Tag: military records

Michael John Flanagan’s Final US Navy Duty Assignment, The USS Thompson

USS Thompson refuels from USS Arkansas, April 1944. Department of Defense photo.

When my grandfather, Ship’s Cook 3rd Class Michael John Flanagan (1927 – 1997) left the USS Mervine on February 20, 1948, he transferred to the USS Thompson for his final month of service in the Navy.

The USS Thompson (DD-627) was a Navy destroyer commissioned July 10, 1943. Prior to Michael’s assignment on the ship, the Thompson had seen action in the East Coast, North Africa, Europe (including the 1944 Invasion of Normandy), and the Pacific. The Thompson became based out of San Diego, California on October 2, 1947, operating first as a destroyer, and then conducting west coast training operations through the rest of 1948. The Thompson continued to see Pacific activity throughout the Korean War, and was eventually decommissioned on May 18, 1954.

February 20, 1948 muster roll showing Mike’s transfer from the Mervine to Thompson.
Click on the image for a larger view.

Although the Mervine had been stationed out of San Francisco for two years, and the Thompson out of San Diego, both ships must have ended up in the same port sometime during February 1948 when when my grandfather transferred duty between ships. I assume San Diego was the mutual port since it was the official home base of both ships, and since Michael and Elsie’s first child was born in San Diego in 1947 (which would mean Elsie had already moved from the Bay Area to San Diego after they married).

March 15, 1948 muster roll showing Mike’s transfer off the USS Thompson for discharge from the Navy.
Click on the image for a larger view.

Michael’s last appearance on the US Navy muster rolls is dated March 15 1948, when he transferred to the Naval Receiving Station “for processing and separation from the Naval service”. SC3 Michael John Flanagan received an honorable discharge on March 18, 1948, in San Diego, California, at 20 years of age.

Sources

Ancestry.com. U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011.

Department of Defense. (n.d.). USS Thompson, DD-627. Retrieved from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Thompson_(DD-627).jpg

United States of America. (2003, October 16). Certification of Military Service: Michael J. Flanagan.

United States Navy. (n.d.). Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Thompson. Naval History & Heritage Command. Web. Retrieved May 19, 2013, from http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/t5/thompson-ii.htm

USS Thompson (DD-627). (2013, May 10). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=USS_Thompson_(DD-627)&oldid=543687617

Michael John Flanagan And The USS Mervine

USS Mervine (DD-489) off New York Navy Yard, 23 January 1943.
Photo courtesy of the US National Archives.

As Memorial Day approaches, I am honoring a World War II veteran who thankfully made it back home — my grandfather Michael John Flanagan (1927 – 1997). Grandpa claimed to have served on multiple Naval ships while in the war including one that sank. But Grandpa was a huge tall-taler (true to his Irish roots), so his children and grandchildren really never know what to believe.

One ship name that his children remembered Grandpa mentioning is the Mervine. The USS Mervine was a US Navy Destroyer originally launched on May 3, 1942 as DD-489, then reclassified on May 30, 1945 as DMS-31. She saw duty during the Second World War in North Africa, Mediterranean Europe, the North Atlantic, and the Pacific. Decommissioned on May 27, 1949, the Mervine was sold for scrap in 1969.

According to the US Navy Muster Rolls, Michael served on the USS Mervine from October 14, 1945 to February 20, 1948. He joined the crew of the Mervine 16 months into his Naval service (I have not yet identified where he was previously assigned). The Mervine arrived at Buckner Bay, Okinawa, on September 28, 1945, after being reclassified, and shortly after the September 2nd Japanese surrender. On October 16, 1945, Ship’s Cook 2nd Class Michael J. Flanagan and his shipmates sailed out of Buckner Bay.

Muster Roll listing dated October 16, 1945. Click image for a larger view.

October 16, 1945 Muster Roll header. Click image for a larger view.

The Mervine and its crew reported to San Francisco, California on March 31, 1946 (confirmed on the April 1, 1946 muster rolls), where she spent two years engaged in west coast operations.

