is thete a site like this for engineering officers?
Posted by Ryan McDonald on May 30, 2015, 3:44 am
My grandfather passed away in 1999 and was my best friend as a child. He was an engineering officer. Growing up he didn't talk much about his experiences beyond the travel and life lesslessons he obtained and shared. we have little in terms of photos from his ventures. I remember asking him once when i was a naive 8 yr old if he had friends who didnt return and he just said yes and changed the subect. That has always stuck with me and makes me curicurios. From reading the site I see that this is for gunners so I wanted to ask. His name was Clem L. Osborne.
Re: is thete a site like this for engineering officers?
This is a website for both the U.S. Navy Armed Guard (the “gunners” to which you refer) and for merchant mariners, including engineering officers. The homepage of the website World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merchant Marine (www.armed-guard.com) states that these two organizations "were literally in the same boat" during the war and that you "cannot tell the story of one without telling the story of the other." So if you have questions about your grandfather's merchant marine career, you are welcome here. Ask away.
You might also visit the website American Merchant Marine at War (https://usmm.org/) for information about the U.S. merchant marine, especially during World War II, although that website does not have a message board. Also see the Resources page at the Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website (http://armed-guard.com/resources.html) for links that may be of interest with respect to the merchant marine.
I'm going to get the jump on you by telling you what I have been able to find about your grandfather, Clem L. Osborne, who apparently was better known as Clemmy Osborne.
I did a search for his name at the subscription website Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com) and found numerous records for him. (This website is more commonly used for genealogical research but I have found that it contains lists of crew members and passengers of merchant ships that arrived in certain U.S. ports of entry following a foreign voyage. I have been successful in finding many merchant seamen and Armed Guard officers and sailors in this manner.) In fact I found what may have been his very first sea-going voyage, in 1944, since the record indicates that he had zero sea time experience prior to the voyage:
Ship: SS CAPE CUMBERLAND Departed San Francisco on or about May 14, 1944, destination Finschafen, New Guinea, arriving there in early July 1944. Departed Finschafen on or about July 7, 1944, and arrived San Francisco July 29, 1944. Clem L. Osborne was aboard, not as an engineering officer or even in the engine room, but as a messman. He was part of the "stewards department," which meant he set the table for meals, served meals and cleaned up afterward, among other tasks. At the time he was age 18, stood 5'9" and was 165 lbs.
As "Clemmy" Osborne I find him a few more times.
Ship: SS JOSHUA SENEY Clemmy L. Osborne shows up this time as part of the engine department, although not as an officer. He served as a fireman/water tender, keeping track of the fires and maintaining the proper water level in the boilers. He reported aboard JOSHUA SENEY on September 1, 1944, "at sea," presumably meaning he met the ship at a foreign port and replaced another crewman at that point. The record is not clear on where this was (meeting a ship literally "at sea" seems unlikely) but the ship left Newport News, Virginia, in late August 1944, was in Naples, Italy, as of September 29, 144, was in Marseilles, France, as of November 8, 1944, was in Oran, Algeria, as of November 17, 1944, and arrived in New York on September 10, 1944. The record shows the name of another fireman/water tender who had been aboard when the ship left Newport News and is crossed out but without a date or explanation. Elsewhere in the record is a conflict, showing Clemmy Osborne joining the ship on August 25, 1944, in Newport News. So it's not clear exactly what the story was. On this voyage Clemmy Osborne had four months of sea time, and was still age 18.
Next I find Clemmy Osborne aboard SS ALFRED J. EVANS as of January 13, 1945, again as fireman/water tender. The ship departed New York on January 22, 1945, reached destinations of Ghent, Belgium, and Cardiff, Wales, and returned to New York on April 26, 1945.
World War II ended shortly thereafter. Postwar I find that Clemmy Osborne was a very busy seaman:
Departed Charleston, SC, aboard REDSTONE SEAM on 06/10/46, to Rotterdam, The Netherlands, arrived New York 07/30/36; served as fireman/water tender.
Departed Charleston, SC, aboard STEPHEN W. KEARNY on 11/05/47, to Yokkaichi, Japan, to Vancouver, BC, arrived Seattle, WA 01/16/48; served as deck engineer.
Departed Norfolk, VA, aboard GEORGE W. KENDALL on 03/11/48, to Aruba, arrived New York 03/26/48; served as machinist/pumpman.
Departed Savannah, GA, aboard SOUTH CAROLINA on 12/20/49 to Trinidad, arrived New Haven, CT 01/03/50; served as maintenance machinist/pumpman.
Departed Baltimore aboard JOSHUA TREE on 11/04/50 to Las Piedras, Venezuela, arrived Providence, RI 11/27/50; served as pumpman.
Departed Boston aboard R.F. MCCONNELL on 01/15/51 to Las Piedras, Venezuela, arrived New York 01/30/51; served as maintenance machinist/pumpman.
Departed Jacksonville, FL, aboard BALTIMORE TRADER 06/01/51 to, among other destinations, Naples, Italy; Yokohama, Japan; Antwerp, Belgium; Hamburg, Germany; Sidon, Lebanon (not necessarily in that order), eventually returning to Perth Amboy, NJ; but Clemmy L. Osborne "failed to join [the ship] in Japan;" served as maintenance machinist/pumpman.
Departed San Pedro, CA aboard BLOOMINGTON VICTORY on 10/27/51 to Yokohama and Kobe, Japan, arrived San Francisco 01/01/52; served as an "unlicensed engineer." Technically speaking, merchant marine officers are "licensed." I don't know what to make of a position of "unlicensed engineer." It might have been a trainee position.
From the above records I cannot confirm that he served as an engineering officer, although clearly he served in the engine department. The positions of fireman/water tender, deck engineer, and maintenance machinist/pumpman are all engine room (but non-officer) positions. Pumpman is an engine room position specific to a tanker. There may have been other voyages that he made during which he actually served as an officer.
If you want to pursue additional information about your grandfather, you may be able to obtain a copy of his merchant marine service record, by contacting the U.S. Coast Guard. See this web page from the website I manage: http://armed-guard.com/searchmil.html. In particular see section A.2. Records of Individuals – Merchant Marine. You will have to contact the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center in Martinsburg, West Virginia. The Coast Guard was and is responsible for issuing certain documents ("seaman's papers") and officers’ licenses to U.S. merchant mariners, so they may have information about your grandfather. You will need to provide as much identifying information as possible about your grandfather. Among the records above I noted one that provided his merchant marine identification number, often referred to as a "Z number" since the number begins with the letter Z. His Z number was Z498-627 (or Z498-627-D1). Having his Z number will be very important in contacting the National Maritime Center.
Note that you are not next of kin to your grandfather (next of kin = parent, spouse, child, sibling). As such you personally may not be able to obtain his complete service record. It would be best if someone else in your family who is next of kin, such as your mother, father, aunt or uncle, could make the request for his service record. You could do the leg work of preparing the request, researching information, etc., but it would be better if someone who is next of kin to your grandfather could actually sign any necessary document(s). If there is no next of kin, make the request yourself and hope for the best. There may be a fee for this service but I expect the Coast Guard would not begin work without informing you of any charges.
Good luck.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website www.armed-guard.com