Posted by roger caylor on September 9, 2016, 8:37 pm
on 10-1-15 my father, Ross Caylor passed away. He served on the ship Chief Osceola 1944 thru 1946 . I have tried to track some of his shipmates with out success. does anybody know of any ? I recall a shipmate named Ralph Coval (sp) and acouple others. thank you for any info Roger Caylor A service for my father will be held in late 2016 in Decatur, Illinois
Re: last roll call
Posted by roger caylor on October 2, 2016, 2:22 pm, in reply to "last roll call"
A word of thanks for the information from Mr Ron Carlson, I had not heard about the second deployment. I know my father spoke of going to not only south America , but also Russia, Africa, and many other ports. Thank you again--
Re: last roll call
Posted by Ron Carlson on September 13, 2016, 10:14 am, in reply to "last roll call"
Dear Roger,
Was your father’s full name Shirley Ross Caylor? If so I have found a record for him and at least some of his Armed Guard shipmates aboard SS CHIEF OSCEOLA.
I found Shirley Caylor on a voyage that began on October 19, 1944, in Panama City, Florida. From Panama City CHIEF OSCEOLA proceeded to Port Arthur, Texas, and then to New Orleans, both to bring on additional crew and, perhaps, to load cargo. On or about November 3 she departed New Orleans and continued, either alone or in convoy, to Trinidad in the Caribbean. On November 16, the ship departed Trinidad in convoy TJ-51. The convoy had the destination of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but at some point CHIEF OSCEOLA and as many as three other ships detached from the convoy to sail either to South Africa or, in the case of one ship, to Australia. The four ships may have sailed in a group or completely independently; I cannot tell from the information available to me. In any case, CHIEF OSCEOLA reached port in Durban, South Africa, on December 27, 1944, and then Accra, Ghana (the country was then known as the Gold Coast), on January 21, 1945. Leaving Accra she proceeded, perhaps alone, to New York, arriving there on February 16, 1945. Your father’s Armed Guard crew mates for this voyage were as follows:
Otto Brockmier Gordon L Buerger Paul Carlson Joe Carvitto Joe T Cobb Dennett Conley David D Connors Wayne A Connoley Billy J Cowan Roy S Cummings Norman Cutshall Jr. John H Dietrich Howard E Drogsvold Paul Duffield James C Dungan Wendell Dutcher Orville S Harris George A Koehl Morton Manchester Marver Metel Samuel S Ovino Gerald Pastuchoa Edward Sarlo B H Zimmerman, LT(j.g.), Armed Guard commanding officer
CHIEF OSCEOLA departed New York on February 20, 1945, to Hampton Roads (i.e., Norfolk area), Virginia. She departed Hampton Roads on March 19, 1945, in convoy UGS-81, carrying cargo that included trucks and ammunition. The convoy’s destination was Gibraltar, arriving there on April 3, 1945. From there the ships in the convoy split up and continued to a variety of ports in southern France, Italy, North Africa, Greece, and even India and Pakistan. CHIEF OSCEOLA’s ultimate destination was Odessa, Ukraine, in the Black Sea. But from here the trail grows cold. When CHIEF OSCEOLA arrived in and departed from Odessa is not indicated in the records I was able to find, nor is it clear when and at what port CHIEF OSCEOLA arrived in the United States, although she probably returned to Hampton Roads. Certainly by the time she returned to the U.S. the war in Europe was over; Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945.
Per the preceding paragraph, I have been unable to find a crew list for the voyage that began at Hampton Roads on March 19; typically the crew list was submitted at the end of a voyage. The usual practice in the Navy, however, was that an Armed Guard crew remained largely intact from voyage to voyage over a period of time. Since the voyage that began on October 19, 1944, in Panama City, Florida, was the maiden voyage of CHIEF OSCEOLA, and since the Armed Guard crew on that voyage was the initial Armed Guard unit on the ship, it is likely that most of the same men served on the ship through the second voyage as well. However I cannot confirm definitively that your father was part of the Armed Guard crew on the second voyage. Note that the name of Ralph Coval, whom you identify as one of your father’s shipmates, does not appear in the crew list above but he may have been on the second voyage.
Note also that I do not know whether any of the men identified above are still living, nor would I have contact information for any who are living.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website www.armed-guard.com
Re: last roll call
Posted by roger caylor on December 28, 2016, 7:24 am, in reply to "Re: last roll call"
I find it interesting that aman named Cobb was on board as I had a relative named Les Cobb , that was in the Army Air Corp. Does anybody have a contact on buying patches or other unit items for the armed guard ?
Re: last roll call
Posted by Ron Carlson on January 3, 2017, 3:29 pm, in reply to "Re: last roll call" Edited by board administrator January 3, 2017, 3:31 pm
Roger,
In addition to being the webmaster for the Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website, I am a member of Project Liberty Ship, which owns and operates SS JOHN W. BROWN, one of two surviving, operational World War II Liberty ships. (CHIEF OSCEOLA, in which your father served, was a Liberty ship.) I am also a member of JOHN W. BROWN's volunteer operating crew.
We have a Ship's Store aboard JOHN W. BROWN that offers for sale Armed Guard patches and ball caps. See http://www.ssjohnwbrown.org/ship-store/patches for patches (there are two Armed Guard patches, the third and fourth in the top row of thumbnail pictures, $5 each plus shipping and handling), and http://www.ssjohnwbrown.org/ship-store/baseball-caps for ball caps (again two Armed Guard versions, the last one in the top row and the first in the second row, $25 each).
Best wishes.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website www.armed-guard.com
Re: last roll call
Posted by roger caylor on January 5, 2017, 11:20 pm, in reply to "Re: last roll call"
Ron , Thank you for your help in finding the assorted patches/hats etc---I have placed an order. Do they also have decals ? I did not see any , but thought they maybe available on another site. Roger
Re: last roll call
Posted by Ron Carlson on January 10, 2017, 9:13 pm, in reply to "Re: last roll call"
Roger,
Sorry, no decals as far as I know.
Ron Carlson
decals
Posted by roger caylor on January 11, 2017, 8:43 pm, in reply to "Re: last roll call"
Thank you Ron for the decal info--
Re: last roll call
Posted by roger caylor on January 3, 2017, 9:34 pm, in reply to "Re: last roll call"
Mr. Carlson, I wanted to thank you for your response to the decals/patches/hats question. I will look at that and see what i can purchase. I do have some decals placed in the rear window of my truck. How can i help to keep those who served on these ships in our minds ? Roger CAylor
Re: last roll call
Posted by John Haynes on September 16, 2016, 5:07 pm, in reply to "Re: last roll call"
Ron, I never cease to be amazed at the depth you go to to help our fellow seamen and their relatives to find about things dear to their hearts. Not only do you provide a valuable service to them, but to all of us who follow your posts, and education as well. It must be a great source of satisfaction to you to know you have helped so many. I want to personally thank you for the GREAT job you are doing. John Haynes
Re: last roll call
Posted by Ron Carlson on September 19, 2016, 12:23 pm, in reply to "Re: last roll call"
Thanks John. I very much enjoy doing research for people who contact me, and it is very gratifying when I can share some useful information. In part it is why the Armed Guard website exists. And I think it is what Tom Bowerman would want me to do.
Best wishes.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website www.armed-guard.com