I have recently acquired a few of my Grandfather's military papers. He was in the Navy, served from March 1943 to November 1945 and was based out of Noumea, New Caledonia according to the paperwork. I have always been curious on what ship he was stationed and saw this name: the S.S. Elhto Thomson on one of the forms. I am assuming that's the name of the ship but there is no record of it in any of the information or articles I've found on-line. Someone on another forum suggested it might be a typo. What could they have been trying to spell and why wouldn't they have known the name of one of their own ships? The closest ship's name I've come to this one is the S.S. Etolin that was active around the same times but it seems a bit of a stretch. Any ideas?
There's the possibility that it was not a US registered ship. That would complicate your search. Have you applied for his military service records?
Found this troopship. Maybe this is the one your looking for? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Matsonia_(ID-1589)
Thanks OpanaPointer: We did apply for his records but all we got were two separation papers. Apparently his file, like many others, were lost in St. Louis when the records building caught on fire. Do you know anyway around this or how to research a ship that was not registered? I am learning as I go that not all ships were Navy issued-some were civillian owned? And thank you mikebatzel: Yes, that is a great link for the SS Etolin but I'm still not sure if that is the ship I'm searching for. I will keep that in my bookmarks though for some information. Thanks for finding that for me! I appreciate you both.
The ship would have been registered, but maybe not US registry. Try googling "international ships registry" for a starter. You may find an email address or such that will take you farther in your hunt.
Could it be classified as a merchant marine ship? He was in the Navy but not sure how much things got intermingled. I found a website:U.S. Merchant Ships Sunk or Damaged in World War II which lists a Elihu Thomson (compared to my SS Elhto Thomson) among the ships that were damaged. I know my grandfather was taken as a POW but don't know any of the details. The date that this ship was damaged due to mines falls within the time period my grandfather was in the service. How do we know whether it was registered or not? Also, if it was a civilian registered ship, could it be used by the Merchant marines and have Navy personnel on it? This whole thing is a learning process for me!
The Elihu Thompson (a Liberty ship) was mined on 25 Sept 1944 at Noumea harbor New Caledonia. There were 22 casualities among the US Army troops aboard but none among the ship's crew or armed (USN) guard detachment. The ship was beached and salvaged. New Caledonia is a rear area of the war by that time and capture by Japanese forces would have been highly unlikely.
