Randy,

The fact that your father's duty stations included AGC (Armed Guard Center) Brooklyn does not imply that either of his ships ever made passage to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, to Brooklyn, to New York or to any East Coast port. The Navy Armed Guard had three Centers, Brooklyn, New Orleans, and Treasure Island (San Francisco), to which Armed Guard personnel were formally assigned. Their personnel records were maintained at the Center to which they were assigned and, between shipboard assignments, they would be quartered at their Center until their next assignment. My guess is that your father was assigned to the Brooklyn Armed Guard Center upon completing his training but may have never been assigned to a ship leaving from an East Coast port. He may have been reassigned to the Treasure Island Center and traveled cross-country by train to meet his first assignment, whether MATSONIA or COMET, since both operated primarily in the Pacific. Other scenarios are also possible.

Transport ships were typically manned by civilian merchant marine crews, along with U.S. Navy Armed Guard gunners.

What was your father's name and what were the dates during which he served on each ship? I may be able to track down additional information.

Ron Carlson, Webmaster
Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website
www.armed-guard.com