Curtis requests anyone serving with him or remembering him
to please contact him. His email address is:

leroy4270@aol.com

Here is the crew list of the SS Ethan A Hitchcock:

Caskadon,Clyde Beaver 656 25 36 Cox. V6 USNR
Wells,Rudolph Garfield 376 86 58 GM3/C V6 USNR
Evenson,Kenneth Bruce 757 74 03 S-1/C V6 USNR
Gorecki,Walter(N) Jr. 306 30 95 S-1/C USN
Jennings,John Leonard 859 39 04 S-1/C V6 (SV)
Jones,Clifford Henery 866 19 29 S-1/C V6 (SV)
Kanter,Marvin Jerome 866 19 43 S-1/C V6 (SV)
Lafave,Allendean William 870 19 87 S-1/C V6 (SV)
Matthews,Leanard Neal 576 97 88 S-1/C V6 USNR
Midgett,Thomas Layton 872 90 67 S-1/C V6 (SV)
Moe,Wallace Robert 870 17 09 S-1/C V6 (SV)
Momberg,Gus John 386 71 58 S-1/C USN
Newhouse,William Loren 859 37 46 S-1/C V6 (SV)
Ninemire,Wayne Leroy 338 45 13 S-1/C USN
Shiffer ,Curtis Leroy 859 37 39 S-1/C V6 (SV)
Shriber,Ll0yd Clifford 882 99 50 S-1/C USN(SV)
Sisk,Martin(N) 338 45 10 S-1/C V6 USNR
Skothenien,Kenneth Orval 886 66 34 S-1/C V6 (SV)
Strickland,William Forrest 870 18 34 S-1/C V6(SV)
Thomas,Kay Edward 884 76 18 S-1/C V6 (SV)
Tilley,Stanley Edward 338 45 07 S-1/C V6 USNR
Thomas,William Jared 871 90 99 S-1/C V6(SV)
Troyer,Leslie Elmer 866 18 90 S-1/C USN (SV)
Vinson,Dale Earl 621 89 01 S-1/C V6 USNR
Smith,Raleigh (N) 274 76 35 SM 3/C USN

Sept 8, 1943 the following men reported abord for duty:

Smith,Glen Royal 564 98 74 RM 3/C ,V6
Webb,Edward Lloyd 555 85 75 RM3/C V6

Here is part of his story:

I went into the Navy June 19, 1943, and went to boot camp at
Faragut,Idaho,then to gunnery school at Treasure Island, then
was asigned to the SS Ethan A. Hitchcock, was on this ship for
a year in the Pacific and the Atlantic. Some known shipmates
were Walter W. Goricky,Marvin J. Kanter,Clifford Jones,Gus J.
Momberg,Lloyd Shriber,John L. Jenning,Bill Newhouse,Dale Vinson,Wayne
Nimierand. Known ports were Auckland,Zealand,Wellington New Zealand,
Alexandre, Egypt,Newmaio, New Caladonia,Figi Islands, Guadalcanal,
Ceylon,India Sidney and Perth,Austrailia. Received 30 days delayed
orders back to Treasure Island from Brooklyn,New York. I was then sent
to Port Chicago,California Amunition Depot after the explosion as in the
movie (Mutiny) and was sent from there to Shoemaker, California for
discharge in December 1945.
Curtis L. Shiffer
4270 N. E. 3rd
Des Moines, Iowa

Editor’s Note: More info on his Port Chicago experiences:

Leroy was at Port Chigago when he was discharged from the navy,after
spending a year on the Ethan A. Hitchcock. They were given 30 days delayed
orders to Treasure Island, then after some time waiting for another
ship they sent part of them to Port Chigago. They arrived there right
after the > explosion. They had repaired the base. He recently got
a packet of mail with an autobiography from shipmate Wayne Ninemier
who he had gone on liberty with a few times from Port Chigago. Wayne
was in ships service there and Leroy was in a company that marched
to the docks every morning. Leroy does not remember being given
any special traning on handling amunition. He does remember unloading
boxes of shells and on the boxes it said Ankeny Ammunition.Depot,
which is north of where he lives now, but there is not much left
but some old brick structures. When they got a ship loaded they
were given 72 hrs liberty. He got one leave to go home from there
and married his first wife (bad mistake) but has 3 nice kids from
that . When he went back to Port Chigago after geting married they
put him on compartment cleaners as they did for married men.
They were in charge of making sure the barracks was in tip shop
shape for inspection and if they passed then the foreman got passes
for them to go home to spend the night with their wives. One time
several of them were in the movie there on the base when they heard
an explosion. Every one ran out the doors and some of the guys were
going over the fence when they announced over the p.a. system that
they had set off some dynamite out in the harbor over in Verolayo,
Ca. They were supposed to notify them and they probably heard from
their base comander. When they arived at Port Chigago there were
about 10 Blacks to every Caucasian but they were not integrated
and had their own company.