How to Search for U.S. Navy Veterans

This tutorial explains two ways in which you can search online for the current contact details of US Navy veterans.

www.decklog.com  is a good place to start as it lists more than 27,500 veterans from all branches of the navy. In order to search its database, you will first need to become a member of the website. Membership is free and open to everyone. Follow these steps to join:

1. Go to http://www.decklog.com/login.asp
2. Click on the blue �new member, click to join� icon about half the way down the page on the left hand side.
3. You will then see a page that asks you if you are a member of the US Submarines Veterans Inc. (USSVI) or if you served on the USS Robert E. Lee. If either of these applies to you, click on the �clicking here to get your password sent to you� link and your password will be sent to you by email. If neither case applies to you, click on the button at the top of the page that says �If you aren�t a USSVI or SSBN-601 member, click here to join Decklog.�
4. You will be taken to a short online form.
5. Complete the form and click on �join decklog� at the bottom of the page
6. You will then be taken to a webpage that confirms your membership and shows your login name, password and e-mail address.

To login to www.decklog.com , go to http://www.decklog.com/login.asp  and enter your login name and password. Once you have logged in, you will see that you can carry out four different types of searches:

1. Ships and Crews: Information on more than 7,000 ships is given in the database and you can search for a particular ship by filling in the online form. The search results page will list all ships matching your search parameters with the following information on each ship:
o Hull Number: Click on the hull number to find out more information on the ship, including its photograph, patch, classification, characteristics, key dates (launch, decommissioning, etc), number of crew lists available, history, websites, associations and reunions.
o Name: Click on the name of the ship to gain access to the lists of crew members and information on reunions.
o Crew
o Class
o Type
o Years in service
o Fate/status

2. Shipmates: This is the most straightforward way of searching the database if you a looking for a particular veteran, as you only need to enter the name of the person and do not need to know which ship(s) they served on. If you complete the short online form, a list of search results will appear, giving basic information on each individual, including their name, rate, ships, city and state.
Once you have found the person you are looking for, you can click on their name to access their full record. At the top of the page, you will see five tabs with the headings:
o Contact: this tab includes the veteran�s current contact details, which may be either an address, telephone number and/or email address.
o Navy Info: here you will see information on the veteran�s US Navy service.
o Other Ships
o Other Duty
o Associations: Details of their membership of veterans associations.

3. Associations: You can search under the name of an association of veterans to find people who are members of that association.

4. Other duty: You can search for people who served at a shore facility or in a squadron.

If you yourself are a US Navy veteran, you can add your own details to the database by clicking on �My Profile� on the search page. If you are a friend or family member of a naval veteran, you can add the veteran�s details by clicking on �Their Profile� on this page.

If the veteran you are searching for served on a submarine, the website of the US Submarine Veterans (USSVI) is a useful resource with more than 11,500 members listed on its database.

Anyone can search the database free of charge, but if you wish to view the contact details of a veteran, you will need to become a member. There are various membership options, ranging from annual base membership for around $10 per year to lifetime membership ranging from $100 to $500 depending on your age. For further details on the membership options, go to: http://www.ussvi.org/join.asp

To search the database of veterans free of charge, follow these steps:

1. Go to http://www.ussvi.org/member_look.asp
2. Fill in the short online form and click on �submit search�
3. A list of search results will then appear with the following details on each person:
a. Full name
b. Primary base
c. Rate
d. Rank
e. Qualifying Year
f. Qualifying Boat
g. Email � you will see either Y or N to show whether or not the veteran�s current email address is available
h. Phone � this indicates whether or not the veteran�s phone number is available
i. Other ships
j. City
k. State
l. Change date � the date on which the person�s details were last updated

4. If you click on a veteran�s name, you will see further information on that individual under seven tab headings. The first tab, �contact� includes their current contact details, but only USSVI members can view these.

If you are looking for former comrades or organizing a reunion, you may wish to search the database by boat. In order to do this, fill in the online form at: http://www.ussvi.org/sub_look.asp  . You will then be able to access a wide range of information on the submarine, including lists of its former crew members, although only USSVI members can access the current contact details of the veterans listed.

Hopefully both of these websites will help you in your search to locate a former shipmate, friend or family member who served in the US Navy.

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