I'm glad I found this forum! I'm trying to find information on my Dad. He was drafted in WW2 into the 4th Army 9 Corps (according to his serial #), and told me he was in the Phillipines. Other than that, he refused to talk about anything else. He had nightmares until his death in 2000. Does anyone know where I can find information on where he might have seen combat action, his unit, or any other information (I know he won the Bronze Star and Purple Heart)? THANKS!

Hi Razor,
There's a place in Washington (?) called NARA, which is National Army Record Archives or something. I had cause to contact them years ago when I was trying to research US Army units in Scotland WW2.
I'll have a rake through my filing system and get their address for you.
There is also a book which lists the US Army Order of Battle in WW2:
Shelby L. Stanton - Order of Battle of the US Army in WW2, published by Presidio Press in 1984.

Regards,
Gordon

[ 19. January 2004, 03:01 PM: Message edited by: The_Historian ]

__________________
Regards,

Gordon
http://www.freewebs.com/thehistoryvault/
http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/Historian/

Razor,
Found the stuff I was looking for.
The contact details I have are:
Martin A. Gedra,
Modern Military Records (NWCTM),
Textual Archives Services Division.
martin.gedra@arch2.nara.gov.
Now this was a few years ago, but you can certainly give it a try.

Regards,
Gordon.

__________________
Regards,

Gordon
http://www.freewebs.com/thehistoryvault/
http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/Historian/

If you know his service number and his full name and, the records still exist (a large number of US Army service records were destroyed in a fire at the St. Louis archives where they were held some years back) you can make a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Army for a copy of his complete service record. This will tell you when and where he served, his awards, etc.
There are even companies that will do this service for you. I'm not going to plug any one just do a google search under "freedom of information act" and you will get your choice of sites and methods.
This is the single best way to find out what he did and, you will have your very own hard copy to keep and peruse as you wish.

__________________
Truth is stranger than bullshit!

Thank yall very much.

Hi,
Found the addresses I mentioned earlier:

US Army Center of Military History,
103 3rd Avenue,
Fort H. Leslie J. McNair,
Washington
DC 20319-5058

National Personnel Records Center,
(Military Personnel Records)
9700 Page Avenue,
S. Louis,
Missouri
63132-5100

Best of luck.

Regards,
Gordon

__________________
Regards,

Gordon
http://www.freewebs.com/thehistoryvault/
http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/Historian/

Thanks again all. I sent a request to St Louis. It will be interesting to see what returns.

I guess this is a good thread to ask this...
I have just been informed that my great-uncle Dick was in the 101st and was dropped in Italy. He was shot in the waist and had to be carried out. I have no records other than oral. Is there any possible way I could find out more about him? Thanks...

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You are about to embark on the great crusade towards which we have striven these many months - Eisenhower

Ike, why not start with their Veteran Association web site?

http://www.screamingeagle.org/

No.9

Thanks, No.9. I'll take a look.

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You are about to embark on the great crusade towards which we have striven these many months - Eisenhower

Well after one year, I got a very nice two page letter from the National Personnel Records Center. It seems all of my Dad's military records were destroyed in the fire of July 12, 1973 but they found his discharge paper and certified me two copies. They also directed me to two other locations which may hold information on him. He served in the Battle of Luzon 103rd Infantry Regiment. Now I have someplaces to look.

Thank you for helping me on this!

I received his medals today. I have a question for yall. He received the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with Bronze Star attachment and Philippine Liberation Medal with Bronze Star attachment (among others).

What does the Bronze Star attachment signify?

First the question I have is whether the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal has a bronze star or a bronze arrowhead. A bronze star on this medal signifies participation in one of 24 specified campaigns that took place during the war. The bronze arrowhead would designate participation in a combat parachute jump, combat glider landing, or an amphibious assault landing within the Asiatic Pacific Theater. The bronze star on the Philippine Liberation Medal denotes participation in the Liberation of the Philippine Islands. Multiple bronze stars are awarded for multiple awards, when a fifth bronze stars is awarded the recipient recieves a silver star to replace the bronze stars.

__________________
Bill Murray
Why do we press harder on the remote control when we know the batteries are getting weak?

They are stars. Thank you for the information.