When I say World War II Navy, what’s the first thing that pops into your head? Was it, a sailor on a ship? That’s what I thought. Most of us associate sailors on ships as all there was and is to the U.S. Navy. Did you realize there were Naval Armed Guard members? Pilots and gunners on Navy aircraft? Men and women who never boarded a ship but served stateside? During World War II there were many jobs filled by members of the Navy. The Naval Armed Guard, of which my grandpa was part, was a vital component of the overall machine.
The Naval Armed Guard protected merchant vessels transporting troops, food, weapons and ammo, machines and other cargo around the world during the war. Naval Armed Guard members may appear on Muster Rolls for station (on land) training and moving between ships or stations. These same men may fall “off” the Muster Rolls when they transfer to a Merchant Marine vessel.
One thing you might discover as you research someone who served as Naval Armed Guard is that those records are closely tied to the Merchant Marine records. So if you are doing Merchant Marine research, it’s a good idea to also look at Naval records.
So how do we find information on our Naval Armed Guard members? How can we learn about their experiences on these civilian vessels commandeered for military use? I can help with this.
Of course the first place to locate information is the Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). These are held at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri. If your Armed Guard member died while in service, you will also want to request his Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF), also at the NPRC.
Using the OMPF and IDPF, you can create a timeline of service documenting by date all the ships and stations your Armed Guard veteran moved through. The OMPF will provide you with the dates he boarded or departed a ship or station. Creating a list of the specific vessels on which he served along with the dates is vital to securing additional records to help you understand what his experience was while on those vessels and at sea.
Are you ready to learn about those records? You might be surprised at what is available and the amount of detail you can discover!
My grandpa Joseph was on three Ships – a combination of Merchant Ships or Liberty Ships. The family story went something like this…one of his ships was kamikazeed and when he woke up after the blast, he was the only one alive around him. There were some other similar stories but I can’t remember them. Allegedly grandpa was a little crazy as a result.
I knew my grandpa had some big secret since no one would talk about him. As a baby genealogist in 1996, I ordered the Armed Guard Deck Logs since at that time, I was unable to get his OMPF. I thought the Deck Logs would help me sort out what happened to him on the ships. You know what, they did.
The Deck Logs for the three ships on which he sailed said NO ENEMY CONTACT. If that was the case, why the family stories? Well, it wasn’t until the early 2010s when I was able to obtain a copy of grandpa’s OMPF with medical notes and discovered the truth.
I discovered the family stories were lies. Likely made up to save face in the community. Passed down so no one would question why grandpa was in the Veteran’s Hospital and the family secret of him being diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was taken off his third ship, kept a secret.
The Deck Logs told me nothing like what I’d heard had happened and the OMPF confirmed the family lore was a lie.
Armed Guard Deck Logs
There are a few variations of Deck Logs. Some are simply, Deck Logs. Others may be Port Director Logs. Regardless of title, these records will provide you with some basic information. These records are held at NARA College Park, Maryland.
Tip! If you are researching Vietnam service, there are some Deck Logs available online on the NARA Catalog.
- Name of the Vessel on which the man is serving.
- Names, Rank, Service Number of those coming aboard or departing a vessel. This allows you to search the collaterals.
- Daily recap of what took place on the ship or at Port.
- Training information.
- Incident information.
- Places the ship sailed and docked.
- Type of cargo they carried.
- Issues with the ship or the crew.
Explore the SS Henry Durant Deck Log 1945
Armed Guard Reports
Armed Guard Reports are another valuable resource. Similar to Deck Logs and sometimes almost identical, they documented the Navy personnel on board the Merchant vessel. These reports documented:
- Name of the Vessel on which the man is serving.
- Names, Rank, Service Number of those coming aboard or departing a vessel. This allows you to search the collaterals.
- Daily recap of what took place on the ship or at Port.
- Training information.
- Incident information.
- Places the ship sailed and docked.
- Type of cargo they carried.
- Issues with the ship or the crew.
- Issues to be addressed when the ship was in port
Tip! You will not find specific information on Merchant Marines serving aboard these vessels in these reports unless something major took place. Merchant Marines had other types of records. These are great records if you are researching a Merchant Marine because you will learn a lot about the voyages and sometimes about the action that they were involved in while aboard.
We always have to remember when reading any military record, that there was a standard as to what had to be documented. Every branch had standards for all their records. Some report writers put the bare minimum while others wrote novels. Here are a couple of examples.
Armed Guard Report for the SS Henry Durant in 1945. This is a ship my grandfather was assigned to as Naval Armed Guard. You can see the report writer put the basic information required. I had hoped there would be more details as to what took place on the vessel because this was the last ship on which my grandpa served. It was the ship from which he was taken and sent to a Naval Hospital in California due to mental issues. Part of me wishes the Armed Guard Report would indicate some ruckus my grandpa caused on the ship – but no such luck.
Armed Guard Report for the SS John Lykes in 1942. This report was given to me by my NARA research as part of a client project for reference. The client’s father was not on this vessel until 1944 but my researcher wanted me to see the level of detail that could be on a report. I was amazed at the information provided and in some ways relieved that my grandpa didn’t serve until much later in the war when the submarine threat was lessened.
Movement Report Cards
Movement Report Cards, created for the Merchant Marine vessels are also housed at NARA College Park. These are valuable because they tell you the dates a ship docked in port and departed port. Yes, that same information is in a Deck Log or Armed Guard Report, but Movement Cards give all this to you in a condensed manner. This information can easily and quickly be added to your Timeline of Service for your Navy or Merchant Marine veteran.
Maritime Administration Records
The Maritime Administration has some records on Merchant Vessels but honestly, their website is a pain to use. To save you some time, visit their Vessel History page and search for the vessel on which your veteran served.
If you enter Sea Quail – a ship my grandpa served on it will come up with this page. Take a look around and notice the kind of information that may be contained on a ship history page. While the information for this vessel is limited, there are Status Cards and Documents available to download which may provide more information.
Keep in mind this is a database of multiple vessels and your ships may or may not be included. Or, the time period you seek may not be included.
NARA Reports
The National Archives has a wealth of information for Naval Armed Guard and the Merchant Vessels on which they sailed. A few other types of records you may discover include:
- Action Reports (World War II) You will find some War Diaries on Fold3 as U.S. WWII War Diaries (Navy Records).
- Records of Individual Convoys
- Submarine War Patrol Reports
- War Diaries (World War II) You will find some War Diaries on Fold3 as U.S. WWII War Diaries (Navy Records).
As you can see, there are many more valuable records for Navy and Merchant Marine service that go beyond the Naval Muster Roll. As NARA digitizes more World War II records, I encourage you to search their catalog to see if anything else turns up for your ships.
What questions do you have about these records? What have you discovered that wasn’t mentioned here? Where are you stuck? Please comment below.
Additional Resources
U.S. Navy Armed Guard website. This site contains information on the Merchant Marines as well.
Naval History and Heritage Command
WWII Education – Uncovering a Sailor’s Story in a Navy Service File
Uncovering the Truth of Our Family’s War Stories
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