I am looking for navy records of my uncle, William Patrick Callahan, 245 91 08. He died on 7 April 1944 while on "Atlantic Duty". I am particularly interested in what ship(s) he served on and the details of his death.

Question

I have a copy of the veterans compensation form through Pennsylvania and his listing on the WWII Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard Casualty List. These don't offer any detail on his service.

I · Accepted Answer

William Patrick Callahan, 245 91 08, enlisted 5 August 1943 and was killed in the line of duty on 7 April 1944 while a part of the crew of the USS Moffett. At the time of his death, he was a Signalman (SM) 3rd Class. He has been serving onboard the Moffett since 24 February 1944. His previous assignment was the NTS (Naval Training School) at "U of C, Chicago, Illinois". Given that information, this appears to be his first and only ship after his initial training.

Source Information 
 
 Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011. 
 Original data: Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, 01/01/1939-01/01/1949 . A-1 Entry 135, 10230 rolls, NAID: 594996 . Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Record Group 24. National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. 
 
 See Moffet (DD-362), 1/4/39-11/2/45 for free access to the entire muster rolls. The USS MOFFETT - War Diary, 4/1-30/44 describes the circumstances of his death. For information about about requesting his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF), see https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/military-personnel/ompf-archival-requests For information about requesting his Individual Deceased Personnel Files (IDPF), see https://www.archives.gov/st-louis/frequently-requested . IDPF requests can be emailed to stl.archives@nara.gov.

Textual Reference Branch, Archives II · Answer

jmarlin 
 Thank you for posting your question on History Hub! 
 
 Although you asked for Navy records, we are uncertain if your uncle is in the Navy or the Merchant Marine with terminology like "Atlantic Duty." In either case, the service records of both World War II naval sailors and merchant mariners will be able to help you get a list of names of ships that he served on, and they are located at the National Archives in St. Louis, MO - Archival Programs. 
 
 The Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs) of Enlisted Personnel of the U.S. Navy and Merchant Marine who were separated from the service after 1885 and prior to February 1, 1994 and Officers of the U.S. Navy who were separated from service after 1902 and prior to February 1, 1994 are located at NARA's National Archives in St. Louis, MO-Archival Program, 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138-1002. You may apply online at http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/ . Or you can download Standard Form 180 (SF-180) and send in your request via postal mail. 
 
 To download an SF-180 please visit our website at the following: https://www.archives.gov/files/research/order/standard-form-180.pdf 
 
 For a complete copy of a personnel file, in Section II, on the line for "Other" (Specify), write "Complete copy of every page of personnel file - not an extract." 
 
 For information regarding access to medical records of US Naval Personnel, please visit http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/public/general-public-clinical.html . 
 
 Once you have the names of ships and dates of service aboard them, then please resubmit your request to archives2reference@nara.gov for a review of any operational records and other records relating those ships. 
 
 We invite you to continue the conversation with community members on History Hub, but should you have follow up questions for the staff at Archives II, please email us at archives2reference@nara.gov so that we can assist you further. 
 
 We hope this assists you with your research! 
 
 Sincerely, 
 
 Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR) 
 [23-46531] - NSP