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a.
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Note: N58 A brown felt souvenir flag, "Happy Greetings, Australia 1943"
A blue felt souvenir flag, "Merchant Navy" with the crest
HARVEY B. - (file name)
Ideas for Grave Marker:
HARVEY B. WRIGLEY
UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE
Pacific War Zone Bar
Atlantic War Zone Bar
Mediterranean-Middle East War Zone Bar
The Merchant Marine Combat Bar
Honorable Service (button)
Victory Medal
Served 1941 - 1944, World War II
WRIGLEY
UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE
WORLD WAR II
HARVEY B. WRIGLEY
UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE
The Pacific, Atlantic, Mediterranean
Middle East War Zone Bars and
The Merchant Marine Combat Bar
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Memorial Card of Harvey B. Wrigley (1915-1996)
(July 18, 1915 - December 24, 1996, date of burial: Dec. 28, 1996)
Presidential Testimonial Letter from President Harry Truman (ORIGINAL) (Pres., U.S., 1945-1953)
Honorable Discharge (ORIGINAL) (also Carl Punch Roger's, explained below)
(from the U.S. Coast Guard?)
Certificate of Release of Discharge From Active Duty (3 "ORIGINALS" ), from U.S. Department of Transportation, United States Coast Guard (see front of notebook; also note attachment)
Western Union Telegram dated Nov. 23, 1942: Have Merchant Marine send formal request Board will release you. W. V. Dolezal Govt Field Agent. The address above at Portland was crossed out. It appears to be addressed to Basin, Wyo. (ORIGINAL) (That name Dolezal if very familiar to me as a local name. I see one listing in Cody in the 1995-96 Big Horn Basin phone book. Bob would have known this name.)
Seaman's Certificate of Identification, Jan. 12, 1943. (see chrono for #s) (ORIGINAL) I wrote on an ap for flat his date of enlistment was Jan. 14, 1943. See other papers)
Chronological Recap from Harvey's papers (compiled earlier; not re-reviewed):
First trip documented was eight weeks (Jan. 14 to March 14, 1943). Coastal voyage on steamship Daniel S. Lamont from Portland to Seattle.
The second voyage was about three months (March 23 to June 14, 1943). Harvey shipped out from Portland, Oregon on March 23, 1943 on the steamship S. S. Lucretia Mott which was docked in New York on June 9, 1943 when he was issued a crew pass and which shipped out (if date of discharge means that) on June 14, 1943 for a foreign voyage. Is this the Atlantic voyage?
The next voyage was seven months (August 7, 1943 to February 21, 1944), on the James K. Kelly from Seattle (is awarded Combat Bar, also Pacific War Zone Bar apparently at this time and souvenir photo at Panama Canal is dated Feb. 5, 1944). (Is this the Pacific voyage?)
Date of Discharge, Feb. 21, 1944. Shipped from Seattle on August 7, 1943 and discharged on February 20, 1944 at San Pedro, CA.
Qualified Member of the Engine Department from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, dated April 6, 1943, San Francisco, Cal.
Notice of Classification, Order No. 256, Class II-B, signed on October 9, 1943, by Green R. Simpson, a member of the Local Board of Big Horn County, 147 East Main, Lovell, Wyoming (ORIGINAL), mailed to Harvey B. Wrigley, 9430 N. Ivanhoe, Portland, Oregon.
U.S. Coast Guard letter of June 11, 1997, with General Douglas MacArthur's statement about the American Merchant Marine.
Photograph - Souvenir, V . . . ____ FOR VICTORY, El Rancho Gardens, Feb. 5, 1944, Panama R. de P. (ORIGINAL)
As Told By Harvey Wrigley to Peggy Wrigley Reid (will have to be edited, this was a conversation over the telephone and I could not get it all fast enough)
Merchant Marine Papers Belonging to Harvey B. Wrigley
Chronological Recap of Merchant Marine Papers
Carl P. Rogers' Children's Book "little Tommie blue Eyes' book about turtles, and hop toads, and puppies and kittens and fishes and playmates and things" inscribed "To My Best Shipmate Bar None" (ORIGINAL)
MAPS
Map showing location of Merchant Marine Academy, Steamboat Point, Kings Point, NY 10024. Telephone: 516-773-5000.
(Find more maps per his story - this will require WWII research to fill in unknown places but the major cities and countries could be shown - i.e., Adack & Kiska, Alaska; Melanie Bay, Australia, the Great Barrier Reef to New Zealand; in Townsfield, Australia; also Brisbane, Melbourne, Sidney, Australia; Cairo, Egypt, Bethlehem; Ceylon, India; Tohapea and Anapacsa, Chile.
