| Notes |
- s/o William WATKINS (1857–1935) & Elizabeth BROWN (1861—1935)
According to Naturalization records, he was White, dark complexion, 5ft 8 inches, 145 lbs, black hair, brown eyes, no distinctive marks.
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USS Matagorda (AVP-22/AG-122) was a United States Navy Barnegat-class seaplane tender in commission from 1941 to 1946 that saw service in World War II.
Following a supply and escort run to Puerto Rico and Trinidad, Matagorda departed Port of Spain, Trinidad, on 23 November 1942 and on 4 December 1942 arrived at Boston for alterations and overhaul.
Voyage to Newfoundland
On 5 January 1943, Matagorda departed Boston to carry troops and supplies to Naval Station Argentia, Newfoundland, returning to Boston on 14 January 1943.
Return to the Caribbean
After loading aviation supplies at Norfolk, Virginia, Matagorda arrived at San Juan, Puerto Rico, on 11 February 1943. She operated primarily out of Puerto Rico until early August 1943, escorting merchant ships and transporting ordnance and aviation supplies to bases in the Caribbean. She called at the Virgin Islands, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Trinidad.
North Atlantic operations
Matagorda departed San Juan on 3 August 1943 and steamed via Bermuda and Norfolk to Argentia, where she arrived on 26 August 1943. On 28 August 1943 she joined Convoy UT-1 and made a voyage to the United Kingdom, arriving at Pembroke, Wales, on 4 September 1943. After unloading cargo, she sailed via Iceland and Boston to Norfolk, arriving there on 27 September 1943. Between 5 October 1943 and 5 March 1944 she made two more round trips across the Atlantic Ocean. She carried men and cargo to Pembroke and Bristol, England, and made escort and supply runs to Casablanca, French Morocco, and Gibraltar.
South Atlantic operations
Departing Boston on 18 April 1944, Matagorda loaded seaplane supplies at Bayonne, New Jersey, and departed Bayonne on 22 April 1944 for Brazil, reaching Recife, Brazil, on 6 May 1944. Until the beginning of April 1945, she conducted extensive training and supply operations and ranged Brazilian waters from Belém to Florianópolis. In late May 1944 and again in July 1944 she tended seaplanes at Florianópolis.
Matagorda interrupted this duty on 24 July 1944 and 25 July 1944, when she searched for and rescued the entire crew of 67 men from the American merchant ship SS William Gaston, torpedoed by a German submarine late on 23 July 1944 off the Brazilian coast. Again, while operating out of Fortaleza, she rescued five survivors of a downed Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina flying boat plus the crew from an assisting Martin PBM Mariner flying boat on 29 August 1944.
Matagorda made numerous runs along the Brazilian coast during supply and training missions. Based at Recife, she visited many Brazilian ports including Vitória, Natal, the island of Fernando de Noronha, Bahia, and Rio de Janeiro.
Voyages to the Caribbean
Matagorda departed Recife on 1 April 1945, touched briefly at San Juan, Puerto Rico, and reached Norfolk on 14 April 1945. From 2 June 1945 to 6 July 1945 she made two runs to Bermuda and Puerto Rico, returning to Norfolk with men of seaplane squadrons.
Conversion to press information ship
Matagorda steamed to New York City on 10 July 1945 to begin conversion to a press information ship. As such her mission would be to provide all proper news facilities for the press and transport them to the coast of Japan where they would cover operations “Olympic” and “Coronet”, projected for the invasion of Japan in 1945 and 1946. She was reclassified as a "miscellaneous auxiliary" and redesignated AG-122 on 30 July 1945.
The cessation of hostilities with Japan and end of World War II came on 15 August 1945 made the invasion of Japan unnecessary, and Matagorda's conversion was halted in early September 1945. [2]
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Old Dead Relatives
1903 - 1983 (79 years)
: Address
: Location
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