Alfred G. Lawson USS Paulding log, 1917-1919

Collection

Identifier: 2010-063

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

A WWI sailor log of Alfred George Lawson on the U. S. S. Paulding from 1917-1919, which describes Lawon's experiences on the U. S. destroyer and his daily activities. The U. S. S. Paulding's primary duty was to escort convoys and protect them from German u-boat attacks. Most of the entries are very brief, merely talking about the weather and whether they were in port or at sea. However, others are much more detailed, particularly in the cases where the U. S. S. Paulding sank a submarine or came upon an attached vessel.

Other important noted events were when the U. S. S. Paulding collided with another destroyer as well as the end of the war. Some pages, mostly at the end of the log, include newspaper or magazine clippings concerning the navy and the war as well as some comics and pictures of women. There also is a handwritten list of all the U. S. Destroyers at the end of the log.

Dates

Creation: 1917 - 1919

Creator

Lawson, Alfred George (Author, Person)

Access

This material is open for research use by any registered reader.

Use and Copyright

This material is owned by the University of Tulsa, McFarlin Library, Department of Special Collections. Unpublished manuscripts are under copyright. Therefore, permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from both the repository and the copyright holder.

Biographical / Historical

"USS Paulding, name ship of a class of twenty-one 742-ton destroyers, was built at Bath, Maine. She was commissioned in late September 1910, the first of the dozen four-smokestack versions of her class. During the years prior to U.S. entry into World War I, Paulding operated with the Atlantic Fleet's torpedo force, mainly along the U.S. East Coast. In May 1917, about six weeks after the Congress declared war on Germany, she steamed to Queenstown, Ireland, to begin anti-submarine patrol and escort duty in the U-boat infested waters near the British Isles. Paulding returned home after the November 1918 Armistice and was decommissioned in August 1919." She returned to service in 1924, for the US Coast Guard, as CG-17. [Navy Historical Center].