APPENDIX
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Alumni Association, Inc.
NOTE:
There must not be many Merchant Marine veterans in the Big Horn Basin. My request for a flag for Dad's casket could not be fulfilled because we could not find the papers on the spot and the funeral home was not all that familiar. My mother thinks he was the only merchant marine from the area, the only one she knew of.
If a person served in the military, they are entitled to interment in a national cemetery, to a headstone or marker, or partial reimbursement for burial expenses and a burial flag.
Veterans Administration: 1-800-827-1000
November 29, 2003
Re: Harvey B. Wrigley
It was a puzzle to me, after my father's death, why merchant seamen serving on a ship, under the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, U.S. Department of Commerce delivering supplies to U.S. troops in war time and war zones did not, as far as I know, receive official recognition. I started my investigation several years back but this winter the results are haunting me. My mother, from whom he was divorced in the early 1960s, had recently passed away and I was determined that when her marker was made for a nearby cemetery, that my father's - stepfather, actually - should be updated at the same time.
My dad's grave marker shows nothing of his military experience as a Merchant Marine, a situation I intend to remedy during this winter of 2003-2004. My reason is twofold: The local veterans association places markers on each veteran's grave every year and I want him to have the honor that was rightfully his. There is actually a third reason. He was my stepfather by adoption and he generously willed a good portion of his estate to me. I feel it is my duty to complete what he might have done but for some reason did not.
There is a reason his marker did not display his military experiences. During World War II, Merchant Marines were not regarded as part of the official United States military forces. It was not until 1988 that President Harry Truman wrote a declaration:
To you who answered the call of your country and served in its Merchant Marine to bring about the total defeat of the enemy, I extend a heartfelt thanks of the Nation. You undertook a most severe task - one which called for courage and fortitude. Because you demonstrated the resourcefulness and calm judgment necessary to carry out that task, we now look to you for leadership and example in further serving our country in peace.
In a letter from the United States Coast Guard sent to me in 1997, General Douglas MacArthur is quoted, "I hold no branch in higher esteem than the Merchant Marine Service." It would be most interesting to know why it took so long before the invaluable service of the Merchant Marines was not recognized by our government until 1988.
My brother Bob told me in the 1990s: I can remember when that 1988 bill passed. I told Dad. He said, "Well, it's too damn late for me now!" My dad never knew these things. Had we known, we could have had a military flag to cover his casket.
On September 10, 1942, Harvey's left hand was caught in the gears of a combine. He said neither the Army nor the Navy would accept him because of this. Determined, he applied to the Merchant Marines. Harvey B. Wrigley was long gone when the Notice of Classification came in 1943 listing him II-B.
His billfold contained his I.D. Issued by Captain of the Port, Portland, Oregon, to Hrwey (an "a" was typed over the r, and then "w" instead of "v") B. Wrigley. Occupation: Seaman. Sponsor. W. M. C. Davis (this might be interpreted as Wm. C. Davis), signed by him. Fingerprint of right index finger and his signature. He had a bit of a flair for penmanship then - pretty fancy. Issued November 24, 1942. He said you never went anywhere without your I.D.
Dad had always said he had a box of ribbons and didn't know what happened to them.
He was at sea for three voyages, a total of twelve months (ck). He seemed proud of his ocean-going experiences and what he did as Fireman/Watertender and before that as a Wiper. It would be interesting to know the duties of these classifications but even if they were not a position of high regard, what could be more important than keeping the ship moving. Personally, I hold the position that whatever you do, do the best job you can. There is much value in that.
My brother also told me: An old friend came here several years ago, after Thelma (Dad's second wife), passed away (in 1990), and left his discharge papers for the Merchant Marines with Dad. Name is Rogers. Still in that file. Then there is the children's book that he gave Dad that he wrote and published. Dad never understood why he left his discharge papers with him. Bob said Rogers died a couple years ago.
The U.S. flag that we fly at our home we received from the Post Office, with confirming material from the funeral home. (I requested the paperwork for Bob also. He didn't go get his. We each could have had one.)
My Dad was an artist but he never had a lesson. There was a dark, dreary scene of a rolling sea with rock outcroppings that hung over the dining room buffet, or sideboard as he called it, from the time I remember until he died on December 24, 1996. I never understood what was going on inside of him that would make him paint such a dreary scene. Now there is more than a clue. He was also drawn, later in life, to do a paint-by-number sailing ship, no longer in the family. I never knew he was in World War II. What is the moral of this story? Ask your parents about their experiences.
