veterans are on a fixed income so he does not charge membership dues, although donations are gratefully accepted. You can contact Mr. Lloyd as follows:
C.A. Lloyd, Chairman
U.S.N. Armed Guard World War II Veterans Association
115 Wall Creek Drive
Rolesville, NC 27571
Telephone: 919-570-0909
E-mail: clloyd@nc.rr.com
Also see http://armed-guard.com/association.html. Tell Mr. Lloyd I sent you.
Best wishes.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster
Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website
www.armed-guard.com
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