Getting started
How to search for an Abbot crewman
Welcome aboard U.S.S. Abbot!
Whether you are looking for a relative or an old shipmate, this page will help you get started. We have information about virtually every Abbot crewman from 1943 to 1965.
First, a few basics:
- If the crewman was not in the U.S. Navy between 1943-1946 or 1951-1965, look no further. Those were Abbot’s active years.
- Only one other U.S. Navy ship has carried the good name Abbot: The World War I era Wickes-class destroyer Abbot (DD 184) was decommissioned in 1940 and a few months later traded to the Royal Navy as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Destroyers for Bases Agreement; we have a brief history of DD 184.
- Abbot was a destroyer; no marine, aviation or Seabee personnel were stationed on board. No one above the rank of commander was permanently stationed aboard as ship’s crew, although Abbot sometimes served as a division or squadron flagship.
- Abbot’s complete muster rolls are here, but it’s possible that a crewman is not listed, especially if his time aboard was less than a month. We have no list of the many midshipmen and officer candidates who trained aboard Abbot in the 1960s, although some appear in photos in the 1960 cruise book and we have a copy of the orientation manual given to each candidate.
- No personnel records are here. Visit the National Archives web page for information about obtaining official records and awards. We have brief biographies of all the commanding officers.
The official history tells Abbot’s story in a nutshell. If you don’t know anything about Abbot, this is the place to start. The very readable war diary of Vittie Sablinskas is an excellent place to get the feel for Abbot’s World War II experiences.
Our Google-based search engine is good place to look for specific names:
Also try searching the excellent Navy Memorial Log. We have links to other navy-related web sites, including many that specialize in Fletcher-class destroyers.
Many Resources Available
If you want the names of crew members who served simultaneously, see our monthly or quarterly muster rolls. They are indexed several ways to make searching easier and contain enough information to obtain personnel records from the military archives in St. Louis or to find a grave site using the Veterans Affairs cemetery database.
Crewmen who served during one of Abbot’s major cruises might be mentioned or seen in one of the four cruise books. You can print one page or an entire cruise book, or just download the whole file as a keepsake.
We have many photographs, especially from World War II, and not everyone is identified. If you recognize someone, please drop us a note; we are always interested in updating the photo captions.
If you have an old navy uniform and want to know what its insignia mean, we explain military ribbons, officer insignia, enlisted insignia and enlisted ranks.
You can plan a visit to one of the four surviving Fletcher-class destroyers that are kept as floating museums. Three are in the United States and one is in Greece. If you cannot visit one of the ships, the National Park Service offers a video tour of Cassin Young.
Navigating This Site
To discover more about a crewman and his experiences, browse using the pull-down menus at the top of each page, or use the site index. Some of our official documents are quite large, so a fast Internet connection will help. This web site is designed to be easily navigated even by the handicapped or visually impaired.
Popup footnotes marked in green type are linked to major glossary terms; simply pass your pointing device over a photo, map, name, ship’s name or term. Links are in blue.
There are many other resources on this site. Please wander around and send us your comments.