He joined the ________ Union and was a proud member.
Very late in his life, my dad commented to someone, you better be careful what you say, she writes everything down.
* * *
Here's a recap of places he mentioned. He was too far removed from this by the time I asked him and said he'd have to go through his papers. Here's what I wanted him to verify:
ALASKA
________----____ Lake
Dutch Harbor
Kodiak
Adack
AUSTRALIA
Melanie Bay
Great Barrier Reef
New Zealand - bombed in New Z? Citations for duty here?
Townsfield
Brisbane
Melbourne
Sidney
EGYPT
Cairo
BETHLEHEM
INDIA
Ceylon
CHILE, SOUTH AMERICA
Tohapea
Anapacsa, about 50 miles away (visited here on off-duty time)
* * *
Possibilities to add:
His high school graduation class photo (I am not positive which one is Harvey). My guess is Harvey is second from left, second row. He was in touch at Christmas time with Willard Walrach, who might identify him and others. So might Vernon Vonburg.
Note: Two official death certificates are in this file.
* * *
Consider buying/finding/doing/answering:
Order books! (Do I have a list? I believe one or more were recommended from the Merchant Marines.)
Call Merchant Marine Academy, 516-773-5000, 8-4:30, M-F, talked to Margaret on 2-6-97. Or call Barbara White at U.S. Coast Guard, 703-235-0003 re the process. And call Perry Jacobs (absolutely splendid on that time period) - same # as above apparently. Call Peter Racket. He knows so much. I may have talked to him.
Folio or Book: The Men and The Ships of the Warriors, hand drawings. $15.
Book. Will deliver. $20. (the early history of the MM?)
Find photographs of ships: Daniel S. Lamont, Lucretia Mott, James K. Kelly. (And who the heck were these people???)
Log books. Get them!
Do I have a fact sheet?
Did two ships sink? I made no written note of what my dad said about this. Bob said two ships "went out from under him."
From a phone call:
Is this accurate? The Alum Asso. sponsors a homecoming every five years. Football game last weekend in October, following exam week.
WONDERFUL LIBRARIES. Very large maritime collection. Log book ?? Get there via Bridgeport, CT; Oyster Bay or Port Jefferson. 20 min. drive from Oyster Bay.
There is no book out that has history of the MM's. 7000 liberty ships built alone for WWII. There are books in academy library written by American Bureau of Shipping that have brief history of the ship and what their voyages were. Nothing in detail. By year. Only thing I am aware of here. The actual log books of ship are in National archives in D.C. Believe they moved those from archives to Naval Yard. Lot of information. For a 1943 or 1944 book, go to head librarian, history of that ship. They have their own [archive?]. You can get things excerpted for $25.
More on phone note: The American Bureau of Shipping, a private non-profit society, summarizes. Might be what I am looking for. Done on an early basis. Where ship was during that year. Any major large lib. American flagships. Write to Head Librarian, Dr. George Billy (ck name), U.S. MMA, Queens.
MM Museum: 516-773-5115
GET VIDEO ON LIBERTY SHIPS.
Duties of Wiper and Fireman/Watertender - and importance of
What does S.S. stand for?
What seas was he in? In addition to the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, what about the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. And the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. What are the names?
Is it worthwhile getting the ship manifests? How many were on "his" ships?
How many merchant marines were there in WWII?
Did the ships come in Long Island Sound and dock there? Where is the place in NY mentioned?
Can we get an address or any info on friend Carl Roger? - ask Peter Racket or Perry Jacobs.
Is there a museum? Can we get a postcard? Pamphlets?
What is this about? Sept. 1943, Kennedy, Patrol Planes. A lot of Japanese supply activities in the area.
ORDER MEDALS
Order medals for all the places he was? Over $100. Catalog in notebook. Send to this vendor: The Quartermaster Uniform Co., Box 829, 750 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90801-0829 1-800-444-8643; 7am-7pm
RE: HARVEY B. WRIGLEY, Z-314310.
Atlantic War Zone Bar - B-16-496, $24.50
Mediterranean Middle East War Zone Bar, B-16-498, $24.50;
Pacific War Zone Bar,
Merchant Marine Combat Bar
Has ribbon slide ($1) or ribbon bar. No sales tax. 2-3 weeks. money order.
There are metal sets that come with large . . . . $24.50 includes ribbon and ? comes with a box. Notes are too cold to decipher. See Fact Sheet.
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PAC Reference, 916-451-0934, Lady called looking for family with Harvey Wrigley, and Frank as gf or father. Several Franks.
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