Hello , My name is Debbie and I am trying to find where my father served during World War 2 . My dad passed away 12 years ago and mom left us 10 years ago . I recently found some photos that belonged to my dad that survived a recent flood we had . All of dads military records were destroyed in a flood so I was surprised and happy to find the photos It has been hard and stressful trying to track down his military records !! One of the photos is a bomber plane at least I think it is ? The name on the plane say's Bessie and there are 4 men standing along side it . On the back of the photo it say's , LtoR , Bomb, Eng., Copilot, Pilot . Above the letter i on the name Bessie has a star on it in place of the dot . I don't know if my dad was part of the crew and he was taking the photo ? My dad's name is Thomas Joseph Carpenter . He enlisted on Feb. 15 , 1943 . He was from Bellingham , WA . Born on June 18th , 1924 . died Sept.10th , 2002 . Discharged on Nov.1st , 1945 from the Army as a Sgt . I believe he was in the Army Air Force . My dad was in and out of the VA hospital from the time he was discharged up until he passed away in 2002 . We believe something happened to him during the war . Any help would be greatly appreciated !! If anyone is interested in the photo I am willing to share it Also among the photos is a photo of a young officer named Bill Scott with the year 1946 written on the back . Wish I had more info to pass on ! Thanks in advance for any help Sincerely , Debbie C
Debbie, Put up his full name and the state he enlisted in. Look through his VA paper work and find his Serial #. The VA may have a copy of his discharge or other helpful paper work that you can request. Also if you know what county he was in when he was discharged the county clerk may have his discharge papers, as returning GIs were encouraged to file them with the clerks office. Some office are helpful, others not so much. There are a lot of good people here to help. Give us a little to go on and we'll see what we can do. Welcome aboard! Bob
Thanks for the " welcome aboard " Bob Don't have any of his VA papers they were damaged in the flood We were living in Idaho back when the Teton Dam broke and lost everything !! The only things I have been able to recover are his Army Enlistment Record and US Army Gravesite . He enlisted in Tacoma , King County on Feb 15th , 1943 . It says he was with the Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers ? Don't know what that is ? Is that a branch of the Army ? My husband is retired Navy so I know Navy lingo more then Army !! We contacted King county and they told us to contact Wabasha county because he was from Bellingham . Contacted them and they were not very helpful and we have not heard back from them . Contacted the Archives in St Louis and filled out the forms as next of kin to get copies of his records . We were told by them that his records were lost in the fire back in 76 !!! It just seems like every where I try I hit a road block !! Very frustrating to say the least !! but I am not giving up Don't know if the stories Dad told are true as he was mentally unstable and on heavy meds .Mom told us the plane he was on crashed in the ocean and he was the only survivor . He was found floating on the wing and was brought to a hospital in England . I just wish I knew what unit he was with or squad or even where he served . I do know his brother was in the Army - Ground CO.K - 161 - Inf. W.N.G. and was KIA in the Phillappines back in 1942 . Had no trouble finding his brother ? Thanks for listening Debbie
Hello, Debbie, welcome to the forums. Colorado folks are rare here! If you could scan/post the photo with the plane, we should be able to figure out the type of aircraft. That would be a start. If any of the other photos show shoulder patches on their uniforms, additional aircraft, or a recognizable building, they could provide clues also. Consider starting a new thread with this info in the "Information Requests" sub-forum under "General Discussion". It will give your subject more "airplay", especially to those of us into research. Steve
Debbie, As I suggested before,Post his full name and any number associated with it. Also do what Natman suggests. We still need a little more info. Bob
Hello Steve and Bob , Thanks for responding I just got back from making a cd of the photos . I am not very good with the computer so I need to wait for my son so he can post the photo My dad's name is Thomas Joseph Carpenter . He was a SGT.in the U.S. Army . He enlisted on Feb 15th , 1943 . He was discharged on Nov 1st , 1945 . He enlisted in the city of Tacoma , WA and was born on June 18th , 1924 . He is laid to rest at San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery in Gustine , CA . He passed away on Sept. 10th , 2002 . He may have been in the Army Air Corps . That is all the info I have He had 4 brothers who were also serving during the war and a sister . One brother was in the Navy the other 2 were in the Army and his sister was a Army nurse . Hope this helps thanks , Debbie p.s. will try and post photo later this evening .
