Here is some information that may prove useful.
SS TOTECO was a tanker, constructed by Union Iron Works (later Bethlehem Steel) in San Francisco, CA, in 1916. Her original name was LOS ANGELES. In 1917 she was acquired by the U.S. Navy for service in World War I, in which she served as USS LOS ANGELES, ID 1470. She survived World War I and was returned to her civilian owner, Union Oil of California, in 1919. In 1941 she was sold and renamed TOTECO. She survived World War II and was finally scrapped in Mexico in 1966. See the following; the last four include photographs of the ship, for the most part while she was named LOS ANGELES.
http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/inactive/bethsanfrancisco.htm; scroll to hull number 123
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Los_Angeles_%28ID-1470%29
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-l/id1470.htm
http://www.armed-guard.com/mf4251.html
http://www.amazon.com/Angeles-1917-1919-Originally-American-Toteco/dp/B00H08HGO8
SS LAKE GEORGE was another tanker, this one of the T-2 class, the most common class of tanker ship built during and for service in World War II, of which some 533 were built. She was constructed in 187 days between March and September 1943 by Sun Shipbuilding in Chester, Pennsylvania. She too survived World War II, was sold to a private shipping line in 1948 and renamed ANTHEM. She was scrapped in 1970 in Taiwan.
See:
http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/inactive/sun.htm; scroll to hull number 320
http://www.aukevisser.nl/t2tanker/id218.htm, with photographs; the first photograph shows the ship in her wartime appearance
I made a search for your grandfather’s name at Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com), a subscription website that is commonly used for genealogical research but which also contains lists of crewmen and passengers aboard ships that arrived in certain U.S. ports of entry following a foreign voyage. I found records for Natale A. Balla on two voyages aboard TOTECO and LAKE GEORGE in 1944. I found him first as a seaman first class (S 1/c) as part of a 15-man Armed Guard crew aboard TOTECO under the command of LT(j.g.) Leon Francis Bousselle; his name in this record was recorded as Nathale Arthur Balla. TOTECO departed New York on or about March 1, 1944, destination Curacao, departed Curacao on March 16 and returned to New York on March 26, 1944.
I next found him as a seaman first class and part of a 27-man Armed Guard detachment assigned to LAKE GEORGE, under the command of LT(j.g.) John W. Williamson, Jr. Your grandfather reported to the ship on May 5, 1944, and the ship departed the same date from Chester, PA. Her destination was Puerta La Cruz, Venezuela, although there is an indication in the record that she may have called in Freetown, West Africa (now Sierra Leon) for some reason before or after reaching Puerta La Cruz. (The record is a microform copy of the original record and very difficult to read.) The ship arrived in New York City on July 8, 1944.
I could not find any additional records of your grandfather on Ancestry.com although it stands to reason that there would have been additional voyages. He may have been aboard TOTECO prior to or after March 1944 or aboard LAKE GEORGE after July 1944. It is possible that his ship arrived at ports for which Ancestry.com does not have good records, or that his ship sailed “coastwise,” meaning from one U.S. port to another, in which case there would have been no records of the type maintained in Ancestry.com (which are essentially immigration records and would have been unnecessary for ships traveling only between U.S. ports).
You may wish to try to obtain a copy of your grandfather’s complete service record. 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 grandfather. 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. His military service record may contain such information as the ships to which he was assigned, applicable dates, training, illnesses or injuries, any decorations or medals earned, etc. Note that someone such as yourself, who is not next of kin to your grandfather, may not be able to obtain his full service record. (Next of kin = parent, spouse, sibling, child.) If there is someone still living in your family who is next of kin to your grandfather, presumably your mother/father or an aunt/uncle, it would be best if the request to the Records Center was submitted by that person. You can do the legwork of research, completing forms and otherwise preparing the request but the request should be signed by that person. If there is no longer a person who is next of kin still living, then make the request yourself and hope for the best.
Good luck.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster
Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website
www.armed-guard.com
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