67Rally Posted November 26, 2011 Share #1 Posted November 26, 2011 I just received a substantial package from NPRC for my paternal grandmother's brother who served in the Navy. From his Officer Biography Sheet (NAVPERS-979) Uncle Howard enlisted in 1932 as an apprentice seaman and was assigned to the Nevada until 1934. From there, he was stationed with Mine Force (Pearl Harbor) until 1936. Served in destroyers through 1938 in San Diego. He was attached to the 16th Naval District from '38-'41 and then with the 14th ND through 1943 (he departed Cavite on 12/7/1941). During this time, he served on Admiral Halsey's staff aboard the Enterprise being meritoriously promoted to CRM (AA). He participated in the Wake and Marcus raids, the Doolittle Raid and the Battle of Midway. Halsey held a special mast and promoted him to chief for his meritorious service during the Midway battle, "keeping the flag staff with up to date intelligence over a continuous 36-hour period". Among his awards are the following: PUC (with "blue enameled star device") NUC Asiatic-Pac medal with 4 stars Good Conduct Medal Defense Medal American Defense European Occupation Medal WWII Victory He retired in 1963 out of Bremerton, WA as a CWO4 I am still pouring over the 3" thick stack of documents. I'll post more as I read through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hink441 Posted December 2, 2011 Share #2 Posted December 2, 2011 Very interesting, sounds like he was part of a lot of history. Please keep us updated on your research! Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack's Son Posted December 2, 2011 Share #3 Posted December 2, 2011 I felt the same way when I received my father's. 400 pages and I didn't understand it until the third time through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67Rally Posted December 2, 2011 Author Share #4 Posted December 2, 2011 What is interesting about this package is that it also contained his death notices and cause of death (he died 8 years after he retired). It also has his security clearance background checks (for his post-naval career with the NSA). He spent the remainder of the war ('44-on) through 1962 working in Intel at various radio commands on the West coast save for Intel school in Maryland. He spent an awful lot of time TDY. There are numerous letters of commendation that all refer to the unfortunate nature of not being able to be made public due to security concerns or "the nature of the subject." I never knew he was in the intelligence community. He died when I was 5 years old...so I didn't really know much other than that he was in the Navy during WWII and that he was a radioman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67Rally Posted December 23, 2011 Author Share #5 Posted December 23, 2011 Thought I'd add some photos... I had two uncles (brothers) who went into the navy 4 years apart from each other - Uncle Howard in 1932 with the family dog: Uncle Howard (left) and Albert (right) with their mother and another shipmate in 1936. Both brothers served aboard the USS Smith and they both were radiomen: Here is my Uncle Albert (on the right) at NTC San Diego on guard duty with another recruit: Uncle Albert in his blues in 1936: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67Rally Posted December 23, 2011 Author Share #6 Posted December 23, 2011 Ok...one more... Uncle Albert standing guard duty at the main gate, NTC San Diego: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67Rally Posted December 23, 2011 Author Share #7 Posted December 23, 2011 Here's the service record entry regarding meritorious advancement to Chief Radioman from Vice Admiral Halsey (CTF16): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VirtualMariner Posted December 23, 2011 Share #8 Posted December 23, 2011 That is awesome. Love the pictures and is that Halsey's actual signature? I'm guessing the photo didn't come with the service record, or did they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67Rally Posted December 23, 2011 Author Share #9 Posted December 23, 2011 That is awesome. Love the pictures and is that Halsey's actual signature? I'm guessing the photo didn't come with the service record, or did they? The signature is that of the person verifying the service record entry. I am reminded that Ray Spruance fiilled in for Halsey during Midway...so the rec comes from him. Howard was with Halsey's staff for the Tokyo Raid, Wake, Mankin as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VirtualMariner Posted December 23, 2011 Share #10 Posted December 23, 2011 The signature is that of the person verifying the service record entry. I am reminded that Ray Spruance fiilled in for Halsey during Midway...so the rec comes from him. Howard was with Halsey's staff for the Tokyo Raid, Wake, Mankin as well. Okay, I see now on the signature. Guess I wasn't paying attentin before. Quite a storied service your uncle had. Makes me want to order the service records for my two uncles that served in the Navy during WWII...though I'm sure theirs won't be quite the same. One was a snipe and the other a supply type on an Amphib, though both were definitely on hand for some serious action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67Rally Posted December 23, 2011 Author Share #11 Posted December 23, 2011 Okay, I see now on the signature. Guess I wasn't paying attentin before. Quite a storied service your uncle had. Makes me want to order the service records for my two uncles that served in the Navy during WWII...though I'm sure theirs won't be quite the same. One was a snipe and the other a supply type on an Amphib, though both were definitely on hand for some serious action. It is quite the ride through history, reading all the details about my family members. Their careers are pretty much nondescript (no valor medals for single-handedly killing 71 enemy combatants), but they did perform like the rest of the millions of everyday service men and women. Sometimes, we get to learn about the darker side of our family members as well. My stepmother's father and his brother were both in the Navy before and during WWII. Both were aboard the Pennsylvania on Dec. 7th. Her dad would ultimately be demoted (from GM2/c to Apprentice Seaman) on his way to getting booted out during the war for being a brawler. :think: The brother is still alive and well, btw. I'd encourage you to get the records...worth every penny. I haven't had to pay for any of them yet...but I did just get a $20 payment request for my Uncle Albert's (Howard's younger brother) records for which I will gladly send a check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67Rally Posted December 23, 2011 Author Share #12 Posted December 23, 2011 I'm guessing the photo didn't come with the service record, or did they? No, the photos are from my grandmother's photo album which dates from 1930 to 1939. I don't have any photos of either of her brothers during WWII. I do have correspondence from one (I believe it is Howard) that was typed on legal-sized velum paper. I can't remember where it is - I set it aside for safe-keeping a few years ago with my other genealogy records - so I don't remember if it was from Howard or Albert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrantMafia Posted March 4, 2012 Share #13 Posted March 4, 2012 Awesome - love any bits of info on Warrant Officer vets. He may have been busted - but he still made it to CW4 - pretty difficult in the Navy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlaterDoc Posted March 4, 2012 Share #14 Posted March 4, 2012 "Uncle Albert in his blues" Are you sure that's not Frank Sinatra while making "Anchors Aweigh"? :think: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now