Posted by Steve Myers on September 24, 2009, 2:39 pm
LT R>S. Myers. USNR, was an AG officer in four vessels during WWII. They were the following: SS PAUL HAMILTON HAYNE SS(GULF?) CARIBBEAN SS SANTA MONICA SS ALCOA POLARIS WOULD BE INTERESTED TO KNOW IF SOME OF HIS SHIPMATES REMEMBER HIM. REGRET, NO DEPLOYMENT DATES ARE AVAILABLE. TKS IN ADVANCE, STEVE MYERS (SON)
The subscription website Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com), which is more commonly used for genealogical research, has records of the names of crew members who arrived in various U.S. ports of entry, with many records pertaining to merchant crews arriving during World War II.
In searches of the website, I found records of Richard Myers, LT(jg), arriving in New York City on two dates in 1943 as the Armed Guard officer aboard SS CARIBBEAN. (GULF CARIBBEAN was apparently another ship.) However, I was unable to find Richard Myers elsewhere in the Ancestry.com databases, associated with any of the other three ships you name. This suggests that the databases at Ancestry.com are incomplete.
Following are the names of the Armed Guard crew members under the command of Lt. Myers on the voyages that I found.
SS CARIBBEAN, arriving New York 2 May 1943 from Aruba
Enlisted crew: DeBlasio, Richard Floyd, Boyd Gee, Harry Holland, James Janik, Frank Jones, John Kellerman, Kenneth Mahaney, John Naser, Orville * New, Eugene * Roark, George W Rodkey, Carl Robson, Donald Scanlon, John Shadoin, James Simpson, George Sinclair, John Stone, Andy Swenson, Howard Tewell, James Talbot, Raymond Tyree, Lawrence VanBeek, Gerald Vassar, Roger Whitney, Nathan
SS CARIBBEAN, arriving New York 1 July 1943 from Reykjavik
Enlisted crew: Auremna, Giddo Aubry, John Barnes, LeRoy Brennan, James Carver, Hilbert Ferebee, Robert Flowers, James Gee, Harry Gerrety, Alvin Heckendorn, Joseph Henry, James * Horvath, John Howard, George Jones, Clifford * Julyan, Louis * Keeney, Robert Mahaney, John Naser, Orville Osinski, Edward Parrott, Eugene Preibe, Arnold Roy, Louis Swartwood, William Ward, Allen * Wesolowski, Edward A Verbosky, Eugene * Zebrasky, Joseph J
Unfortunately I do not know whether any of these men are still living, nor do I personally have contact information for any of them.
However, the seven men identified with an asterisk (*) are or have been members of the U.S.N. Armed Guard World War II Veterans Association and may still be living. Please contact Mr. C.A. Lloyd, Chairman of the Association, who may be able to provide contact information for any of these men who are still living. Mr. Lloyd can be reached at:
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
For your information, SS CARIBBEAN was a tanker built in June-December 1942 by Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Chester, PA, for the U.S. Maritime Administration. The ship was sold to a private shipping company in 1946, renamed HOUSTON in 1960, and scrapped in 1984. See http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/1major/inactive/sun.htm and scroll down to hull number 273.