Peter,

As you can imagine, it may be unlikely that any of your father’s shipmates are still living, and even more unlikely that any living shipmates or their families would read this message board, or even be aware of its existence. Of course, you never know.

I’ll take this in a different direction. I found a crew list that includes your father while aboard HENRY BACON on a voyage to and from Archangel, Russia, the dreaded Murmansk Run, between December 1943 and April 1944. On this voyage your father, Faustino P. Boccelli, age 21, was a signalman third class (SM 3/c). He was part of an Armed Guard detachment of 28 men under the command of Frederick J. Komenda, ensign, U.S. Navy. Of his shipmates, two were just 17 years of age, three were 18, eight were 19 and three were 20. (The old man in the crew was the commanding officer, age 29.) So even the youngest of these men, if still living, would be at least 90. I did not find a similar list for your father aboard while aboard J.W. MCANDREW.

Below is the crew list in alphabetical order; on the same line with each name is the man’s age. Whether any of these men are still living I do not know, nor would I have contact information for any who are. I suggest you make a search of the more unusual names on the Social Security Death Index (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3693). This will identify those who have passed. Note that the Social Security Death Index is not comprehensive, so a name not found on the Index may not mean the man is still alive. If there are still names not found in the Death Index, you could search for them on an online telephone directory such as Whitepages.com (https://www.whitepages.com/). Whitepages.com often will indicate the age of someone listed there so you can see whether a name might match the age of the man from 1944, more than 73 years later. If you are lucky you may find a few still living, with contact information. Or you might find someone with the same age but much younger so possibly the son of one of these men. Again, search for the more unusual names; searching for Richard Brown or Thomas Butler would not be worth your time.

For your information, HENRY BACON departed New York on or about December 22, 1943, in convoy HX-272, consisting of 75 merchant vessels plus small escorting warships. The convoy suffered no losses to the enemy although two ships collided and had to return to Halifax, Nova Scotia, for repairs. HENRY BACON’s cargo included PT boats, interestingly enough. The convoy’s destination was Liverpool but as the convoy approached the British Isles HENRY BACON and possibly other ships would have left the convoy and sailed to Loch Ewe, Scotland, near the northwest tip of Scotland, arriving on an unspecified date. On or about January 22, 1944, HENRY BACON departed Loch Ewe in convoy JW-56B, with 20 merchant vessels and 25 escorts. Again, there were no casualties from this convoy although one ship turned back, perhaps due to mechanical problems. The convoy reached Russia on February 1, 1944. HENRY BACON departed Russia on March 1, 1944, in convoy RA-57, 30 merchant ships and 32 escorts; one ship was torpedoed by a U-boat and lost. The convoy reached Loch Ewe on March 10, 1944. Thereafter HENRY BACON departed Loch Ewe on March 15, 1944, in convoy ON-228, 69 merchant ships plus escorts, arriving New York April 1, 1944. No ships were lost from this convoy.

HENRY BACON was lost on a later voyage that did not involve your father or any of his Armed Guard shipmates. On February 23, 1945, while in convoy RA-64, returning from another voyage to Russia, HENRY BACON sustained damage to her steering gear in heavy weather, dropping behind the convoy. German aircraft on their way to the convoy discovered her and attacked. The Armed Guard gunners gallantly engaged the enemy, downing five planes and damaging others, until a torpedo from a plane hit the ship, mortally damaging her. In addition to her merchant marine crew and Armed Guard personnel, HENRY BACON carried 19 Norwegian civilians, including women and children. As the ship sank, all the civilians were placed in life boats and most of the crew also made it to life boats. 22 crew members and seven Armed Guard crew were lost, including the ship’s captain. One senior officer gave up his seat in a life boat in favor of a younger seaman. All of those who reached life boats were rescued later by three British destroyers. The fierce battle between HENRY BACON’s Armed Guard gunners and the German attackers may have saved the convoy, as most of the surviving aircraft had to return to base due to battle damage, low fuel or low ammunition. HENRY BACON was the last Allied ship sunk by the Luftwaffe during World War II. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Henry_Bacon.

Your father was a brave man. They all were. Best wishes.

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



Armed Guard crew list from HENRY BACON, December 1943-April 1944

Bandish, Albert L 20
Beach, Forest L 21
Beardsley, Earl L 19
Boccelli, Faustino P 21
Boughan, Gerald D 19
Brodou,r Phillip T 18
Brouillette, Edmund J 25
Brow, George F 19
Brown, Richard E 17
Brynes, Robert J 19
Butler, Thomas 17
Calabrese, Frank J 18
Calabrese, Orlando 19
Greenfield, Donald E 18
Halko, Stephen H 23
Hannock, Robert P 19
Juliano, Louis C 23
Komenda, Frederick J 29 Ensign, Armed Guard commanding officer
Kula, Leo A 25
Lamansky, Dean C 20
Logan, Leeman R 25
Meckling, Philip F 22
Mulhern, Frederick F 19
Nowack, Robert F 20
Plank, John E 19
Sanford, Willie E 24
Sheinker, Melvin L 17
Souka, George 18
Wendell, James W 22