Charles Sherman Clayberger enlisted with parental permission in the U.S. Navy in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1931, at the age of 17, and retired in May, 1964. I have a variety of personal photos of Sherman Clayberger in uniform, along with a couple newspaper articles about his experiences in Pearl Harbor. Additionally, I have begun to find records of the naval vessels he served aboard, or was a passenger.

Most of the records here come from the collection of WWII U.S. Navy Muster Rolls for 1939-1947, found on Ancestry.com. For the moment, those are all the ships with transcribed records available to search through. The National Archives have undigitized pre-1939 muster rolls, and many post-1949 muster rolls are digitized but not transcribed. I intend to add to this list as more records become available.

A note about his name: Sometimes he went by Charles, and other times he went by Sherman. Most of the personal items I found had him going by Sherman, and was probably intentional to avoid confusion with his father, Charles G. Clayberger. As such, I will be using the name Sherman for him on this site.

This ship shows up in the return address of a seasonal greeting card mailed January 18, 1935. Considering the card shows the John D. Ford, I believe he transferred to that ship shortly after sending this card.

This ship shows up on a seasonal greeting card mailed January 18, 1935. Although the return address on the envelope is for the Wickes, The card shows this ship instead. Further evidence is that the 1940 Census shows Sherman's 1935 residence as China, and the John D. Ford was stationed in China around that time.

At this point, little is known about Sherman Clayberger's posting to this ship. Mention of it was found on 1939 muster records for the USS Tucker, that said he transferred from the Dobbin.

Sherman Clayberger boarded the Tucker on March 8, 1939, transferring from the Dobbin. It was here that he reenlisted a few days later. He was off the ship at the Naval Hospital in San Diego, CA, from March 16, 1939, to September 1, 1939. Sherman left this ship almost eight months later, on October 2, 1939.

Sherman Clayberger transferred to the Farragut on October 3, 1939, and aside from a brief temporary transfer to the USS Solace for medical treatment in 1942, served on this ship about three and a half years until February 9, 1943.

Sherman Clayberger was briefly aboard the Solace from June 4 through 22, 1942, for unspecified medical treatment.

Sherman Clayberger boarded the Boyd on May 8, 1943, and transferred off just over a year later at San Francisco, CA, on May 16, 1944.

Sherman Clayberger boarded the General LeRoy Eltinge on February 5, 1946, coming from Navy barracks at Bremerton, WA. About four months later, he transferred off this ship at Brooklyn, NY, on May 28, 1946.

I have not found a manifest showing Sherman Clayberger on this ship. I only know about it since records from the USS Capps show he transferred to that ship from the USS Klondike.

Sherman Clayberger transferred from the Klondike to the Capps on July 29, 1946. He transferred off less than two months later on September 23, 1946.

Sherman Clayberger boarded this vessel on September 26, 1946, until he transferred to the LCS(L)(3)-24 on November 15, 1946, almost two months later.

Sherman Clayberger boarded the LCS(L)(3)-24 on November 15, 1946, and remained aboard until he transferred off about two months later on January 18, 1947.

I doubt Sherman Clayberger was actually stationed aboard the USS General W. A. Mann, and was probably just a passenger enroute to Guam on September 19, 1947.