I'm looking for information about my grandfathers merchant marine service on the Williamsburg. His name was George L Zajic. Anyone?????
Re: ss williamsburg
Posted by rolnd dunckel on July 7, 2010, 4:29 pm, in reply to "ss williamsburg"
I was in the first gun crew on the willamsbuurg , we put th guns on ,was on her 19 mo.
Re: ss williamsburg
Posted by juli boshart on July 8, 2010, 12:11 am, in reply to "Re: ss williamsburg"
did you know my grandfather, george zajic??
Re: ss williamsburg tanker made in chester pa.
Posted by roland dunckel on May 9, 2010, 3:10 pm, in reply to "ss williamsburg"
looking for ssjoplin viktory
Re: ss williamsburg
Posted by Ron Carlson on March 28, 2010, 5:40 pm, in reply to "ss williamsburg"
Juli,
I have found records of your grandfather on two voyages of SS WILLIAMSBURG, and one voyage each on two other ships.
The subscription website Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com), more commonly used for genealogical research, had databases of the names of passengers and crew members who arrived at various U.S. ports of entry up to about 1957. Records for the port of New York are especially extensive.
The earliest record is that of George L. Zajic joining the crew of SS ARIZONA sometime between January 4 and January 7, 1945; on the latter date the ship was scheduled to sail from New York to Port Arthur, Texas. His position aboard this ship is not noted. There is no record in Ancestry.com of the ship's arrival in Port Arthur.
In the next record, George Zacij arrived in New York aboard SS TENNESSEE on April 19, 1945, from Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, from which the ship had sailed on April 10, 1945. His position in the crew was messman, part of the steward's department aboard the ship, with duties including serving meals, setting and clearing tables, dishwashing and the like. He joined the ship on February 27, 1945, in New York. He is described as 42 years old, 5'8" tall and 148 lbs.
Next is a record of George Louis Zajic arriving in New York aboard SS WILLIAMSBURG on December 2, 1945, from Cartagena, Columbia, from which the ship had sailed on November 26. He is listed as "Utility" with the ship's steward's department, meaning he probably did such work as general cleaning of living spaces on the ship, laundry, dishwashing, etc. He had joined the ship on May 18, 1945, in New York. He was described as 5'8" tall and, at the age of 42, was one of the oldest members of this crew.
Finally, your grandfather, listed as George L. Zajic, arrived in New York aboard WILLIAMSBURG on January 31, 1946, from Las Piedras, Venezuela, from which the ship had sailed on January 26. Again he is part of the steward's department, and again listed as a messman. He had joined the ship in New York on January 18, 1946. He was described as 5'8" tall and 165 pounds, and was still 42 years old.
SS WILLIAMSBURG was a class T-2 tanker built by between November 1943 and February 1944 by the Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Chester, Pennsylvania. She was later renamed NEVADA in 1950, renamed TEXACO NEVADA in 1959, and scrapped in 1969. See http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/1major/inactive/sun.htm and scroll to hull number 304.
SS ARIZONA (not to be confused with the battleship USS ARIZONA that was lost at Pearl Harbor) was a tanker built in 1919 by Bethlehem Steel Company in Wilmington, Delaware, originally named SALEM COUNTY. She was renamed GALENA in 1923, renamed ARIZONA in 1929 and was scrapped in 1950. See http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/inactive/bethwilmington.htm and scroll to hull number 3462.
SS TENNESSEE was a tanker built in 1920 by Texas Steamship Co. in Bath, Maine, originally named OCCIDENTAL. She was renamed TENNESSEE in 1940, renamed CERTENAGO in 1947, renamed OREGON in 1951 and was scrapped in 1954. See http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergency/wwone/texas.htm and scroll to hull number 22.
You may be able to obtain other information about your grandfather's merchant marine career by contacting the U.S. Coast Guard, which was and is responsible for maintaining records of U.S. merchant mariners. See http://www.armed-guard.com/searchmil.html, in particular section A.2. Records of Individuals - Merchant Marine, for more detailed information.