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ussindianapolis.org message board -> General Comments -> additional info regards search for my reative
Post Info TOPIC: additional info regards search for my reative
john kennedy


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additional info regards search for my reative
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as i am a bit of a technophobe i was pleasantly surprized that my short msg appeared on the forum as a result im hoping this further info may be of interest..how we know here in england that we had a relative who died on the indianapolis's final mission is thanks to a three way correspondence during the war between my late grandmother lilian turbefield,her aunt louise drummond in australia and my nans cousin and louise's niece gertrude gehike in the united states who lived in whiting indiana.sadly all branches of the family lost touch and iknow my nan would like it if icould trace them.Gertrude apparently misplaced my nans address but in 1948 a letter arrived which filled us in on family events.our american family had relatives killed at pearl harbour and tarawa but i have no details of them however the letter and all family archives were given to me by my nan and it contains details of our cousin ralph weidner who was in the 8thUSAAF in england and survived his tour visited my nan in east london and returned to the states.it then mention the children of gertrudes two sisters of whom  we only have their maiden names..henrietta wheelers son LYLE was aUS marine who was killedin a japanese bombardment on 1st october 1943 at vella levella in the solomon islands..it would be nice to find his surname,but now we come to mary wheeler..her sn ALLEN was a radio man 2nd class he was 24 when he died on the indianapolis he had been in 10 major actions and on his last leave prior to his final voyage he told his family that he'd had apremonition that he wouldnt be coming back and sadly along with many other brave men he didnt.i have seen only two crew members with the first name ALLEN on the crew list who died..ALLEN MURPHY S2 and ALLEN STREICH RM2 i would love it if someone could clear up if one of them is my relative im not sure if RM2 is radioman as the royal navy ranks often differ.sadly not only did mary lose her son but in 1947 on 15th june her husband whose first name was either LEO or LES was drowned accidentally in a river near their home but again sadly like their surname we have no address for them.if anyone could help me with info about our cousin i would be grateful or if any of the wheeler offspring the gehikes or other relatives could get intouch it would be great.we are proud of our link to the indianapolis and we honour the memory of ALLEN and his shipmates.though we do not yet know his surname but his family in england have never forgotten him or his sacrifice.i hope if nothing else this has been of interest.i also hope given my poor computor skills that i can post this msg.j.kennedy.



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brooklyn


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As a starting point, I would try googling the family names you have in Indiana, you may be able to find them phone book style. You should also google both of the Allens you have, you may find information that eliminates one of them, like say a birth date that makes him to old to have been the "right" Allen.

Once you figure out  who the right one is, you can also send a request to the U.S. Navy for his service records. As you are not an immediate family member, there are alot of things you won't get, but you should be able to get something and, in cases like this, something is everything. Good luck.



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john kennedy


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brooklyn thank you so much for your kindness and suggestions all this technology is new to me and i shall try to search the avenues you have suggested we are so proud of our link to the indianapolis and of our lost family and truly appreciate your help.ive only recently got a computor and hope this helps reestablish the family links while honouring the memory of Allen and his shipmates.best wishes from this side of the atlantic.thanks again.

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john kennedy


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attempted to try to trace allen and those family whose details i have but sadly access to census records and such dont appear to be accessable from outside of the US.i may have to try pen and paper possibly appealing to a local whiting indiana newspaper.i'll keep trying.

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SurvivorsDaughter


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As the Chairman of the Second Watch Organization (descendants of the final sailing crew), I do have contact with the family of LAS Allen Murphy. He was a Seaman 2nd Class at the time of the sinking and was from Belvedere, Illinois and his mothers first name was Ethel.

The other sailor Lost At Sea sailor with that first name was Allen Streich, but I do not have any contact with his family as of yet. His hometown was Mishawaka, Indiana and his fathers first name was Leo. His rank was RM2, so he would have been a radioman.

So sounds like Allen Streich may be the sailor you are looking for. A great way to start would be to research the names on Ancesty.com Amazingly, they have a lot of military information on there. Then you could always contact (or even better - visit) the Military Archives in St Louis, MO and they will let you see the records and copy them. Requesting them by mail would be difficult as you're not next of kin.

Hope this little glimmer of info helps! Feel free to email me at BullardMBullard@aol.com and we can chat more about the Second Watch Organization and how you can become part of it and the Memorial Flag Program that we are doing to honor the Lost At Sea sailors.

Sincerely,
Maria Eck Bullard
Daughter of USS Indianapolis Survivor Harold Eck
Chairman, USS Indianapolis Second Watch Organization



-- Edited by SurvivorsDaughter on Tuesday 5th of April 2016 11:42:56 AM

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john kennedy


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maria i cannot thank you enough for your kind msg which has brightened my families day.i couldnt see in the letter if allens fathers name was leo or les but thanks to you we now know its Leo and along with confirmation that RM2 is Radioman 2nd Class we know that Allen Streich is our lost relative and we cannot thank you enough.my mother sends her thanks and i know my grandmother is smiling down.we have always been so proud of our link to the indianapolis and always honoured allen and his shipmates memorys but to dnow be able to put a surname to him is a miracle.i wrote last week to th military attache at the US Embassy to see if he could help but thanks to you we now have had our prayers answered.thank you again maria and i shall email you shortly.we cannot thank you enough.best wishes john kennedy

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Jacob Webb-White


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Hi - I see this was from last year. I just found this is a google search. S2 Allen Murphy was my great uncle. His sister, Donna Murphy is my grandmother and is still alive. my email address is jacob.webbwhite@gmail.com.



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