My grandfather was in WW1 and my father was in WW2. My grandfather would never talk about the war. My father would only say that he was a antiaircraft gunner in the Philippines. Does anyone have any experience trying to dig up old military records? Or is it best to let the past stay in the past?
Old military records
- Thread starter Leo99
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Request Military Service Records
Veterans and their next of kin can get FREE copies of their DD 214, and other military service records including Official Military Personnel File (OMPF), Replacement Medals, and Medical and Health Records.
www.archives.gov
I am also considering requesting my father's WW2 records. Like your father, my father talked very little about the war.
A friend from church mentioned that he had a similar experience with his father, not speaking about his experiences in WW2. So he recently obtained his father's records. The records show that his father was aboard the Missouri for the signing of the Instrument of Surrender. Apparently, the ship his father served on had earned enough battle stars, that some crew were invited to the ceremony.
This is something he would never have known if he had not requested the record. Short of finding out that your father was court martialed, or dishonorably discharged, I see no down side to requesting his records.
A friend from church mentioned that he had a similar experience with his father, not speaking about his experiences in WW2. So he recently obtained his father's records. The records show that his father was aboard the Missouri for the signing of the Instrument of Surrender. Apparently, the ship his father served on had earned enough battle stars, that some crew were invited to the ceremony.
This is something he would never have known if he had not requested the record. Short of finding out that your father was court martialed, or dishonorably discharged, I see no down side to requesting his records.
You can get them and it's not an issue unless the deceased was liberal with their service. Trust me, it's no fun to try to find out that a family member was BS'ing everyone for decades with regards to their service but because of life circumstances and age it's pointless to call them out on it. Obviously with your case they're deceased and it doesn't seem to be that kind of situation anyways.
It's too bad WW2 records aren't available online. It would be interesting to find out what units they were in and then find an order of battle online to see where they went. Supposedly two great uncles of mine are pictured in the battle of bulge museum in Belgium.
This is the way.
Be aware of this:
In 1973 a fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri destroyed roughly 80% of the military personnel records for those who served in the US military and had been discharged between 1912 and 1964. The number of affected veterans was at least 16 million. The NPRC had no backups or microfiches anywhere.
There are ways to reconstruct some of the records, but plenty of horror stories are out there about WWII vets who had service-related ailments or were eligible for awards, but had difficulty proving they had served because of this fire.
In 1973 a fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri destroyed roughly 80% of the military personnel records for those who served in the US military and had been discharged between 1912 and 1964. The number of affected veterans was at least 16 million. The NPRC had no backups or microfiches anywhere.
There are ways to reconstruct some of the records, but plenty of horror stories are out there about WWII vets who had service-related ailments or were eligible for awards, but had difficulty proving they had served because of this fire.
This is really interesting. My grandpa was in the Navy during WW2, he worked for Adm. Rickover. Not sure what my dad did in the Army. I only met him once when I was 12, 27 years ago and according to what I can find online he passed away a few years ago, but it would be fascinating to know.
So you didn't read any of the previous posts ?
It is best to stay in the past.! Grand dad and Dad would have told you about the atrocities of war. My dad was a WW II vet and only once when I asked him about the war was the 9mm in the Smisers killed lots of people and 2 of his friends which I hung around with were both bomber gunners and were shot down and became pows, One said all they were fed was Potatoes and and the I didn't dare ask the other. One of the guys I worked with in the early 1970s was a Lurp in Vietnam and only when fed beers and joints would open up about his service. Our military people I will humbly say are the bravest of the brave !
My grandfather died when I was 8, when he died my aunt found he had a purple heart award that he never discussed. I dug up the little bit ancestry had to offer a few years ago, he was conscripted in 1943 (at the age of 21,) reported to Fort Oglethorpe in Georgia. He showed up on the muster roll of a ship primarily used in the Mediterranean theatre that's all I know and didn't bother to try to dig up anything more.
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My dad was a Marine with the 5th Marine Division on Iwo Jima during WWII. He used to tell me fascinating stories, many of which wouldn't be considered safe for work. He had all sorts of trinkets from when they crossed the international date line, Japanese rifles, Japanese flag, a vile of Iwo Jima volcanic ash from the beach, and even an old Japanese mortar casing. He had opium pipes the Japanese used to use and even some family pictures of some poor Japanese guy who didn't make it home.
Once Iwo Jima was secured my dad's division was sent back to Hawaii to train for the homeland invasion of Japan. This was in June or July of 1945. At some point prior to July 30, 1945, President Truman had made the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. On August 6 and August 9, 1945, the bombs were dropped and history was written. On September 2, 1945, Japan surrendered.
