WWII veterans/family members/connections (who travelled to Europe from NY during WWII on QE 1942-1945)
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Question

I am a Research Producer who is helping a London-based director track down any family members of WWII veterans here in the U.S. who may own portraits/bomber jackets painted by his father, Tony Strong. To narrow it down a little bit, we are looking at US air crews who traveled to Europe on the RMS Queen Elizabeth in WWII from 1942-1945, where his father was on board, working on the jackets/portraits. There were hundreds of portraits that Tony painted--and for example, the American boxer Joe Louis, commissioned more than one when was on board QE heading to Europe for a morale boosting program. 
 Any guidance/contacts in the right direction would be so greatly appreciated as we are trying to find these direct connections (especially of any living WWII veterans) to be part of this documentary film. 
 Here is a recent obit of Tony Strong: amp.theguardian.com/.../tony-strong-obituary 
 Many thanks and look forward to connecting more.

History Hub Info · Answer

Hello Tracylof, 
 Thank you for posting your question on History Hub! 
 The passenger lists for this period were destroyed or not retained for security reasons. However, the Morning Reports, ca. 1912&ndash;1946 are going on the catalog and are searchable by term. When searching within this series, use the term &ldquo;Queen Elizabeth&rdquo; to gather reports that denote that a unit was embarking, traveling, or debarking. When you find the report that denotes this, go back to see mention of soldiers being added to the unit. 
 For example, this found image with the term &ldquo;Queen Elizabeth&rdquo; denotes when the unit boarded and where they went. If you go back to the title page of this batch of reports, July 1943, you can see the name of the unit, Headquarters of the 352nd Fighter Group, Air Corps . By 1944, the organization will be listed on each page which will make things a bit easier. Such as with the Advanced Detachment of the 771st Field Artillery Battalion . While Muster Rolls and Rosters, November 1, 1912&ndash;December 31, 1943 are now available on the catalog, the index is on Fold3 . 
 The process will be to find the units aboard the Queen Elizabeth, then look for the Rosters of those units by finding the index card by their unit and finding the large roll number printed on it. Go back to Muster Rolls and Rosters, November 1, 1912&ndash;December 31, 1943 and search for that roll number to find the unit&rsquo;s soldiers. 
 Alternatively, you may search for groups pertaining to these units, usually in the form of reunion groups. You may also find mention of Mr. Strong in the Unit Histories, 1943 - 1967 in the Records of U.S. Army Operational, Tactical, and Support Organizations (World War II and Thereafter) (Record Group 338) that includes the file unit titled [name of unit with hyperlink] during the [1940s or 1950s]. For more information about these non-digitized records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RR2R) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov . 
 
 We hope this information has been helpful!

WWII veterans/family members/connections (who travelled to Europe from NY during WWII on QE 1942-1945) Inbox