Unknown sailor's notebook found hidden in furniture tells story of USS Amesbury's WWII journey

A Massachusetts woman discovered a historic artifact that dates back to World War II and was hidden inside of a piece of furniture.

Brenda O'Keefe, a Massachusetts resident, found a green notebook that documented events from the USS Amesbury, according to the NOAA Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

“I was thrilled to be contacted by the notebook's discoverer, Ms. Brenda O'Keefe,” Matthew Lawrence, a maritime archaeologist at Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary told USA TODAY. “It is not often that someone reaches out to the sanctuary's staff with a discovery such as this, so we greatly value Ms. O'Keefe's efforts to share the information.”

Although the author is unknown, many of this ship's voyages and activities during World War II are documented.

Starting on June 13, 1944, the writer wrote key events of the ship's journey.

By July 2, 1944, the ship left for England. Making trips between the Unites States and England, the author showed that these journeys lasted a few days at a time.

On April 7, 1945, the author created an entry titled, “war ended with Germany.”

Although there were no identifiers to who this person might be, Lawrence said their record-keeping adds another layer to the vessel's story.

“The notebook's information allows us to tell the maritime stories embodied by the National Marine Sanctuaries,” Lawrence said. “Sometimes the stories are local, like when the Amesbury had to leave Key West to avoid a hurricane. Other times the stories are global, like when the Amesbury's participated in the D-Day landings in France.”

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USS Amesbury was a warship that made many voyages across the sea

In 1943, the USS Amesbury, a U.S. naval destroyer escort, was converted to a high speed transport vessel, according to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Known to Floridians as Alexander's Wreck, the ship was named after Lt. Stanton Amesbury who was killed in enemy action over Casablanca on Nov. 9, 1942.

In the notebook, the author dated an entry on Feb. 23, 1945, “left for Philly for conversion.”

The marine sanctuary notes this event on its website, stating that the USS Amesbury was one of the 104 destroyer escorts that was converted to a high-speed transport at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

The USS Amesbury traveled to Korea and China and was equipped with a five-inch turret gun and three twin-mount, 40 mm antiaircraft guns, the sanctuary said.

In 1946, the ship was retired from active missions and was stationed in Florida.

Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X @forbesfineest.