My grandfather, Joseph Holik, served on three ships between 1943-1945 with the Armed Guard. I have the ship names, dates he served and the smooth logs and Captain's logs for the dates he served.
Family story about his experience has two versions. First, his ship was attacked by a German sub. Second, attacked by a Jap Kamikaze pilot. My grandfather came home from the war with mental issues, based on what he experienced. He passed away after spending his remaining years in a VA hospital, in 1964. I never knew him.
I would like to know where the information exists of attacks on a ship during WWII. In every log I have for the ships he served on, it states NO CONTACT WITH THE ENEMY. Is this true and another log exists of the real story or is it possible he had routine sailings and just being in the war disturbed his mind?
My dad requested his father's medical records from NPRC over six months ago and we are still waiting for them.
I am my family's historian and am starting to write the story of our family after over 14 years of research. I would like to understand what he went through so when I write his story I can tell it properly.
The excellent web site American Merchant Marine at War (www.usmm.org) has a list of all merchant ships sunk or damaged during World War II. As far as I know this list is quite comprehensive; none of the three above ships is found in this list. See http://usmm.org/shipsunkdamaged.html and follow the links for detailed information.
Separate Google searches on the names of the three ships turn up very little that is unusual or unique; the fact is that most merchant ships in World War II had fairly uneventful wartime careers. SEA QUAIL apparently came under kamikaze attack in the spring of 1945 during the invasion of an island known as Le Shima, (see http://armed-guard.com/biogc.html and scroll to the biography of Laurence Caldwell) but your grandfather had already left that ship by that time.
Of course there remains the possibility that one or another of the ships in which he served came under attack by a U-boat or a kamikaze, which resulted in no damage or casualties and was possibly not even deemed worthy of historical mention, so one should be cautious in concluding whether the versions of your family legends are or are not accurate. On the other hand I hesitate to ascribe the lack of corroborating information to other logs that have not yet come to light that may tell different stories than the logs you have found to date.
One additional avenue of research is to attempt to obtain the Armed Guard officers' reports for the voyages of the three ships during the time your father served in each. See this page of the Armed Guard website: http://armed-guard.com/searchmil.html, in particular Section IV. Researching Ship Records. You will have to contact the National Archives and Records Administration facility in College Park, Maryland, and request copies of the relevant Armed Guard Logbooks and Reports. There will be a charge for any research, photocopying and mailing on the part of Archives staff but they will alert you to that cost before beginning work. These reports would almost certainly mention any contact with the enemy of even a fleeting nature, and may include other details of interest to you. I assume it will take some greater or lesser time for the Archives to get back to you.
But whatever you eventually find about your grandfather's service, remember this above all: he was a hero who, with his shipmates, served bravely, and nothing can diminish that, regardless of the accuracy of your family legends. In the end the details don't matter.
Good luck and best wishes.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster Armed Guard website www.armed-guard.com
Yep, that is my blog and I have searched the sites you told me about. I didn't find his ships on the sunk or damaged either. I also have a letter and info from Laurence C. from years ago when I started this research and he did get on the ship when Joseph left the ship.
I am fairly certain those are the only three ships on which he served. I did a timeline of the dates of service to discharge and all the ship logs in between. There is only a month gap in 1945 that I'm trying to pin down. I'm guessing he was at an Armed Guard Center during that time.
Do you know if the Armed Guard reports are different than the Smooth Logs and Captain's Logs? If they are roughly the same then I'm not sure at this time I want to spend the money to have the same information.
I do understand my grandfather was a hero and served his country well. The details do matter to me because I never knew him. My father barely knew him because after Joseph came home from the war he was in the VA Hospital. He had a few home visits and that is when my father was conceived. My father grew up visiting his father in the VA Hospital, where he died when my dad was 16. All he really remembers about him was he used to talk to the little green men.
I have been researching my family's history over 14 years and am now starting to write it to pass it down. I want him remembered and want to write something worthy of the life he lived. His story deserves to be told.
Thanks for your suggestions. I will keep searching.
The Armed Guard officer's reports are entirely different from the various other logs you mention, although there would likely be some overlap of information.
The smooth log, captain's log and other logs (deck log, engine room log) would all be maintained by the civilian merchant marine crew. As such these logs would concentrate on the merchant marine crew and the operation of the vessel.
By contrast the Armed Guard officer's reports would focus on the Armed Guard crew, its activities, and any events involving the defense of the ship. Any actual or potential attack would certainly be noted. So it is possible that events not recorded in the various merchant marine logs might appear in the Armed Guard officer's reports (and vice versa). The quality and detail found in the Armed Guard officer's reports varied depending on the diligence of the officer in command, but it is entirely possible that you would find information in the reports that may not be mentioned in the other logs.
When you finish writing your father's story, whenever that may be, I would be delighted to place on the Armed Guard website as much information as you would like to share. That is why this site exists, to honor and remember those who served.