You may be able to obtain the military service records for both of your uncles, which would indicate the ships to which each was assigned, applicable dates, training, illnesses or injuries, any decorations or medals earned, etc. Please see this page from the Armed Guard website that I manage: http://armed-guard.com/searchmil.html. In particular see section A.1. Records of Individuals - U.S. Military. You will have to contact the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO, a facility operated by the U.S. Archives. Provide as much identifying information as possible about your uncles. Since you are not next of kin to your uncles(next of kin = parent, spouse, sibling, child), you may not be able to obtain the full service record. If there is anyone living who is next of kin to your uncles, your mother or father for example, that person would be able to obtain the full record. The links on the web page noted above will take you to the necessary pages of the Records Center web site. There may be a fee for obtaining the information but the Records Center staff will not begin research without informing you of any charge.
If you are able to obtain their service records and thereby identify the ships in which Syrus Sand served, there are photographs of many U.S. Navy vessels plus information about their wartime careers at http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/.
Good luck.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster
Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website
www.armed-guard.com
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