Unexpected Cousins

Adventures in Genealogy

Setting the Stage

About a year ago, I became aware of America's World War II experiment in Q-ship operations. In the days immediately after Pearl Harbor, the US Navy was forced to deal with the problem of German U-boats operating off the East Coast. The German sailors referred to it as the second Happy Time. This was in reference to the lack of effective anti-submarine work.

In an effort to curb the submarines, the Navy purchased two old coastal freighters. The ships Evelyn and Carolyn were purchased in 1941 from the A. H. Bull shipping line. Over the course of 1941, they were converted into AK-type cargo ships at the Portsmouth Navy Shipyard.

The true purpose of the conversion was to create a ship that, on first glance, looked like any other cargo ship running up and down the US coast. Hidden behind collapsing panels and movable screens were guns and depth charge gear to hunt submarines.

First Mission

On March 5, USS ATIK was commissioned with Hull Number AK-101. Following a short period of working up, she sailed from Portsmouth on March 23rd, 1942, in search of U-boats. On the night of 27 March, she encountered U-123 (Reinhard Hardegen).

[Section incomplete]


Finding Cousins

As I had never heard of USS ATIK (AK101), you should not be surprised to discover that I had unknown relatives in her crew.

  1. Gilbert Betts Applegate, OR
  2. Kenneth Ulver Arledge, Spartanburg, SC
  3. Hollis F Bagley, Forsyth County, GA
  4. Jack Farrill Bar, Okema, OK
  5. Carl Homer Blum, Fort Union, IN
  6. Leroy Melvin Bowen, Butler County, IA
  7. Frank R. Cahalan, Boise, ID
  8. Donald Caudle, IL
  9. Henry Darrah, Bend, OR
  10. Ralph Morgan Deatrick, Gettysburg, PA
  11. Harold Vernon Dibble, Ontario, OR
  12. Leonard Vincent Duffy, Oak Park, IL
  13. Peter Albert Gayde, MI
  14. Vernon Wayne Guest, Red River, TX
  15. Byron Eugene Holcolmb, CO
  16. Carl Edward Hoyle, Catawba, NC
  17. Benjamin Elmer Jared, Corydon, IA
  18. Elbert McKinley Johnson, Johnson, KY
  19. Thomas Bryant Kilsby
  20. Terrence Henry Langeliers
  21. Edwin Maddison Leonard, Reidville, SC
  22. Chester Ansel Maple, Bridger, MT
  23. Roy Lee Pitman, Hempstead, AK
  24. Len Grundy Rickard, McLean, KY
  25. William Lansing Snow, Mountan Top, AK
  26. Guy Dean Stinchcomb, MI
  27. Bernard William Stumpf, Cleveland, OH
  28. Carrol Fletcher Young, Kanawha, WV


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