Had President Truman not made the decision to use nuclear force and had Japan not surrendered from the devastation delivered by the bombings, there is a very strong chance I would not exist today. My dad would have been sent to mainland Japan for combat and most likely died in that action.
Oh wow, this has me in tears. I'm going to go dig some of this old memorabilia out and read some of the notes from 1945. My dad passed away in 2008 and left his legacy for us to pass along to the grand children. They certainly don't show any interest in the actions that have shaped the world we live in but for now there is only one greatest generation.
Once Iwo Jima was secured my dad's division was sent back to Hawaii to train for the homeland invasion of Japan. This was in June or July of 1945. At some point prior to July 30, 1945, President Truman had made the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. On August 6 and August 9, 1945, the bombs were dropped and history was written. On September 2, 1945, Japan surrendered.
Had President Truman not made the decision to use nuclear force and had Japan not surrendered from the devastation delivered by the bombings, there is a very strong chance I would not exist today. My dad would have been sent to mainland Japan for combat and most likely died in that action.
Oh wow, this has me in tears. I'm going to go dig some of this old memorabilia out and read some of the notes from 1945. My dad passed away in 2008 and left his legacy for us to pass along to the grand children. They certainly don't show any interest in the actions that have shaped the world we live in but for now there is only one greatest generation.
I don't know about the 20th century records in St Louis, but honoring requests for copies of the "old boy" documents stored in Washington were paused during Covid. The last I heard, there was quite a backlog, with requests taking several months to fulfill. So get your request in, as it will likely take quite awhile to receive your records.
Another source worth considering is fold3.com. I found some of my Grandfather's Royal Flying Corps records from WWI. They usually have a free trial. If you can set aside a few hours, you should easily be able to get everything they on an individual.
Another source worth considering is fold3.com. I found some of my Grandfather's Royal Flying Corps records from WWI. They usually have a free trial. If you can set aside a few hours, you should easily be able to get everything they on an individual.
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If they wanted you to know you would have been told, their war, their story to tell. We each carry that experience in our own way and records don’t tell the whole story.
Celebrate their service
Smoky
Celebrate their service
Smoky
There's a reason theyt didn't want to share their experiences. Mostly because the listeners are interested in the bad ones. They went where and when Uncle Sam wanted them, and did what they had to. Let knowing that be enough.
My dad was in the Army Air Corps during WWII and a Navigator on a B-24 stationed somewhere in Italy. He didn't talk much about his service and died when I was a young boy. I had his Record of Separation but that didn't tell much and when I wrote to the VA I got the old "records were lost in the St. Louis fire" response. So for many years I was pretty much stumped.
A few years ago I found these guys: https://www.goldenarrowresearch.com
It cost a few hundred dollars for them to go to the National Archives but they returned about a dozen pages of highly detailed records. I found out which Bomb Group he was assigned to and saw the reports of the actual bombing missions in the closing days of the war. I found out where and when he received the flak wounds. The records showed that he was rotated back to the States in May of '45 and received training on the B-17 and also the C47 transport planes and this was in anticipation of the invasion of Japan. Fat Man and Little Boy just a few months later meant that invasion was not necessary and he was released from active service in October.
Once you know things like which unit the vet served with, the doors will open into additional research if you are interested. Most of the surviving WWII vets are now in their mid to late 90's and if you want to gather family history you may have to go to outside sources.
A few years ago I found these guys: https://www.goldenarrowresearch.com
It cost a few hundred dollars for them to go to the National Archives but they returned about a dozen pages of highly detailed records. I found out which Bomb Group he was assigned to and saw the reports of the actual bombing missions in the closing days of the war. I found out where and when he received the flak wounds. The records showed that he was rotated back to the States in May of '45 and received training on the B-17 and also the C47 transport planes and this was in anticipation of the invasion of Japan. Fat Man and Little Boy just a few months later meant that invasion was not necessary and he was released from active service in October.
Once you know things like which unit the vet served with, the doors will open into additional research if you are interested. Most of the surviving WWII vets are now in their mid to late 90's and if you want to gather family history you may have to go to outside sources.
My dad was a POW in of the Germans in WW2. He never talked much about it, but he did tell me some of the hardships he went through. Very sad the way they were treated.
He never said much about the beatings and torture though. He was transferred between several POW camps. I have all of his old records that he saved including all of the German paperwork that he came home with.
He was a Crew Chief, Waist Gunner on a B24 when his aircraft was shot down on a bombing mission.
I have found some details of his time on the internet but not as much as I would like to have. here is an example:
He never said much about the beatings and torture though. He was transferred between several POW camps. I have all of his old records that he saved including all of the German paperwork that he came home with.
He was a Crew Chief, Waist Gunner on a B24 when his aircraft was shot down on a bombing mission.
I have found some details of his time on the internet but not as much as I would like to have. here is an example:
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