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ť Topic: Roy E. Parmelee..served on PT-109?
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I get occasional questions and comments because of the [b]FIRST-UP: Chronicles of the PT-157[/b] book. I got one yesterday from a historian who is doing a history of a small town, Silver Lakes, in California. The town's first citizens were Betty and Roy E Parmelee.

The historian has been told by Betty that Roy served on PTs and specifically the PT-109. It is also asserted in a mysterious (and suspect?) letter from Kennedy to Parmelee (that cannot be disclosed until 25-years after all involved had passed-on) that Parmelee had done some great favor or service for Kennedy for which Kennedy was eternally grateful. (how one waits 25-years until all involved has passed if you don't see the contents of this letter and know who was involved is a bigger mystery to me)

I found no record of a Roy E. Parmelee. I asked the two remaining crewmen of the PT-157's Bud Liebenow (Skipper) and Welford West (torpedo man) and they don't recall this name.

Anybody got a clue on this Roy E. Parmelee?

Bridge

Posted By: TheBridge | Posted on: Sep 28, 2013 - 2:26pm
Total Posts: 318 | Joined: Nov 22, 2009 - 3:04pm

I found this through Google, the original page was not found but here's Google's cached version: [url]http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:icT1SrooZGQJ:iagenweb.org/wwii/WWII_Surnames/ParmeleeRoyE.html+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us[/url]

The text from the page:

[green]WWII
Woodbury County
IN UNIFORM
Ensign Roy E. Parmelee, 2317 W. Third street, will begin his operational training as a P. T. officer at the Melville torpedo boat squadron training center, Melville, R. I., as one of 52 officers.
Source: The Sioux City Journal, November 7, 1944
[/green]

According to history.navy.mil, Kennedy left the Solomons on 21 December and returned to the U.S. in early January 1944. If he did anything for Kennedy, it most likely would have been stateside. If the page information is correct.

Posted By: Jeff D | Posted on: Sep 28, 2013 - 3:57pm
Total Posts: 2200 | Joined: Dec 21, 2006 - 1:30am

That's a great start. He was in PTs at least!!

Posted By: TheBridge | Posted on: Sep 28, 2013 - 3:59pm
Total Posts: 318 | Joined: Nov 22, 2009 - 3:04pm

Well then should be listed in Knights of the Sea, and also Peter Tare rosters.
Good Luck!
Take care,
TED

Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: Sep 29, 2013 - 8:53am
Total Posts: 3059 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am

I looked for his name in the Knights of the Sea and no such person is listed. The mystery continues! Jerry

Jerry Gilmartin

Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: Sep 29, 2013 - 9:20am
Total Posts: 1473 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm

Bridge . . .

I check Knights of Sea as did Jerry, I also check At Close Quarters, and all the Medal Awards lists. No name " Parmelee "shows up.

Posted By: Dick | Posted on: Sep 29, 2013 - 9:29am
Total Posts: 1417 | Joined: Aug 27, 2006 - 6:36pm

But... but... it MUST be TRUE I read it on the INTERNET!!!

Posted By: Jeff D | Posted on: Sep 29, 2013 - 1:00pm
Total Posts: 2200 | Joined: Dec 21, 2006 - 1:30am

Remember guys that Knights of the Sea was a copulation of stories by veterans who had been a member of or affiliated with the PT Boaters group in some way. I know a few guys who were also members but did not write stories about themselves for the book before it was published.

Posted By: Roy Forbes | Posted on: Sep 29, 2013 - 4:54pm
Total Posts: 371 | Joined: Sep 5, 2012 - 4:57pm

Roy? Did you mean to say compilation instead of copulation? What thoughts must you have going on inside your head!

On a more serious note, The "Knights of the Sea" book also has at the back, an Index of sorts, where any names of known PT Boaters (at the time of publishing) were listed. I recently found one in preparing for a family visit to the PT658 of somebodys father, who was the skipper of a boat in RON28. He did not submit a profile either, but still, there was his name listed in the index!. His name was listed alphabetically in the back index but he appeared nowhere else in the book. So yes you are correct, but there are qualifications to your correctness! Jerry

Jerry Gilmartin

Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: Sep 29, 2013 - 5:10pm
Total Posts: 1473 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm

Yes, Jerry is correct. Only a small portion of those listed in the back of the book wrote Bio's. The list in the back were all the known PT Boat Veterans known to PT Boats Inc. as of 1982. Also it has omissions.

