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Topic: Tulagi Island Base force |
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Nathan W
New Member
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Posted on: Nov 5, 2025 - 10:31am
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Good afternoon,
I am a new member and I am looking for some supporting information or pictures on base force activities, particularly carpenters stationed in the Solomon’s.
I was lucky enough to find Frank Andruss and was able to help me out and give me some information, including getting into his FB group where I found some good stuff!
Back story of why I am interested.
I joined the Navy because of my grandfather and I recently (kinda recent - 2019) got out of the Navy and was looking at pictures and documents about my grandfather who passed away in 2014. And of course as one does, I started to get more interested in his Navy career now than I was when he was here. One of life’s many regrets!
Anyways I am not particularly looking for anything personal about my grandfather, I am more looking for information and pictures about what he would have been doing while stationed at Tulagi or what daily life was like during the war or even at Melville.
Of course if anyone has anything with his name or anything like that it would of course be really cool. I was able to find some muster reports etc. on Fold3, but that’s about it, I’ll post some of his information below.
From what I can tell, my grandfather, James Doyle Wilson, was a carpenter assigned to the PT Boat Squadron 5 stationed at Tulagi Island in the Solomons during WWII and ended his career as a Chief Carpenter’s Mate assigned to Melville Island, Rhode Island, as an instructor to teach hull repair.
Anything would be helpful and very much appreciated as multiple of this grandkids joined the military because of him and I am sure they would love anything I can share with them.
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Total Posts: 2 | Joined:
Nov 5, 2025 - 9:38am | IP
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Jerry Gilmartin |
TOP BOSS
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 Posted on: Nov 10, 2025 - 1:30pm
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Hello Nathan,
I looked up his name in Knights of the Sea, and could not find any listing for a James D Wilson. I did find a James E Wilson, who was a Torpedoman from Kentucky. At the back of the biography section is just an Alphabetical listing of all known PT Boaters and there are several Wilsons, listed as follows in order: AG Wilson, Albert L Wilson, Alex L W, Dave L W, Elwood S. W, Eugene G W, G Dana W, Harold D W, James E Wilson, James J Wilson, John T W, Julian M. W, Kenneth E W, Max L W, P. Lee W Jr, Parker W, Paul S W, Raymond W, Robert G W, Robert L W, Robert Lee W, S Lewis W, Walter W, and Wesley Wilson. Perhaps he went by one of these alternates besides James D Wilson? This list is by no means a complete list so don't be disheartened. Perhaps Charlie Jones might be able to track him down better than I can, since he has access to higher quality and more records than I do. Good luck in your search!
Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 restoration crew,
Retired MMC(SW) USN
Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR |
Total Posts: 1518 | Joined:
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Jerry Gilmartin
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Nov 12, 2025 - 3:16pm
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Addendum just found a Raymond D Wilson GM on PT298 RON16
Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR |
Total Posts: 1518 | Joined:
Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm | IP
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Jerry Gilmartin |
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Feb 18, 2026 - 12:13am
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Hello Nathan! (I am assuming Wilson)
My buddy Joe Reese went to the national Archives and found these Muster Rolls of RON5. I searched through them and found your Dad listed in several spots. He enlisted on 3-3-1942 from Receiving Station (R/S) New York. I imagine Boot Camp then Carpenters School followed that. Next he reported to RON 5 before they left the States, in New York, on June 23, 1942 as a Carpenters Mate 3/c. (E-4) Then he went with the RON to the Pacific and was on Tulagi. I see he was advanced in rate from a CM3/c to a CM2/c on Nov 1st 1942. Then in the following June 1st 1943 he was promoted to CM1/c. So he went from Enlisting on 3-3-42 to a 1st Class Carpenters Mate in 15 months! Wow! Next he was transferred back to Melville RI MTB Training School on Feb 15, 1944 as an Instructor and was promoted to CPO there, most likely, (but that is not in RON5 records.). One interesting thing I noticed while perusing through the hundreds of pages of Muster Rolls, was that your Dad most certainly knew many of the crew of PT109, I see their names on the reports and have included them here. Names of PT109 crewmen such as Torpedoman Claude Dollar, Motormac Gerard Zinser, Radioman Ed Guenther, Motor mac Clayton Craig, Seaman Marney (possibly?), and Quartermaster Guy Manning. All of them were part of RON5 while your Dad was there. Also they mostly all transferred to RON2 (along with PT109) on October 6 1942. Anyway I hope this is helpful. I would imagine your Dad was in the thick of performing hull repairs to all of those battle damaged PT Boats as they fought the Tokyo Express back on Tulagi at the Sesape PT Boat Base. Frank Andruss was personal buddies with Gerard Zinser, and you can listen to his radio interview podcast that he did several years ago. It is pretty cool to listen to Zinser recount those days. Jerry PT658
Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR |
Total Posts: 1518 | Joined:
Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm | IP
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