Looking for anyone who serverd with my Grandfather...
Posted by Marlee Killeen-Carrasquillo on November 10, 2011, 7:02 pm
Looking for anyone who served in the Navy Armed Guard aboard SS Thomas B. Robertson 9/19/1942- 5/27/1943 SS Thomas U. Walter 9/5/1943-3/17/1945 or USS RAIL 5/16/1945-10/18/1945. Any pictures from the ship you could share? Thank you.
Re: Looking for anyone who serverd with my Grandfather...
My father served on the "Robertson" during the time of the Normandy Invasion. He joined the ship shortly before the invasion and left the ship in December of 1944 in Norfolk, Va. My father was Lt. Granville Hampton Richards,MD. He was called "Buzz" and was the medical officer. I think he was the only Navy Dr. on any of the ships close in during the Invasion. He told me that the "Robertson" hit a mine close in to shore(it did not go off)on the 6th and the captain dropped anchor right there. A ship close by also hit a mine and was blown up. The ship moved out from shore later that day because of German shells. He said that no one on the Robertson died during the invasion. He did treat several sailors for butt injuries as they were trying to get out of the way of German Aircraft fire. The Germans had a way of coming in at sunset out of the sun and would bomb and machine gun the ships. I do not have a picture of the ship, but do know another crew mate's daughter.
The only information I have is that we are related to the Ship's Master of SS Thomas U. Walter in 1943 who was Arne Midjo(1881-1969) He was on the S.S.Thomas J.Jarvis in 1944. His nephew in Norway only relayed this much information. During the war he was a captain on American ships sailing on Murmansk. The convoys where hunted by German submarines and very many ships and seamen were lost. Arne had told that he had seen many ships being torpedoed, but his ship was never hit. They had strict orders not to stop and take up survivors from fellow ships during convoy service. Arne suffered nightmares all the years after his war service. Sorry no pictures-would really like some too. Dorothy
Re: Looking for anyone who serverd with my Grandfather...
My father's name was Erskel Eric Cox. I know that he was on several ships during World War II but the only ship name I recall is the Hancock. My father passed away 02/27/2002.
Re: Looking for anyone who serverd with my Grandfather...
The odds are extremely remote that anyone who served with your grandfather during World War II is still living and reading this message board. Nonetheless, you never know ...
I have been able to find crew rosters that include your grandfather, for five of the voyages of two of the ships you identify, THOMAS B. ROBERTSON and THOMAS U. WALTER. I searched the subscription website Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com) to obtain this information. Ancestry.com is more commonly used for genealogical research, but the site has databases containing names of passengers and crewmen aboard ships that entered certain U.S. ports up until about 1957. I do not have information about shipmates of your grandfather aboard USS RAIL.
I am going to guess that your grandfather is named Charles Irwin Killeen, Jr., gunners mate 3rd class (GM 3/c), serial number 611-58-12, since that name is the only one that appears consistently in the Armed Guard crew lists below. However, I have no information on whether any of the other men listed below are still living, nor would I have contact information for any who are living, with several possible exceptions.
For the more unusual names listed below you may wish to research the Social Security Death Index (https://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com) to attempt to identify shipmates who are already deceased, and research online telephone directories, such as White Pages (http://www.whitepages.com/), for any names not found in the Social Security Death Index. Searches for more common names are meaningless since so many individuals share the same name.