No one is suggesting that Parmelee is not a PT boater.

Does anyone had a Peter Tare Roster, It would be nice to post the list.

Dick . . .

Posted By: Dick | Posted on: Sep 29, 2013 - 8:15pm
Total Posts: 1417 | Joined: Aug 27, 2006 - 6:36pm

Oh man Jerry. I not sure if that's funny or sad but it is surely my bad ! Thank you both for the clarification on the book. I hope this gentleman is found.

Posted By: Roy Forbes | Posted on: Sep 30, 2013 - 8:02am
Total Posts: 371 | Joined: Sep 5, 2012 - 4:57pm

Kind of hard to be on PT-109 if he didn't go in til late 1944.

Charlie

Posted By: 29navy | Posted on: Sep 30, 2013 - 5:50pm
Total Posts: 600 | Joined: Dec 28, 2006 - 3:02pm

There is a Roy E Parmelee (from Iowa), a gunner's mate, who joined in 1938, various ships and arrived in Ron 4 May 1942. Left RON 4 and joined RON 10 in Feb 1943. Which would have overlapped JFK at MTBSTC and RON 4.

H is listed as advancing to Chief Gunners Mate (acting appointment) in Oct 1943.

He arrives in Melville on Aug 1, 1944 as a CGM from RON 10. Then transfers out to Receiving Station Boston on Aug 8, 1944 FFT to MTB RON. [That is weird.]

So not sure what happnes to him after that. (WIll search later)

Has various post-war assignments.

He's still listed in 1948 as a CGM opn the USS Portsmouth.

Don't know if this is our guy or not.

Charlie

Posted By: 29navy | Posted on: Sep 30, 2013 - 6:42pm
Total Posts: 600 | Joined: Dec 28, 2006 - 3:02pm

Impressive research Charlie. I see I missed that he was already an officer in the Navy at the time of the 1944 news story.

Posted By: Jeff D | Posted on: Oct 1, 2013 - 8:21am
Total Posts: 2200 | Joined: Dec 21, 2006 - 1:30am

Charlie, that is interesting and pls continue to dig wherever you are digging. Alyce at PT Boats can find nothing on him except his name.

Posted By: TheBridge | Posted on: Oct 1, 2013 - 8:33am
Total Posts: 318 | Joined: Nov 22, 2009 - 3:04pm

Charlie, that is interesting and pls continue to dig wherever you are digging. Alyce at PT Boats can find nothing on him except his name.

Posted By: TheBridge | Posted on: Oct 1, 2013 - 9:01am
Total Posts: 318 | Joined: Nov 22, 2009 - 3:04pm

He first pops up on a muster report post-war in Oct 1946 on the USS Gyatt as a CGM. He came from the Receiving Staion, Washington, DC. So, what happened to him from Aug 1944 til then is unknown for now. If he got temporarily promoted to Ensign, it may be hard to find and would explain his absence in the muster reports. Regarding the artiicle in his hometown paper, I don't think he would have gone to MTBSTC to train since he was already a PT Boater. And his name doesn't show up in the class rosters I have for that time frame. Maybe as an instructor but I don'thave complete lists to be able to varify that.

WIll continue to search.

Charlie

Posted By: 29navy | Posted on: Oct 1, 2013 - 9:12am
Total Posts: 600 | Joined: Dec 28, 2006 - 3:02pm

Found out Mr Parmelee went from the Boston Receiving Station to the New Orleans Receiving Station on Aug 16. But, unfortunately, the New ORleans R/S muster reports are all messed up and haven't been able to track him down from there yet. Still looking.

Charlie

Posted By: 29navy | Posted on: Oct 4, 2013 - 6:37am
Total Posts: 600 | Joined: Dec 28, 2006 - 3:02pm

OK, plot thickens a bit. I found a Roy Edward Parmelee, Ensign, in the Naval register. Says his commissioning date was July 15, 1944. No special category, just plain old ensign.

So looks like he took a temporary war-time promotion. So, if he went to Melville in Nov 1944, I don't see him in the lists I have for officer students from that time frame so he may have been an instructor or staff. Don't have all staff lists from that time, though.

Charlie

Posted By: 29navy | Posted on: Oct 4, 2013 - 7:05am
Total Posts: 600 | Joined: Dec 28, 2006 - 3:02pm