Hello Everyone My name is Debbie and I am writing from Denver , CO .I am trying to find information on my dad who was in the Army during World War 2 . His records were lost in a flood while we were living in Idaho and we recently found out that his records were lost in a fire at the Archives . I don't have much to go on except for his enlistment paper and some photos . we found that survived the flood ! His name is Thomas Joseph Carpenter . He enlisted on Feb 15th , 1943 from Tacoma, WA . He may have been in the Army Air Corps . He was discharged on Nov 1st , 1945 as a SGT in the U.S. Army . He was born on June 18th , 1924 in Wabasha ,MN . He was laid to rest at San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery , Gustine , CA on Sept 12th, 2002 . He passed away on Sept 10th , 2002 . Among the photos we found is a photo of a bomber plane with the name Bessie . The letter i has a white star in place of the dot on the name Bessie . The pilot , co pilot , bombadier , and engineer are standing next to the plane . Don't know if my dad was part of the crew and he is taking the photo ? Don't know where it is taken place at or the year . Did some research on planes named Bessie and only found one named Messie Bessie ? My dads name was not among the crew listed My dad was in and out of the VA hospital all my life up until he died and I did not get to spend much of my childhood with him . Something happened to him during the war . Mom said his plane crashed in the ocean and he was the only survivor and was found floating on the wing . He was brought to a hospital in England . When the plane crashed there were other crew mates with him but they died before he was rescued . Don't know how true this is ? but I do know my dad was not right mentally after the war . We also have a photo of a young officer named Bill Scott dated 1946 that was with dads photos . Don't know if he was a friend or a crew mate ? I am trying to get as much info of my dads war time for a family reunion in July . I am making a memorial shadow box to honor my dad as well as a journal scrapbook of both my mom and dad . Any help would be greatly appriciated !! I will be posting the photos as soon as my son gets home and shows me how to do it !! Thanks in advance for any help Debbi C
Welcome to the Forum, Debbie. Here is his Electronic Enlistment Record which shows his Army Serial Number is 39201013. With his ASN, you can contact the National Archives and request his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). You can read a discussion on how to go about doing that in this thread topic: Requesting Copies of Military Personnel Files. As his child, you are officially recognized as his next of kin and should indicate that on your request. It may give you preferential consideration in expediting your records request. You may also want to try the local VA. As his next of kin, they may be able to offer some assistance as well.
Hi Debbie. There's a lot of good information here. I hope you'll follow up on this. Good luck with your search.
The 161st Infantry Regiment began WWII as part of the 41st Infantry Division. It was later assigned to the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii. The 161st didn't get to the Philippines until January 1945. If your uncle was Sgt. David W. Carpenter, then I am inclined to believe that he was KIA 26 July 1943 (Note: the previous link states 1945, but the photo of the grave marker has 1943). On 26 July 1943, Company K, 3rd Battalion, 161st Infantry was involved in an action on the island of New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. Earlier in July, the 161st Infantry was attached to the 37th Infantry Division to assist in the effort to capture Munda Point and the important airfield located there. The following excerpt is from Chapter 9 of CARTWHEEL: The Reduction of Rabaul (HyperWar):
Takao , Yes that is the plane !!!!! You posted a better photo then the one I have I don't know how to post photos !! My son was going to post it for me but he had to work . I will try and post it later today !! Thank you so much for finding it Debbie
Takao how do I find info on this plane ? I still can't find any bios on it when I search the web ? How did you find it ? My son gets off work at 6pm my time and will post my photo . I am also posting a few other photos of my dad , his friend Bill Scott , his brother and sister . They all served in the Army during the war . I am hoping someone may know them ? Debbie
Another thing you might try is checking into the MACR (Missing Air Crew Reports). Sadly I've let my subscription to Fold3 lapse which has a large data base of MACR's in their files. There is most likely a report of the crash which would list all crew members. There are a couple of members here who are not as absent-minded as myself, who still have access, and will surely help when they see your post. Good luck and Welcome to the forum.