Discovering my Great-Grandfather, John Faulkner’s WWI Military Service
By: Joe Felice

Tugboat U.S.S. Samoset at Philadelphia Navy Yard Muster roll sept 1920 Book  (PDF)

Nearly five years ago, I came across a photo of my great-grandfather John Faulkner wearing a WWI era U.S. Navy uniform.  At the time this photo came as a surprise to my Mom who never knew her grandfather had served in the Navy.  I could never imagine at the time the journey which would soon take place in which I would learn about my great-grandfather’s legacy of service to his country.

In May 2022, the author of the book “The Philadelphia Navy Yard: A History from the Birth of the U.S. Navy to the Nuclear Age,” informed me that John Faulkner served aboard the tugboat Samoset at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1920.  He expanded upon that fact by adding the detail Faulkner had been assigned dealt with dismantling captured German warships for scrap metal.  The 1920 Census confirms that my great-grandfather worked at the Navy Yard as a carpenter.
In June 2022, Corey Stewart, an Archivist at the National Archives in St. Louis, conducted an extensive search.  She searched through their collection of Coast Guard, Navy military files, Navy Civilian Personnel Folders, Navy Civilian Service Record Cards, Civil Service Cards, Civilian War Department Folders, Merchant Marine Licensing Files and Merchant Marine Enrollee files.  Unfortunately, she was unable to find any record of Faulkner’s service.
The eureka moment in my investigation occurred in August 2022 when Nathan Jordan, an Archivist at the National Archives in Atlanta, discovered a WWI Classification List stating my great-grandfather had registered for the Emergency Fleet in 1918.  This certainly helped to explain the photo of my great-grandfather in a Navy uniform.  However, knowledge of Faulkner joining the Emergency Fleet soon added another level of complexity to the mystery of his Navy service.
Emergency Fleet uniforms only had two white stripes around the collar.  Navy uniforms had three white stripes around the collar.  The photo of John in uniform shows him with three white stripes around his collar.  Therefore, it appears that at one point in time he was in the Emergency Fleet and at another point in time he was in the Navy.
This prompted further investigation into Faulkner’s service that unfortunately did not add any more insight into the details of his service.

In February 2024, Jared D. Johnson, an Archivist at Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) in Washington, D.C., searched through Samoset’s file folder in their two most relevant ships history collections AR/623: Ships History- Decommissioned (Prior to 1 Jan 2001) and AR/181: Unnamed Ships.  He was unable to find Samoset’s 1920 logbook.  Although Jared was aware that NHHC’s collection did not include any servicemen’s personnel records, he still conducted a search through their Biographical Collection.  Unfortunately, he found no mention of Faulkner’s service.
In March 2024, David Taber, Technical Information Specialist in the Navy Department Library at NHHC, conducted another extensive search in their collection.  I was surprised to learn that Dave and I are fellow Golden Rams as we are both alumni of West Chester University of Pennsylvania (WCUPA).  Dave looked through the library’s ZC vertical files, which contain documents related to correspondence and service logs dating from 1897 to 1947.  Although he did find a file on the Samoset, it contained no information pertaining to Faulkner’s service.  Dave also searched through their Naval Registers, but did not find any mention of my great-grandfather. 

Additionally, Dave noted that had Faulkner been an officer or NCO in the Navy or Navy Reserves he would have been listed in the registers.  He looked through the 1917 edition as well as editions covering periods of time two to three years prior to and following that year.  Faulkner was not mentioned in any of these editions.  The photo of my great-grandfather in uniform shows him wearing a white cord wrapped around his right arm, indicating that he was between the ranks of Apprentice Seaman and Seaman First Class.  Therefore, I understood why Dave did not find him listed as an officer or NCO.  Although it is possible my great-grandfather could have been promoted after that photo was taken, I do not know of any other ranks he may have held except for the one indicated in his picture.  As a quick side note, Dr. Jonathan Friedman, Professor of History at WCUPA and a former instructor of mine, follows my research and was excited to learn of Dave’s involvement.
In August 2024, Aaron McWilliams, head of the Reference Section for the Pennsylvania State Archives, conducted a search of their records.  Aaron reviewed their PA National Guard Veterans Card File 1867-1919, which serves as an index to both the PA National Guard and the Naval Force of Pennsylvania.  He found no mention of Faulkner.  Aaron also looked at a list of those who enrolled in the U.S. Naval Reserves, 1917-1918.  Like Dave Taber at NHHC, Aaron also found no mention of my great-grandfather being in the Navy Reserves

Recently, a very kind person who wishes to remain anonymous, reviewed some of the muster rolls from 1920 for the Samoset tugboat at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.  These muster rolls were dated September and December 1920.  Unfortunately, John Faulkner’s name did not show up on either one of these muster rolls.  There remains the possibility that Faulkner still served aboard the Samoset in 1920.  Perhaps he was aboard the tugboat either from January to August 1920 or October to November 1920.  The name of the ship on his hat in the photo of him in uniform is difficult to read, although some of the letters and their spacing match with the name Samoset.  According to many experts, the photo is believed to have been taken sometime around 1920, matching with when he supposedly served aboard the Samoset tugboat.
Jim Dunigan, Historian at the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum in Savannah, encouraged me to remain optimistic.  Despite the fact that my great-grandfather John Faulkner was not mentioned on the either of the 1920 muster rolls for the Samoset, he noted that my grandfather Ed Carey’s Navy records are very inconsistent.  My grandfather Ed Carey served in the Navy during WWII as a signalman.  Jim observed that there were certain ships listed on Carey’s discharge forms whose corresponding muster rolls did not feature his name.  Therefore, it is distinctly possible Faulkner may have served aboard the Samoset in September and December 1920 and like Carey, was not mentioned on the muster roll.  As a result of this insight, I do remain optimistic that Faulkner likely served aboard the Samoset.