I've always wanted to do this...

My grandfather joined the US Navy in 1943. He was trained as a dive bomber gunner and was deployed to the Pacific through the end of the war. While many of his friends did not come home, he was blessed and retired from the Navy in 1946. I recently found a number of pictures and documents about his service. Unfortunately the details of his exact location/battles have thus far elluded me. I wanted to ask everyone if there are any resources you would recommend that might help me find out more information about his service. I have heard about ancestry.com and similar services, has anyone used them, how well do they work? I would also like to track down the families of the other men in his squadron. I have an opportunity to research and document grandad's story, something I have wanted to do since childhood. I have always been proud to know he served in WW2, but alas, he passed away before I was born. Any assistance/recommendations you can give are much appreciated. Thank you for reading.

 

Hi there and welcome. I was maybe thinking you could try NARA to find his service records. Do you know what squadron he served with?

 

Thank you for the recommendation! I have contacted my mother since she is next of kin to submit the request. According to the site, full copies of documents older than 62 years will be given if requested. There is apparently quite a lot of information that could be included with that: Special Notice Regarding Service Record Requests

According to the Notice of Separation from US Naval Service document that I have, he was in Torpedo Squadron 84 (VT 84) and served on the USS Tulagi and USS Hancock. I also have log book that indicates a variety of dates that he was flying, but it's unclear about which ship he was with and when.

USS Hancock Association History Page
USS TULAGI (CVE-72) Deployments & History

I am going to follow up with the Hancock site since it appears they have annual reunions and people to contact. Do you know if there are other official Navy sites/forums that might be able to connect me with other men from his squad/ships? I would really like to talk to anyone or the children of anyone who may have known him.

 

Back again

I found this snippet about VT-84, and it mentions the squadron serving onboard the USS Bunker Hill from January 24 1945 to May 25 1945.

VT-84

 

Fighting Hannah was a good ship. I sailed aboard the USS Oklahoma City, Talos Missile CG5, with Hannah, Midway and Kitty Hawk in 75-76 just before she was decommissioned. They were flying the F-14 Tomcat squadrons (loaded for bear too), Intruders and AWACS Planes. Watching the Russians and the Red Chinese as they watched us operate all along the coast of Taiwan, Japan and China. "It was like the smell of napalm in the morning" - Like Victory. We were winning the Cold War and we knew it.

My OKC former NCO knows some of the guys from Hanna in Personnel. If the Association can't come up with anything maybe they can.
Good Luck with the search.

 

Thanks again. Yes, I have seen multiple references that link VT-84 with the USS Bunker Hill; however, I haven't seen anything in the documents I have that indicates the USS Bunker Hill. If he was on that ship, shouldn't it be listed with the USS Hancock and the USS Tulagi on his Notice of Separation? I did some more research on the USS Bunker Hill a few months ago; its torpedo squadrons took down the Yamato (one of Japan's two largest battleships):

From Dispatch Archive
"On April 1, 50,000 U.S. soldiers and Marines landed on Okinawa. The invasion fleet was hit by massive kamikaze attacks on April 6 and 7, which damaged 28 ships and sank three. But the Japanese were prepared to sacrifice more than just aircraft to stop the invasion. During the afternoon of April 6, the 68,000 ton battleship Yamato, escorted by the light cruiser Yahagi and eight destroyers sailed to attack the Allied ships off Okinawa. With only enough fuel for a one-way trip, the Yamato was to use her huge 18-inch main guns to stop the invasion, or die trying.
The USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) was on station off Okinawa on April 7, when the Yamato was sighted south of Kyushu. Among the aircraft launched to attack the giant were fourteen TBM Avengers of the Bunker Hill's Torpedo Squadron (VT) 84. At 0948 the crews manned their planes and took off, led by Lt. Cdr. "Skipper" Swanson and joined by other bombing squadrons. A solid overcast prevented the dive bombers from leading a coordinated attack, so at about 1215, Swanson divided VT-84 into two divisions and headed for the target.

Every gun on the Yamato, including the nine 18-inchers, seemed to be firing at the TBMs. Pilot "Bull" Turnbull remembered that "It was a beautiful ship but a monster! It was like a huge animal at bay — vigorous and vengeful and spitting fire from every opening". Another VT-84 pilot, Dewey Ray said of the first salvo from the 18-inch guns, "My God, I didn't believe it. The whole forward third of the ship lit up. My first reaction was why would they fire anything that big at me? Then, I stopped wondering and jinxed like hell!"

When Swanson's eight TBMs landed back on the Bunker Hill, they reported seven torpedo hits on the battleship. When "Buck" Berry's six planes landed, they reported another two hits. "Bunker Hill 9; Yamato 0!" was the proud cry. Later reports showed that the Yamato had been hit by at least seven bombs and 11 or 12 torpedoes before the pride of the Japanese fleet exploded, broke in two and sank at 1435."

What an epic story! However, as of now, I cannot prove that he was deployed to the USS Bunker Hill or that he participated in the attack on the Yamato.

 

That's fantastic! Thanks for your reply! Yes, I would definitely appreciate any information your OKC might have. I will update the post with the USS Hancock Association's response. I just sent an email to one of their officers, hopefully that will yield some more information.

 

Welcome! Enjoy!

 

Welcome to the forum, and enjoy!

 

Glad you found some of the information provided by some of our members useful. Enjoy your stay on this forum

 

Jake's 'Yankee Station' - USS Hancock CV/CVA-19 Memorial
Military Records Search Help
Icons of the Past Gallery
Jake's 'Yankee Station' Old Guest Book Gatekeeper

There should be information of value at some of these links. I hope you find everything you want to know.

"Any Sailor who may be asked what he did to make his life worthwhile, can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction, I served in the United States Navy." John F. Kennedy
Aboard the USS Oriskany 6 June, 1963 JFK always knew just the right words.

 

So apparently the USS Hancock Association did not find any additional details. I have requested that they ask their surviving WW2 members if they remember VT-84 hitching a ride with Hanna.

rkline56 - Thank you for those links! Could you please ask your OKC if he might be able to find additional info?

 

Welcome on....good luck with your search and I hope you'll share your grandfather's story with us when you find it all out.

 

The patch is great! The air squadrons (torpedo, bomber, etc.) on Bunker Hill were collectively referred to as the Wolf Gang

I just sent an e-mail to Thomas Kelly: Crew List - Reunite with old US Navy Buddies. As you can see, he was also in VT-84. I'm hoping he'll have additional info...

 

Unless, I miss my guess, VT-84 was only the unit that your grandfather was serving in at time of separation. Likely, he served in it only briefly.

The USS Hancock played host to three air groups during her time in combat.
April 1944 - January 1945: Air Group 7
January 1945 - March 1945: Air Group 80
March 1945 - December 1945: Air Group 6

For the USS Tulagi
March 1944: VC-15
July 1944: VOF-1
December 1944 - July 1945: VC-92

So it looks like you really need to get a hold of your grandfather's service record.

 

Hello again. So I have learned that grandpa trained with VT-84 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL in 1944. However, he was assigned to another squadron after their training was complete. We don't know where he was reassigned or why yet. Whatever the reason, it may have saved his life. Apparently, his turret gunner in training flew with VT-84 while grandpa and their pilot were reassigned. The plane his turret gunner was on was shot down on their first mission and all aboard were killed. I am now in contact with one of the pilots who knew grandpa during training and apparently they were good friends. We are filling in each other on details about his life via e-mail. I am also hoping to find other servicemen who knew him. I will update the thread with more information as I learn it.