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ť Forum Category: PT Boats of WWII
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ť Forum Name: PT Boats - General
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ť Topic: Reserve PT Boat Crews
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I have been kinda hesitant to ask this question and not offend anybody but here goes, I noticed in all my documents that the officers and boat crews were Naval Reservests instead of Regulars?

Bill Manley

Posted By: Bill Manley | Posted on: May 10, 2010 - 6:03am
Total Posts: 64 | Joined: May 4, 2007 - 6:40am

Yes, a lot of them were, especially the later half of the war. By that time, almost all of the enlisted men were drafted and were USNR. The Naval Academy did send graduates (USN) to MTBSTC. Unfortunately, they didn't necessarily view PT Boats as a career enhancer and tried to stay away. Plus ther were plenty of officers from the Midshipman schools and ROTC programs to fill a lot of the slots.

Charlie

Posted By: 29navy | Posted on: May 10, 2010 - 8:07am
Total Posts: 600 | Joined: Dec 28, 2006 - 3:02pm

When I joined the Navy in December 1942 at age 17. I was given a choice of Regular Navy (USN) for a 6 year hitch or Navy Reserve (USNR) for duration of war plus 6 month. I chose USNR. Of the 13 men and 2 officers on our boat all were USNR except one MM 1/c was USN. He was a career man and later made Chief.

C. J. Willis

Posted By: CJ Willis | Posted on: May 10, 2010 - 12:38pm
Total Posts: 464 | Joined: Nov 5, 2006 - 5:02pm

HI GUYS NO PROBLEM.LYOU WONT KNOW UNLEESS YOU ASK.I ALSO ENLISTED IN 1942 DEC, AT AGE 17.I WAS NOT ASKED IF I WANTED REG OR RES.I WAS JUST PUT IN RESERVE.I WAS NOT ASSIGNED TO ANYTHING AT THE TIME OF BOOT CAMP NOR AT SERVICE SCHOOL./AT SERV,.SCHOOL I WAS ASKED IF I WANTED PT OR SUBS AND RTURNED THEM BBOTH DOWN,.II NEVER WENT TO MELVILLE.WHEWN I ARRIVED AT RECEIVING STATION IN NUMEA,.NEW CALEDONIA I WAS
ASSIGNED TO PT,S.I WAS NOT GIVEN A CHOICE.SO,I WAS ON PT,S AS USNR. EARL

earl richmond

Posted By: EARL RICHMOND | Posted on: May 10, 2010 - 12:58pm
Total Posts: 319 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 1:50pm

enlisted in '43 at age 17. like CJ, i was offered regular for 6 yrs or reserve
for duration. selected the reserve.
to the best of my knowledge all on our boat were reserves.

gus
RM3C

Posted By: area51 | Posted on: May 10, 2010 - 4:36pm
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

Earl

You are not the first one that I heard that never went to Melville, but ended up doing duty on PT BOATS. Must have ben tough to learn your trade on the boat with ON THE JOB TRAINING. I wonder why they would do that. Is it because MELVILLE was not turning the men out fast enough to supply the Squadrons, or something else...........

Posted By: Frank J Andruss Sr | Posted on: May 10, 2010 - 5:55pm
Total Posts: 3497 | Joined: Oct 9, 2006 - 6:09am

Frank: I never took training at Melville. I was assigned to PT's after graduating from torpedo school and was at the Receiving Station at New Caledonia. I joined Ron 19 and 242 crew at Tulagi after they were unloaded off tanker at Espirito Santos. At that time I was the only crew member on 242 that had not gone through Melville. We spent 13 months together. I relieved a guy who had to go on the base force because of sea sickness. I was assigned at GQ to the port twin fifty turret gun. Bill Metcalf, our head gunner, gave me some instruction on firing, cleaning, head adjustment etc. We went out of Lambu Cove - threw some boxes over for target practice and I was a twin fifty gunner. Growing up as a farm kid, I was very familiar with guns. Before I was 10 years old I was hunting rabbits, squirrels, coyotes etc. with a 22 rifle and a 12 gauge shotgun. Machine guns were a little different but like all guns safety and cleaning was always important. DON'T AIM AT ANYTHING YOU DON'T INTEND TO KILL. I did report to Melville after being relieved of duty on 242 and 30day leave home before going back to the Philippines.

C. J. Willis

Posted By: CJ Willis | Posted on: May 10, 2010 - 7:31pm
Total Posts: 464 | Joined: Nov 5, 2006 - 5:02pm

Thanks C.J. I bet you could have hit the eye out of a bird at 100 yards back on the Farm. Thangs again CJ for the information. Hope all is well...........

Posted By: Frank J Andruss Sr | Posted on: May 10, 2010 - 9:24pm
Total Posts: 3497 | Joined: Oct 9, 2006 - 6:09am

My father was also USNR, and was not sent to Melville. He was assisgned to PT's and sent over without any previous training in PT's. He originally signed up for Sub service at Great Lakes, but became ill, and was reassigned after sub school filled up. He was sent to Kana Kopa, and worked in motor shop as MoMM. Funny story he told be from Great Lakes, when he first arrived he was assigned to a W.A.V.E. barracks by mistake. He said he would not have minded, but it was changed right away. You would think with a name like Herman, that would not be a problem!!

Posted By: Scott Swiger | Posted on: May 11, 2010 - 5:54am
Total Posts: 26 | Joined: Jan 10, 2010 - 1:18pm

Even though MTBSTC had a lot of control over the PT men when dealing with BUPERS, sometimes things were just out of everyone's control. Somebody would need a batch of sailors for something and they were "shang-hai'd" to where ever they needed them. (which may and would contain PT trained men) and to backfill, they would fill in with the next batch that came around, which may or may not have PT boaters.

Sometimes while non-PT trained men were waiting to get to their duty station, and PT's put out a call for MoMM, GMs, or TMs, they would grab whoever was rated/trained and send them out to the PT base.

Other's finnagled their way into a Squadron. Bud Anderson was on a ship in Panama when a PT Squadron came through and somehow talked his way off of his ship and into the PT Squadron and did a tour in the Pacific. The only time Bud was at MTBSTC was in 1945 and played trumpet in the band.

So there are a bunch of stories on how and why guys got into PTs and didn't go through MTBSTC.

Charlie

Posted By: 29navy | Posted on: May 11, 2010 - 10:31am
Total Posts: 600 | Joined: Dec 28, 2006 - 3:02pm

My dad was USNR and I thought that USN was career Navy and USNR was the guys who joined up out of patriotism after Pearl Harbor.

In talking to my dad I got the feeling that there was a sort of division between the two. With USN being the more formal type and the USNR's being the young kids enjoying PT's. He had very bad feelings for a certain USN Lt in his squadron but felt nothing but praise for the USNR guys in his squadron. The USN guys must have felt that the USNR guys were just in the war for a lark.

Well together they made a Navy.

natsmith

Posted By: Nathaniel Smith | Posted on: May 12, 2010 - 3:37pm
Total Posts: 211 | Joined: Jan 19, 2008 - 6:55am

Hi Guys,

I believe that there were only three Naval Academy graduates , as Officers, in the twelve boat squadron when it formed up. Stanley Barnes ( Ron CO ), John Mutty ( Ron Exec ) and Dick O'Brien, ( Dick had been an Anti-Aircraft battery Officer on the Yorktown and was the first boat captain of the 205). And I don't think there were any 'Navy types' on any of the the additional six boats that were added to the squadron.

Steve Nugent

Posted By: Nuge210 | Posted on: May 12, 2010 - 5:56pm
Total Posts: 323 | Joined: Jun 4, 2008 - 7:50am