1. Hi, my name is Spawn, And I choose this member name because it is my favorite comic. 2. I am 32 years old. Wow I can’t believe I’m that old now 3. I am from Orlando, FL. 4. I am interested in my grandfathers history and time during World War 2 maybe someone on here can help point me in the right direction. I would post his info below. I also have gained a strong interest in the battle of Stalingrad. Captain Robert Leon Burleson 9th Air Force, 313th Troop Carrier Group I have found info about him on Dday, he flew the 82nd airborne into Normandy on dday but he also told me he crashed his plan in the Mediterranean, and I wanted to find out more about that incident as well. I can help others with historical information regarding Stalingrad or anything computer related. 5. My hobbies currently are: Blockchain development and investing, WW2 collectible items, and spending time with my kids. 6. I am really excited to be apart of this community and to help find the history of my grandfathers time in the military.
Greetings Spawn. 32? I'll trade my 77 for your 32 any time. We have some real experts on the Air war lurking around that can help.
Thank you! I look forward to speaking with anyone that can assist or point me in the right direction to find info on him. I heard a facility in St. Louis burned down that held alot of WW2 documentation. Does anyone know if any of that data had been scanned in and put on a database before it burned down?
32!? A mere child. Welcome to the forum. You'll find plenty of information and lots of folks willing to share what they know.
The process of photographing documents, aka "microfilm" was available, but hadn't been employed. Given the exact documents lost is not completely known.
Valid point, OP. There was a technology at the time that might have been used, but wasn't. According to the NARA, about 75% of Air Force Personnel records and 80% of Army Personnel records were either destroyed or damaged, and not just by the fire. Many suffered from water damage caused by the efforts made to put out the fire and subsequent mold & mildew damage.
You should request his records from the NPRC. If you check the link in my previous post, the Air Force records were destroyed, "with names alphabetically after Hubbard, James E.". That means there is a likelihood that his records were not destroyed. Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Archival Records Requests
Ronald Reagan related the story of his duty at a warehouse full of WWI records. The influx of WWII records cause a space shortage and RR asked if they could destroy the "out of date" records. The reply was pure Army. "Yes, destroy old records, but keep a copy of each."