I have been researching my fathers service. I knew that he was in the war, but I never knew what it entailed. He was in the Army 32nd Division Co B 126th Infantry. I am trying to track the route he made during his time in the Pacific. I know that he was in the initial convoy that left San Francisco on April 22, 1942. I am looking for any help tracking down resources to follow his company to Japan. Family anecdotal stories say that he did actually make it to the main island. Thanks, Brian
Cheers and welcome Brian. Anyother details you can share about your father would be of use, and I recommend starting a thread here: http://ww2f.com/forums/what-granddad-did-in-the-war.141/ Post details, subscribe to the thread, and update your progress. Others searching may very well stumble upon your info and be able to assist.
If you want to follow his actual path throughout the War, the best method in my opinion is through Company Morning Reports. The MRs are kept at the NARA in St. Louis. However, unlike many other records, the NARA does not accept requests for copies of MRs. If you have the time and ability, you can go there yourself and make copies. My preference is to hire a researcher to do it for me. For me, it is worth the cost of the researcher so that I don't have to take vacation time and incur the expense of travel and hotel/motel. Having said that, I would like to do it once just for the experience. Do a search for "Morning Report" here on the Forums and you will find many discussions and examples of what MRs are and what they look like. Feel free to click on either of the links in my signature as well. Both have examples of MRs.
Thank you for your input. I hope to learn a lot about my father from this forum. St. Louis is on my vacation plans next summer.
Lots to do in St. Louis, I've been here 11 years now. The Archives are easy to get to, but I recommend doing as much ground work as you can before you arrive. I also recommend the Flying Saucer Bar, downtown St. Louis near the Stadium. Great selection of beers.
Basically, find every clue you can, make sure your records are in order and readable to someone else, etc. The more information you have found and made available the better job they can do. I stood next to a guy who didn't know his maternal grandfather's last name a few years ago, never forgot the look on the staff faces. Make sure you have your questions ready as well. "Ideally" you could leave your paperwork and come back later and the staff wouldn't have any unanswered questions when you return. This is NOT to help them as much as it is to help YOU. They're going to be there all day anyway.
In addition to OPs good advice, I would also suggest becoming as familiar as possible with Morning Reports: their purpose, the information conveyed on them, the various abbreviations used, etc. You don't want to waste time trying to figure out the meaning of some entry or abbreviation. There are several threads here which discuss & explain MRs. Most are not specifically about MRs, so don't check "Search Titles Only".
