Hi fellas, I hope you guys don't mind a lady posting about her dad. He can't type worth a darn! So, here I am. He served as a gunner's mate aboard tankers during the war, so yes, he was Armed Guard. Did any of you guys happen to serve with him? Gulf Breeze I think was one, and Esso Bayway was another. I think he served on another ship, John Light I think it was called, but I don't know what kind of ship that was. He's a little vague on things these days, but still can tell me everything about his 'bag gun' and his shipmates. Want a funny story he told me? His Lt. ordered him to shoot for practice - only problem was, the ship had turned and it was more broadside than was advisable, but the Lt. says shoot - so he followed orders, and of course - it rocked the boat and broke some of the dishes and stuff around in the galley - much to the cook's displeasure. I don't think the cook ever forgave him for it! He just gave me a bunch of black and white photos he took during the war onboard ship. There's at least 6 or 7 of them. I was planning on posting them on the site - if there's a place to do that. Oh, and another tidbit. He was in a training film shot at the Armed Guard training center, I think it was in Brooklyn, NY. And, I believe that he was also an instructor for a while as well. Anybody know where I might be able to see it? If I could see it? Thanks! Jan
I was able to find several records concerning your father.
I found a record of an Ernest Wyman arriving in New York City on 1 July 1943 aboard the ESSO BAYWAY, which had sailed from Glasgow, Scotland, on 16 June 1943. I found another record of an Ernest Harry Wyman arriving in New York City on 5 September 1943, also aboard ESSO BAYWAY, which had sailed from Algiers, Algeria, on a date not specified.
And there is a record for a Ernest H Wyman arriving in Portland, Oregon, on 30 May 1944, aboard the JOHN LYKES, which had sailed from Brisbane, Australia, on a date not specified. The ship had stopped briefly in San Francisco before arriving in Portland. I would guess that JOHN LYKES is the ship that you identify as JOHN LIGHT. JOHN LYKES was a so-called class C-1 cargo ship that also sailed as a troop transport.
In each case he was a member of the Armed Guard unit on the ship in question.
I find records of the GULFBREEZE arriving in New York on a number of dates in 1943 but in each instance your father is not listed among the Armed Guard crew. However, this does not suggest that your information is incorrect, only that the records I found may be incomplete for dates other than 1943.
I would be pleased to post the photographs that you have on the Armed Guard website if you would send electronic copies to me at rcarl616@yahoo.com. You cannot post the photographs directly on the website yourself.
I am aware of a merchant marine/Armed Guard training film that is available in VHS or DVD format at http://www.militaryvideo.com/store/store.cfm?titleID=MM1940V&do=detail. This may be the film you mention. The cost is about $30 for the DVD, about $35 for the VHS tape, plus shipping. Perhaps it is worth the investment for you.
Your father, or you as next of kin, should be able to obtain your father's full service record, which would show the ships to which he was assigned, the applicable dates, and other information, by contacting the U.S. National Archives. See http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/ and http://www.archives.gov/veterans/ for information about obtaining military records.
Good luck.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster Armed Guard website www.armed-guard.com
Hey Jan, I have been thinking a lot about Ernie lately and wanted to find out how he was. Can you send me an e-mail with update and maybe a way I can contact him? Phone#
Thank you soo much for the information about him! He did mention something to me years ago about transporting some troops. His world is kind've narrowing down these days with his memory loss. I'm hoping I can help bring back some of the better memories for him. I'll scan the photos and send them along to you after I've touched them up a bit (I'm a graphic artist, so it's no problem). If I find anything interesting, I'll update everyone here. Thank you again. Jan