Locating Naval Personnel During WWII
One question I often get is Why isn’t my Naval grandpa on all the Navy Muster Rolls? I have looked and can’t find him on any. I also get questions from people who find their sailor on a few rolls but nothing else.
Military research is complex and the Navy and Marine Corps made finding all the answers about service a bit more difficult than the Army and Army Air Forces because of how they created their personnel files and other records. You really have to start at the beginning and put a timeline together of everything you think you know. Then add the facts you can document from a personnel file plus all the other available records to really get a full picture.
The research also requires you to also retrieve unit records, deck logs, histories, photos, maps, and so many other records. This article gives you some basic tips and information and is by no means the end all be all of Navy research.
Did You Know?
First, you can search Navy Muster Rolls at Fold3.com. The site describes the series as: These records include detailed muster rolls listing all personnel assigned to ships, stations, and activities for the U.S. Navy, 1939-1949, as well as reports of changes for sailors transferred to other ships or locations, and those discharged, deserted, hospitalized, missing, or dead. Passenger lists for nonenlisted personnel are also included.
Pay special attention to the reports of changes. Just like Army Morning Reports, your veteran will not appear unless there is a change in job, duty, health, rank, MIA, POW, KIA, wounded, etc. statuses.
Next, before I answer the question Where Is My Sailor, did you know that someone did not have to be on a ship to be listed on a Naval Muster Roll? There are rolls for stations. Stations are Naval facilities located on land. This might have been a Naval Base in the U.S. or a location somewhere else in the world, perhaps an island in the Philippines.
Research Tip! Keep in mind that military records may not exist because the ship they were carried on sank, was damaged by fire and water, or some other form of devastation destroyed the records. I have seen unit records and histories specifically state records from X month to X month, year, were destroyed by a fire on the ship in the records room. Additionally, not all records may have been digitized. What you find online is a small fraction of what is actually available to tell your service member’s story for WWI, WWII, Korea, or Vietnam.
The Simple Answer
The simple answer is, unless he was a sailor on a ship all the time, and there were changes to his health, job, rank, transfer to a new ship or station, etc., you might not find him listed very often. Now, in addition to the usual Muster Rolls we see which is broken into two parts, top and bottom, there are also ship rolls that only list every soul on a vessel.
Let’s examine a Muster Roll I broke it into two pieces. The top of the Muster Roll provides the individual’s name, service number, rating (rank) and date of enlistment. All important information to trace him through future rolls especially if he has a common name.
The bottom part of the form shows what is happening (transfer, change for any reason, etc.) Find your sailor on the top – let’s say he’s Jack Amoroso line 9 – then go to the bottom of the document and find line 9 to see what his status was.
The More Complex Answer
If your family member was not on one or two ships the entire time he was in service, but moved between stations (on land) and ships (sometimes only to be transported), he may not appear on many rolls.
This means when a ship transported your Navy Seabee grandpa to one of the Pacific Islands, he is likely to appear on a ship’s Muster Roll until he gets to the island and transfers off that ship. He may be found on a station roll for that island but maybe not. This is where using his OMPF (Official Military Personnel File) comes in handy to help trace where he was.
Naval Armed Guard
One option many people do not consider is that their sailor may be serving on a Merchant Marine Vessel and therefore, not be listed on a Navy Muster Roll. Or perhaps he was on a Naval vessel and then is transferred to Armed Guard duty, as a gunner or commander. Essentially he is “lost” for a period of time.
How would you know if he was on a Merchant Vessel if you didn’t have family stories, letters, photos, or documents? You would need to obtain his OMPF to reconstruct his service to see on what vessels and in what stations he served.
How do you locate information on Naval Armed Guard members? This is a bit more tricky and I will write a separate article on this, but here is a short answer. While you may find your sailor, like my grandpa Joseph Holik, on a Muster Roll for a Naval Vessel or Station, once he is moved to a Merchant Vessel to serve as Armed Guard, he is lost from those rolls. So what can you do?
- Obtain the OMPF.
- Create the Timeline of Service.
- Locate Muster Rolls for possible ships and stations.
- Contact NARA for Armed Guard Deck Logs and Reports.
Your Homework
Explore what I’m sharing by attempting to locate this officer who first is found on a Naval Muster Roll and later is moved to a Merchant Vessel to serve as Armed Guard.
Where do you begin to search for him if this is all the information you have and you are waiting for his OMPF? Well, we know at the time of this report, submitted 15 August 1942, John was aboard the Merchant Vessel SS John Lykes. We know in 1942 he was a Lt. (jg). Without a service number, you may think he’s harder to track. But explore the Muster Rolls on Fold3 and see if you can find him. I’ll give you a few hints since I’ve done some research on him.
His middle name started with F. He is listed as a Lt. (jg) on board a Navy vessel in 1942 with a note that he’s being transferred and eventually to Armed Guard service. Can you find him? Then do you find him when he’s off the SS John Lykes?
Armed Guard duty may explain “missing time” on Navy vessels or stations. Don’t rule it out if you haven’t seen the OMPF.
What Do I Do Next To Find More Answers?
If you have not already obtained the OMPF, this is a must have document. These are held at the NPRC in St. Louis, MO. These records contain so much information on each form, it can be confusing to sort out. If you need help, we can obtain the file and start a research project with you. Learn how below.
After you have created a timeline and sorted out the entire OMPF and know exactly where your Naval family member was and what he or she was doing, you can start investigating unit records at NARA and Naval History & Heritage Command, among other places. You may find histories, deck logs, vessel histories, war diaries, photos, and more.
Additional Article Resources
WWII Discharge Doesn’t Have All The Answers
Why Doesn’t My Navy Grandpa’s Discharge Show All His Stations/Units/Ships?
Navigating Service Records for the Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Merchant Marines (Volume 2)
Learn how to write your veteran’s story in my class Words That Heal.
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