I was on the Earl Layman when we made a trip in Dec. of 1945 to Murmansk,Russia, Has anyone reading this know of any of the Armed Guard personell on that trip? Most of the crew was from the Kentucky, Tennesse area, I would love to have contact with them or members of their family. Gerald Burr Eau Claire, Wisonsin
EARL LAYMAN was built in March 1944. A list of her movements is available on the ConvoyWeb website at http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/ports/index.html?search.php?vessel=EARL%20LAYMAN~armain. These records indicate her whereabouts from April 27, 1944, through December 24, 1945, when she reached Piraeus, Greece. A search of Ancestry.com shows EARL LAYMAN arriving in Baltimore on February 13, 1946, from Piraeus. There is no indication that she ever made a voyage to Murmansk, and she was sailing between North America and Greece between November 1945 and February 1946.
Are you sure you have the right dates and the right ship?
Ron Carlson, Webmaster Armed Guard website www.armed-guard.com
Ron, I must have had the wrong ships name, the dates are right, The ship must have been the Albert Michelson, but I was on the Earl Layman and Donald Bain, but don't ever recall traveling to Greece. Do you have any idea how many Armed Guard Personel are living from World War 2 Era.
As far as I can tell SS ALBERT A MICHELSON never made a voyage to Murmansk. She does not appear in a list of ships that went to Murmansk as found at this web page: http://usmm.org/murmanskships.html.
However, SS DONALD W BAIN does appear on the same list. So I made a search of Ancestry.com, a subscription website that among other things lists crewmen of ships arriving in certain U.S. ports of entry. Sure enough, I found a Gerald F. Burr, seaman 1/c, serial number 868-51-06, aboard DONALD W BAIN upon her arrival in New York from Murmansk on January 8, 1945. That's gotta be you.
Here are your Armed Guard shipmates on that voyage:
Barrick, Marvis E. Bowley, Robert C. Brown, Glen C. Chittenden, Kenneth W. Collie, Neil L. Dalesandro, Maurice L. Downer, W. M. LT, in command Eicher, Walter M. Gum, Charles W. Hall, Melvin Harper, Alfred L. Harpool, Charles E. Harris, Alfred E. Harris, Nolen T., Sr. Hartzell, Jack R. Johnson, Henry O. Karr, Walter J. Lester, Estel Palmer, Roland DeW. Sapp, Murray E. Sloane, Lewis G. Thomason, George E. Thompson, Ole B. Treichel, Arnold H. Wadyko, Joseph J. Warlick, William J.
Note that I found DONALD W BAIN arriving from Murmansk in January 1945. I suspect that your recollection, as stated in your first message, of going to Murmansk in December 1945 is in error. There would seem to be no reason for ships to be traveling in convoy to Murmansk, or anywhere else for that matter, in December 1945, which was well after the end of the war. So I think you may remember the ship being in Murmansk in December 1944 rather than December 1945.
Incidentally, I found a second entry for you in Ancestry.com, arriving in New York aboard DONALD W BAIN on August 28, 1944, having sailed from Hull, England. The Armed Guard crew on that voyage was nearly identical to the one listed above. There were two other men who were on the ship for the August 1944 arrival who were not on the later voyage:
Hurd, Ted C. Johnson, J. S.
Unfortunately, for all of the names listed above, I have no contact information, nor do I know whether any of them are still living. However I do find a number of their names, or very close matches, in the Social Security Death Index (http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com). Interestingly, I find an e-mail address for a Marvis E. Barrick, Jr., living in Barren County, Kentucky, who may be the son of the Marvis E. Barrick who was your shipmate. That e-mail is marvis.barrick@ky.usda.gov.
As to your last question, how many Armed Guard veterans are still living, I have no idea except to say: fewer and fewer all the time.
Thanks Ron, I guess after 64 years I can be excused if my memory is a little off. The trip to Hull, England preceded the trip to Murmansk. After we got home from Murmansk and had our short leave, I was assigned to the USS Uraguay a troop transport, and was switched to another Liberty ship in Panama City, and we went to the Phillipines and while there the Atomic bombs were dropped and we headed for home. What a wonderful feeling, thanks to Harry Truman. Again my thanks. Gerry Burr