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Re: Seeking WWII SeaBees Records
2 people found this helpfulHi Kevin,
Welcome to History Hub
You can get his military records at.......https://www.fold3.com/title/829/wwii-navy-muster-rolls
It is a pay site but first time users can get a 7 day free trial
Found Seabees in Alaska information.
https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/search.html?q=alaska+seabees&ts=false
Enjoy
Alice Lane
Research Volunteer
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Re: Seeking WWII SeaBees Records
Thank You Alice - I was able to find several records that gave me information such as enlistment date and serial number!
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Re: Seeking WWII SeaBees Records
1 person found this helpfulOut of curiosity, which records did you find? If you can share his name, enlistment date, and service number some folks here might be able to find additional information, but I don't want to duplicate anything you already got from Fold3. Also, whether he was officer or enlisted can make a difference.
Could you also clear up what you meant about him having previously served in World War I? Was that also in the Navy? And did he leave the service between the wars, or was he career Navy and served continuously from ca. WWI to ca. WWII. The reason I ask is that there may be WWI era records that document him, depending on various factors.-
Re: Seeking WWII SeaBees Records
J
His name is Henry Kroencke alternate version would be Jurgen Henry or J Henry. Though on both of the muster rolls that I have found on Fold 3 have him listed as Henry Kroencke. The enlistment date provided in those muster rolls is 31 Oct 1942 and his service # is 7085520. Rank is listed as EM 2C, I also have found a "Cruisebook" from the 86th Naval Construction Battalion that was stationed in Adak , Alaska
During World War 1 he was actually in the Army. Being inducted on 12 Oct 1917. He served with Btry F 306 FA until 14 Apr 1918 and then was with SN Det 305 Inf . Serving overseas from 16 Apr 1918 until 24 Apr 1919 . He was Honorably Discharged on demobilization on 9 May 1919. His serial number was 1, 716,490 . His grade at time of appointment was PVT. This information came from a Form No. 724-1 A.G.O.
Additionally I have found registration cards for both WW1 & WW2 and Army Transport Service records for his departure from the US (date of sailing 16 Apr 1918 on the Cedric) with the Sanitary Department , 305 Infantry, 77th Division, N.A.
Thanks for your help
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Re: Seeking WWII SeaBees Records
1 person found this helpfulBetween what you found on Fold3 and what was suggested in other replies, it looks like you got everything I had in mind as far as primary sources.
You might also find the National Park Service's resource guide to be of interest.
https://www.nps.gov/articles/world-war-ii-in-alaska.htmIn particular, Building the Navy’s Bases in World War II: History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineering Corps, 1940-1946. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1947 has information on Seabee activities in Alaska. Chapter XXIII Bases in Alaska and the Aleutians includes references to and pictures of Adak and the the 86th and Chapter VI The Seabees provides general information about Seabees. Click on the pictures to expand them
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Re: Seeking WWII SeaBees Records
Jason Atkinson
Sep 2, 2020 11:13 AM
2 people found this helpfulDear Mr. Kroencke,
Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!
We suggest that you request a copy of his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). OMPFs and medical records of enlisted men of the U.S. Navy who were separated from the service after 1885 and prior to 1958 are located at NARA's National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), (Military Personnel Records), 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138-1002. To request these records, please mail a completed GSA Standard Form 180 to NPRC. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Archival Records Requests.
If regards to his Army service, his Army OMPF may have been consolidated with the Navy OMPF, or it may have been kept as a separate file. We suggest attaching a memo with details about his Army service, to include the units he served in. If his Army OMPF was not added to his Navy OMPF, it may have been lost in the 1973 fire. In many cases where personnel records were destroyed in the 1973 fire, proof of service can be provided from other records such as morning reports, payrolls, and military orders, and a certificate of military service will be issued.
We searched the National Archives Catalog and located World War II Command Files in the Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (Record Group 38) that includes the file Shore Establishments, Construction Battalions 73-99 which may have records about the 86th Naval Construction Battalion. For more information about these files, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.
