James O'Neill Almond, II
1926-1987
James O'Neill Almond, II was born May 28, 1926 in Huntington, Sebastian Co., Ar. to
James O'Neill Sr & Ida Eugene Kennedy Almond. July 23. 1949 he
married Luella Inez Nixon, both residents of Fort Smith, Sebastian Co., Ar. at
that time. He had moved to Fort Smith sometime between 1935 and 1940.
James registered for the first military draft at the court house in Fort Smith, Sebastian
Co., Ar. May 29, 1944. He registered in the 2nd draft September 9, 1948 at Fort Smith at
the court house. That card notes his service in the US Navy ended May 27, 1946.
There are several Navy muster records at the bottom of the page and a history of the
ship he served on during that time, the USS General W. A. Mann, and all the places
they visited. James' rank was
SC3c or Ships Cook 3rd class. I have not found what the (T) after it means.
James O'Neill Almond II passed away March 3, 1987 at Fort Smith, Sebastian Co.,
Ar. His burial was in Forest Park Cemetery there.
USS General W. A. Mann
Operating out of Norfolk, Virginia, General W. A. Mann delivered troops and supplies
to the North African theater, making four successive round-trip voyages to Casablanca
and one to Oran before mid-May 1944. She stood out 5 June 1944 for Oran again and after
touching North Africa sailed thence to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to load
Brazilian troops bound for Naples, Italy. General W. A. Mann subsequently visited
Oran and Liverpool before returning to New York 14 August. On 2 September the
transport got underway for Rio de Janeiro and Naples, returning to Norfolk on 21 October.
Eleven days later she sailed for Bombay, India, via Gibraltar, Algiers and the
Suez Canal
and returned to the west coast of the United States via Brisbane, Australia, and
New Guinea, thence to San Pedro, California, arriving 13 January 1945.
She made another passage to India and visited Melbourne and Noumea on the
return voyage, arriving Los Angeles 15 April and thereafter steaming north to
San Francisco. The ship journeyed from San Francisco to the Philippines, touching
Manila and Leyte, and after reaching Pearl Harbor in early June sailed
thence to Norfolk via the Panama Canal.
General W. A. Mann departed Norfolk 4 July 1945 for Marseilles, France, to redeploy
troops to the Pacific. Re-entering the vast Pacific, she called at Okinawa via Eniwetok
and Ulithi in September and returned to Seattle, Washington 28 October.
From 2 November 1945 to 5 January 1946 she made a round trip voyage from Seattle to
Nagasaki and Wakayama, Japan, setting the pattern of a series of "Magic Carpet"
passages and "Diaper Runs" in which servicemen and their families were carried to and
from the Far East.
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