U.S. World War II Navy Muster Roll

In an attempt to determine when my father reported aboard the USS New York, I turned to Ancestry.com and the U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949 database.

The following information about the database is provided by Ancestry.com,

This database contains U.S. Navy muster rolls and associated reports of changes for U.S. Navy enlisted personnel who served on U.S. Navy ships or in other naval activities between 31 January 1938 and 31 December 1949. Over 33 million records are contained in this database.

Muster rolls were quarterly lists of enlisted naval personnel attached to each ship, station or activity. Information usually available on muster rolls includes:

• Name of enlistee
• Rating (occupation/specialty)
• Service number
• Date reported for particular duty or on board
• Date of enlistment
• Name of ship, station or activity
• Ship number or other numeric designation
• Date of muster roll

It will be necessary to view the image of the muster rolls in order to obtain most of this information. Some of the records for personnel on aircraft carriers also include corresponding images of the ship.

Reports of changes were compiled monthly and are found in between each quarter's muster roll. They were alphabetical listings of enlisted personnel who were subject to significant status changes during the month. Status changes included reporting to or transferring from the activity, promotions or demotions, change in rate, departing for or returning from leave, temporary attached duty, and formal inpatient status for treatment in a medical facility. Personnel deaths that occurred during the month were also recorded on these reports. Information usually available on these records includes:

• Name of enlistee
• Date of the change
• Explanation of the change

The rolls may also list passengers aboard naval vessels, and officers may be found among passengers on troop transports. Women (including officers) of the Army and Navy Nurse Corps may be found on medical ships and as passengers aboard Navy ships and at some Navy shore installations. Wives and children of Navy personnel, as well as civilians, can be found among passengers as well.

Source Information

Ancestry.com. U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011.

Original data: Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, 01/01/1939-01/01/1949; A-1 Entry 135, 10230 rolls, ARC ID: 594996. Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Record Group Number 24. National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.

Upon doing a search on Norman Hanna, 42 records were found.  Of these records, 15 were for a Norman Hanna stationed on the New York BB-34.

View Record	Name	Ship, Station or Activity	Ship Number or Designation	Muster Date	View Images
View Record	Norman L Hanna	New York	BB-34	30 Apr 1943
View Record	Norman L Hanna	New York	BB-34	30 Jun 1943
View Record	Norman L Hanna	New York	BB-34	30 Sep 1943
View Record	Norman L Hanna	New York	BB-34	31 Oct 1943
View Record	Norman L Hanna	New York	BB-34	31 Dec 1943
View Record	Norman Leslie Hanna	New York	BB-34	31 Dec 1943
View Record	Norman Leslie Hanna	New York	BB-34	31 Mar 1944
View Record	Norman Leslie Hanna	New York	BB-34	30 Jun 1944
View Record	Norman Leslie Hanna	New York	BB-34	30 Sep 1944
View Record	Norman Leslie Hanna	New York	BB-34	31 Oct 1944
View Record	Norman Leslie Hanna	New York	BB-34	31 Dec 1944
View Record	Norman Leslie Hanna	New York	BB-34	31 Mar 1945
View Record	Norman Leslie Hanna	New York	BB-34	1 Jul 1945
View Record	Norman Leslie Hanna	New York	BB-34	1 Oct 1945
View Record	Norman Leslie Hanna	New York	BB-34	1 Jan 1946

A review of the above list would indicate that he was on board the USS New York from Apr 1943 to Dec 1945.  This agrees with the information obtained from the house resources.  I will review each of the records and update the timeline.