Armed Guard crew lists:
THOMAS B. ROBERTSON, arriving New York, February 28, 1943; departed Liverpool, England, February 11, 1943
Larry Bagwell William Bailey Henry Bliss Joseph Cusick Herbert Feipel Walter Fitzgerald William Gillespie Earl Green George Hollon Charles Killeen John Kirkpatrick Anthony Kranz Casimir Koza George Kubinski Clyde Pugh George Schafer Anthony Storto Paul Watts
THOMAS B. ROBERTSON, arriving New York, May 26, 1943; departed Algiers, Algeria, May 5, 1943
Kearnan F Aldrich Raymond W Bernier Clifford J Blake Francis J Boyle Kenneth G Breau Peter Budnick Clarence W Burton John J Callahan George S Capuano Joseph R Cusick William D Gillespie Charles V Gochenauer William L Graves Earl William Green Joseph L Gunkel * Milton D Harm Daniel S Howard ENS, Armed Guard commanding officer Charles I Killeen Casimir Koza Anthony R Kranz Amedee Lapointe Riley C Liford Buford R Metcalf Clyde R Pugh William P Smith Henry S Szelangowski Eugene W Tyndle William N Witt
THOMAS U. WALTER, arriving New York October 27, 1943; departed Alexandria, Egypt, September 29, 1943
Leon Martin Albert Jr. John William Avery Richard Cornelius Carroll Gerald Everett Critchfield Delbert Lee Dewitt Woodrow Wilson Durden Terrence Filbert Ferrell Frank Joseph Fink Edward Cuyler Freer Andrew George Gerleck Jr. * Warren Read Goodwin Harold Earl Hine Fred Lincoln Jones Roland Keene ENS, Armed Guard commanding officer Lowell Edward Kendley * Charles Irvin Killeen Jr. Harry Edward King Raymond Fidel Lavin Everett Emeral Long Mervin Edward Looker George Henry Melton Michael John Rausch Frederick Clark Moor Raymond Maximillian Nelson George Raymond Rodrique John Hurdman Ross Melvin David Rubin Franklyn Valmore Ruggles
THOMAS U. WALTER, arriving New York May 18, 1944; departed Manchester, England, May 4, 1944
Albert Victor Belardinelli Raymond Sewell Bell Charles Millard Bowley Sylvester John Brogan Robert Evans Brotherson Steve Stauros Capellos Otto Anthony Cardinale Ervin Edward Carlson Erskel Eric Cox Amos Arthur Crandall Gerald Everett Critchfield Joseph Louis D'Arrigo Leslie John Davis Clement Denis Terrance Filbert Ferrell Frank Oliver Hawkins Arnold Herman Helbig Frederick Francis Higgins Charles Irwin Killeen Jr. Robert Longest George Henry Melton Edmond Charles New Michael John Rausch Bruce Daniel Stotts John Howard Swoger William Walter Willard Thomas Harkins Wingate LT(jg), Armed Guard commanding officer
THOMAS U. WALTER, arriving New York July 18, 1944; departed Gourock, Scotland, July 3, 1944
Albert Victor Belardinelli Raymond Sewell Bell Charles Millard Bowley Robert Evans Brotherson * Edward Buckley Steve Staures Capellos Otto Anthony Cardinale Ervin Edward Carlson Erskel Eric Cox Amos Arthur Crandall Gerald Everett Critchfield Joseph Louis D'Arrigo Leslie John Davis Clement Denis Terrance Filbert Ferrell Willie Herman Franks Frank Oliver Hawkins Frederick Francis Higgins Charles Irwin Killeen Jr Robert Longest George Henry Melton Harold Gerard Miller Edmond Charles New Michael John Rausch Bruce Daniel Stotts John Howard Swoger Thomas Harkins Wingate LT(jg), Armed Guard commanding officer
* These are persons for which I possibly found a match and who MAY therefore still be living. I will send contact information to your personal e-mail address, as I am reluctant to post contact information on a public message board without the consent of the individual(s) involved.
For sources of photographs of either of the two ships noted above aboard which your grandfather served, see http://www.usmm.org/photosource.html. Mr. Hultgren is a particularly good source for Liberty ships, and both THOMAS B. ROBERTSON and THOMAS U. WALTER were Liberty ships. Mr. Hultgren is quite elderly but at last report was still actively managing his collection. For photographs of USS RAIL, see http://www.navsource.org/archives/11/02026.htm.
Best wishes.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website www.armed-guard.com
Re: Looking for anyone who serverd with my Grandfather...
My father James C Ayrer served on the TUW when it was damaged running cargo to Murmansk. They went to Scotland for repairs. When leaving Scotland they were used as bait for the Scharnhorst which was then sunk.They then completed their mission.
Re: Looking for anyone who serverd with my Grandfather...
Dear Marlee, Hi, Hope you are having a great day. My Dad served in the Armed Guard as a gunner on the SS Emma Willard. I was able to get pictures of the vessel through Newport News Ship Building...Hope this helps...I don't have the phone #, but you can find it by going to their site...Take care and have a blessed day.