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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: Length of training at Melville?
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Would anyone know the usual length of time a person would have spent in training at Melville? My uncle enlisted in March of 1942 - when would he have actually started training and then be placed on a boat?

Thanks!

Colleen

Posted By: colleen | Posted on: Jul 12, 2010 - 8:35am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

Well, if he enlisted in March of 1942, he would have gone to boot camp fo x number of weeks, (It varied somewhat) and then possibly to a service school to learn a rating (specialty). Then when assigned to PT boats, he would have been sent to the Receiving station in Boston to wait till his class was ready to start. At Melville, he would have been there for two months (in 1942 - early 1943). Then he would hve been sent to a squadron.

Charlie

Posted By: 29navy | Posted on: Jul 12, 2010 - 10:13am
Total Posts: 600 | Joined: Dec 28, 2006 - 3:02pm

I never went through Melville and it was 8 months from enlistment until I caught up with Ron 19 at Vella La Vella and joined the crew aboard 242. I had 12 weeks boot camp at San Diego then 8 weeks torpedo school at Keyport. WA. 4 weeks aboard a Dutch Freighter from San Francisco to Noumea, New Caledonia. The balance of the time was on troop trains and Receiving Stations at Treasure Island and New Caledonia also a few days at Tulagi.

C. J. Willis

Posted By: CJ Willis | Posted on: Jul 12, 2010 - 11:43am
Total Posts: 464 | Joined: Nov 5, 2006 - 5:02pm

So if the boat (PT 300) my uncle was on when he was killed was completed in Oct. 1943, and he enlisted in March of 1942, would he have spent a year and 7 months in training before going on the 300 boat - or could he have been assigned to another boat before going on the 300?

Any thoughts? Thanks!

Colleen

Posted By: colleen | Posted on: Jul 13, 2010 - 6:40pm
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

While a year and 7 months is a long time, and not totally unheard of, he could have been assigned to another squadron before getting to PT-300. Or he could have been kept at Melville in RON 4 (training Squadron) or as part of the MTBSTC base force before heading out.

Charlie

Posted By: 29navy | Posted on: Jul 15, 2010 - 4:58am
Total Posts: 600 | Joined: Dec 28, 2006 - 3:02pm

Colleen - is it possible there were other training your dad could have gone through? My grandfather trained for over a year in the USA before being assigned to a PT. He first started in aviation - made it almost all the way through before being dropped. Then it was off to QM school...and then eventually Mellvile. He enlisted in October of 1942, but didn't hit Mellvile until January of 1944. It was around three months in Mellvile, then off to North Africa.

It's funny; all of this information (training) is listed on his seperation papers but not on his discharge papers. The discharge papers omit the two aviation "stations" - WTS Westminster (PA) and WTS Athens (GA) which is where he trained between boot camp and QM school. I would think that incomplete training could or should be left off discharge paperwork, but Pop did sucessfully finish the program at WTS Westminster (trained, solo'd and obtained a pilot's license in Piper Cubs.)

Grandson of James J Stanton
RON 15 PT 209 and RON 23 PT 243
Check out: www.pistolpackinmama.net

Posted By: newsnerd99 | Posted on: Jul 15, 2010 - 6:58am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

Hi Charlie - That is what I am wondering - was he assigned to another boat before PT 300? If so, there might be a log available for that boat. I sent for his records, but all I got were copies of his medals. There are no discharge papers as he was killed. I sent in a request for records to ST Louis but they said they didn't have any records on him.

Thanks for your help!

Posted By: colleen | Posted on: Jul 15, 2010 - 7:08pm
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

Many of the records of our WWII Veterans were destroyd in a fire many years ago. I was lucky to have obtained information about my Uncle who was killed in WWII, serving with the 2cond Marine Division. Some of the records are incomplete...................

Posted By: Frank J Andruss Sr | Posted on: Jul 16, 2010 - 4:38am
Total Posts: 3497 | Joined: Oct 9, 2006 - 6:09am