We also located 14 series in the Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments (Record Group 181) relating to naval facilities in Adak, Alaska, during the 1940s. 13 of these are in the custody of the National Archives at Seattle (RW-SE) and may be contacted at seattle.archives@nara.gov. Adak Facilities Drawings, 1941 - 1994 are in the custody of National Archives at College Park - Cartographic (RDSC) and may be contacted at carto@nara.gov.
In addition, we located World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories, ca. 1/1/1942 - ca. 6/1/1946 that includes war diaries of the 17th Naval District (COM 17), which covered Alaska and may mention CB activities in Alaska. These records have been digitized and are available online.
Copies of most of the monthly rosters from November 1912 - 1943 for Army units and morning reports for Army units from November 1, 1912 to 1959 are in the custody of the National Archives at St. Louis (RL-SL). For more information about these records, please contact RL-SL via email at stl.archives@nara.gov.
Both the 306th Field Artillery Regiment and the 305th Infantry Regiment were part of the 77th Division during World War I. We searched the National Archives Catalog and located a series titled Records of Divisions, 1917 - 1920 in the Records of the American Expeditionary Forces (World War I) (Record Group 120) that includes the records of the 305th Infantry Regiment, 77th Division in P 1241-77, Boxes 25-29. Files of the 306th Field Artillery may be included in Box 40. We also located Records of the 1st Through 338th and the 559th Infantry Regiment, 1916-1921 and Records of Field Artillery Regiments Numbers 1 through 351, 1912-1930 in Records of U.S. Regular Army Mobile Units (Record Group 391). For more information about these files, please contact RDT2.
Photographs of various U.S. Army and U.S. Navy activities dating from World War I and World War II are in the custody of the National Archives at College Park - Still Picture (RDSS). Please contact RDSS via email at stillpix@nara.gov to request a search for photographs of specific units. Please note that not all units are represented in the photographs in NARA custody.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of NARA staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgement as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RL-SL, RDT2, RW-SE, RDSC and RDSS. Also, the National Personnel Records Center is currently only servicing emergency requests and will soon expand its service to include time-sensitive requests from veterans for records needed to secure VA home loan guarantees and employment opportunities. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.
A brief history of the 86th Naval Construction Battalion is available on the website of the U.S. Navy Seabee Museum. This may be a partial duplicate of the cruise book. The museum may have additional material which has not been posted yet to their website. Another museum that may have collections of interest is the Seabee Museum and Memorial Park.
We also searched the Library of Congress’s Veterans History Project and located materials from Earl William Long and Howard Dalrymple, who both served in the 86th Naval Construction Battalion. This material has been digitized and is available online through LOC’s website.
We also located the following histories relating to his World War I units.
- https://books.google.com/books/about/77th_Division_Summary_of_Operations_in_t.html?id=tdVAAAAAIAAJ
- http://www.longwood.k12.ny.us/community/longwood_journey/modern_history/camp_upton/history_of_the_306th_field_artillery
- https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/regt/0305rgt.htm
- https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/regt/0306rgt.htm
- https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000403483 (A history of the 305th infantry… [WWI])
- https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t07w6w614 (The history of the 306th field artillery… [WWI])
In regards to his service in a sanitary detachment during World War I, the paper titled Medical Support for the American Expeditionary Forces in France during the First World War describes the role of regimental level sanitary and medical personnel on pages 79-82.
We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your family research!
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Re: Seeking WWII SeaBees Records
Mr. Atkinson
WOW!!!! What a treasure trove of information.... It will take me a while to get through all of that but the books in particular are fascinating! I'll be sure to return to read them and learn from them regularly
I've already sent off for my fathers Military Records - I guess Grandpa's are next. Perhaps I'll even search mine at some point - although I've lived those so its not as important.
How do you ever learn to research so thoroughly as this?
Much Appreciation
Kevin T. Kroencke .
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Re: Seeking WWII SeaBees Records
2 people found this helpfulAs a point of interest that may not be directly related - you may want to check the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. There was a SeaBees training camp at Camp Peary, near Williamsburg VA
https://hamptonroadsnavalmuseum.blogspot.com/2017/11/seventy-five-years-ago-americas-cloak.html