Just shy of two months after arriving in San Francisco, Michael (now a Ship’s Cook 3rd Class) met his future wife Elsie Charlotte Hayes for the very first time on May 23, 1946, while out with a bunch of his shipmates on Michael’s 19th birthday. Mike and Elsie married less than one month later, on June 22, 1946. The marriage license shows Michael living at the Alameda Naval Station at the time of their wedding, however muster rolls show him still assigned to the Mervine. Michael served with the Mervine during the birth of his first child (muster rolls do show he was granted a leave of absence for her actual birth), and when their second child was conceived.

SC3 Michael J. Flangan transferred off of the USS Mervine on February 20, 1948, right before the Mervine returned to Pacific operations in Japan, China, and Pearl Harbor. I would assume this was so that he could remain closer to his young growing family.

Where he transferred to is the subject of another blog post.

Sources

Ancestry.com. U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011.

File:489mervine 01.jpg. (2005, December 17). Wikimedia Commons. Wiki. Retrieved May 19, 2013, from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:489mervine_01.jpg

United States navy. (n.d.). Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Mervine. Naval History & Heritage Command. Webpage. Retrieved May 19, 2013, from http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/m9/mervine-ii.htm

USS Mervine (DD-489). (2013, May 10). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=USS_Mervine_(DD-489)&oldid=544081252

My Mexican-Born Great-Grandfather Jose “Joe” Robledo And The World War I draft

Jose Robledo (1875 – ca 1936).
This is the only known photo
of my great-grandfather.

I know very little about my great-grandfather Jose “Joe” Robledo. He died before my Dad was even born, and only one of his children is still alive, so that has created some major brickwalls in my research.

Family lore claims that his family was of Spanish descent. And the pale skin, pale hair, and pale eyes in the only photo we have of him lends credence to this story.

I have no birth or death records for him. I don’t even know his death date — I only have an unconfirmed year from family recollections. I do know that he was born in Mexico, and that he lived in San Luis Potosi, but I have no idea if he was born in SLP or just moved there by the time he got married. I know that he did not immigrate to the U.S. with his wife Maria Nieto in 1915, but I don’t know when he came across the border.  I did confirm about 11 years ago, through Census records, that he was already living in Long Beach, California by 1920, and that he was born around 1875 or 1876.

This past week, I discovered his World War I draft card, which finally — through his own account — confirmed at least a few more details about Joe’s life.

World War draft registration card for Jose Robledo, courtesy of FamilySearch.org. Click on the image to view a larger version.

Despite not being a U.S. citizen (I don’t think Joe ever did gain citizenship), Joe, like all men up to the age of 45 was required to register for the draft between 1917 and 1918. Joe’s age group 18 to 45, fell in the third wave registered beginning September 1918.

My great-grandfather Jose Robledo registered for the World War I draft at the age of 43 on September 12, 1918 in Long Beach, California — just under three years since his wife Maria arrived in the U.S. He listed his birth date as either June 26 or June 29 (it’s hard to read), 1875. He lists himself as a citizen of Mexico and a non-declarant alien (I guess this means he did not intend to become a citizen?). Jose was described as being white, of medium height and build, with grey eyes and black hair (that doesn’t match what our photo of him depicts), and with no physical impairments.

On the draft card, Jose lists his place of residence at 123 E. 4th St. (in the rear) in Long Beach, California. He recorded his wife Maria as his nearest relative, living at the same address. Jose also indicates that he was employed as a laborer with the City of Los Angeles, working for the San Pedro Harbor Department.

And, most exciting for me, I get to see my great-grandfather’s signature!

A closer look at my great-grandfather’s signature.

While this discovery provides some good useful details about Joe’s life, it also poses many more questions to be answered. Where in Mexico was he born? When did Jose immigrate to the U.S.? Why is he listed as a non-declarant alien? Didn’t Joe immigrate with the intention of gaining citizenship? Or was Jose hoping to return to Mexico with his family after making some money, or after the political situation in Mexico settled back down?

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