SS NEWTON D. BAKER was a Liberty ship built by the Jones Construction Company, Panama City, FL; keel laid 3 September 1942; launched 25 February 1943; completed 6 April 1943; scrapped 1968
SS KOKOMO VICTORY was a Victory ship built by Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards, Baltimore, MD; keel laid 28 October 1944; launched 18 December 1944; completed 20 January 1945; built for U.S. War Shipping Administration, operated by Luckenbach Steamship Company during World War II; sold 1947 to N.V. Konink. Java-China Paketvaart Lijnen, Amsterdam, renamed TJIBODAS; scrapped Taiwan 1969.
USS BOGUE (CVE-9) was an escort aircraft carrier, built on a merchant ship hull (originally to be named SS STEEL AVENGER) but converted to carrier configuration. Built by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp., Seattle, WA; keel laid 1 October 1941; launched 15 January 1942; commissioned 26 September 1942; decommissioned 30 November 1946; scrapped 1960
See http://www.navsource.org/archives/03/009.htm for many photographs and details about the career of USS BOGUE.
In a search of the subscription website Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com) I found one record for Raymond J Erno arriving in New York aboard SS KOMOMO VICTORY. (Ancestry.com is more commonly used for genealogical research but I have discovered that it contains the names of crewmen aboard merchant ships who arrived in certain U.S. ports of entry following a foreign voyage. Information is very extensive for New York City but less so for other ports.) On this voyage KOKOMO VICTORY departed New York 5 February 1945; arrived Rouen, France, unknown date; departed Swansea, Wales, 10 March 1945; arrived New York 21 March 1945.
The eastbound voyage was in convoy CU-57 from New York to Liverpool (47 merchant ships, nine escorts; two ships in collision, one went aground, no other losses or damage). KOKOMO VICTORY continued to Rouen, France.
The westbound voyage was in convoy UC-59B to New York (25 merchant ships, four escorts, no losses or damage).
The members of the Armed Guard unit on this voyage were as follows:
Albert A Bailey
Harding M Bailey
Carl A Birago
Bennie G Boatwright
Herbert V Caldwell
?Francis H Chelli
Frank H Cummings
Raymond J Erno
William G Fowler
Chester R Genslicki
Robert L Golden
Bruce I Hall
James C Harris
Donald M Heverly
Willard J Houghton
Ernest W Ibaon
O. Bard Judy, LT(jg), Armed Guard communications officer
Harry G Larkin
Charles L Neese
Henry N Pekrul
Edmund P Perkins
Joseph J Perfido
John A Posluszny
Howard N Rider
James E Shirley
H E Trask
Robert G White, LT, Armed Guard commanding officer
Donald B Will
Joseph A Witkowsky
I do not know whether any of these men, other than Raymond Erno, are still living, nor do I have contact information for any who are.
For photographs of KOKOMO VICTORY (in its postwar appearance as TJIBODAS) see http://www.arendnet.com/ndvic33.htm.
For possible sources of photographs of NEWTON D BAKER and KOKOMO VICTORY, see http://www.usmm.org/photosource.html.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster
Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website
www.armed-guard.com
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