ALVIN C COCKRELL DE 366

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

John C. Butler Class Destroyer Escort Keel Laid May 1 1944 - Launched August 8 1944 USS ALVIN C. COCKRELL DE-366 Commissioned October 7 1944 - Decommissioned July 2 1946 Assigned to Naval Reserve Training, 12th Naval District San Francisco CA July 1 1958 Recommissioned June 27 1951 - Decommissioned January 17 1959 Placed In Service as a unit of Select Reserve Anti-Submarine Force Recommissioned October 1 1961 Placed In Service August 1 1962 - Out of Service September 20 1968 Struck from Naval Register September 23 1968 Sunk September 19 1969 as target off California

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. Covers Page 1     (1954)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Date From to Date To	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

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Post Office Reestablished August 1 1945 - Disestablished October 31 1945

 

Locy Type 2

1945-12-15

This cancel was applied after the ships' post office had been officially closed. Cachet by W. M. Grandy.

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Post Office Reestablished August 9 1951 - Disestablished 1962

 

Locy Type 2

1952-12-05

Late use of a "Remember Pearl Harbor" cacheted envelope.

 

Locy Type 9efu

1954-06-25

Note:

 

Other Information

NAMESAKE - Alvin Chester Cockrell USMCR (September 18 1918 - September 24 1942)
Cockrell enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve on May 1 1937 and served as an enlisted man until accepting an appointment as 2d Lieutenant, USMCR, on June 25 1940. Over the next two years, Cockrell served at marine barracks at Quantico, Guantanamo Bay, Parris Island, and New River (N.C.). He was appointed a 1st Lieutenant on December 2 1941. Ultimately assigned to Company "B", 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, Fleet Marine Force, he landed with the 7th Marines on Guadalcanal on his 24th birthday, September 18 1942. Within a week, the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, was to conduct a reconnaissance in force of the region between the Matanikau River and the village of Kokumbona, led by the colorful Lieutenant Colonel Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC, and departed the perimeter of the marine defenses on September 23. The point of Puller's battalion surprised elements of the Japanese Oka Detachment as they were sitting down cooking rice on the slopes of Mount Austen (Mambulo), late the following afternoon, September 24, south of Lunga Point. The sound of firing having alerted the enemy's main body, a brisk battle ensued; as it developed, 1st Lt. Cockrell, heedless of his own personal safety, led his platoon in assaulting a strongly held Japanese position in the teeth of heavy machine gun and rifle fire. He was killed in the ensuing action, one of seven marines who died in the engagement. For his conspicuous devotion to duty and his exhibition of heroism under fire, Cockrell was posthumously awarded The Navy Cross

 

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