Source Information
Naval Group China Personnel Records, 1942–1945 (Records of Duty Locations for Naval Intelligence Personnel, 1942–1945); NAID: 603333; Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Record Group 38; The National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.
About U.S., Naval Intelligence Personnel Duty Locations and China Muster Rolls, 1942-1945
In 1943 America formed the Sino-American Cooperative Organization (SACO) to undertake intelligence, training, and guerrilla missions with Chinese Nationalist forces. The American servicemen who served, supported, and fought along with the Chinese in SACO were known as Naval Group China. The muster rolls in this database document their service. The vast majority came from the U.S. Navy, though the list includes some from the Marine Corps and Army as well. This is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all the men who served in Naval Group China.
Using the Records
World War II naval stations prepared muster rolls to track personnel and changes to their duty station, rate or rank, or pay. In these records you can expect to find
- name
- rate/rank
- branch of service
- duty location and date reported or arrived
- date of the muster roll
Because muster rolls were taken on a regular basis, your ancestor may appear numerous times in this database. You can use the dates and any changes in location to track his movements in the field from places as far flung as Calcutta, to Chunking. You may also notice that, while some of the men arrived at a location in 1942, the muster rolls themselves do not start until 1943.
