Searching for Kenneth E Hatfield

My nephew is the grandson of Kenneth Eugene Hatfield.
Kenneth was born in Calhoun County, Illinois on 8 Nov 1925 and passed on 31, 2002 in Calhuon County, Illinois.
Kenneth either enlisted or was drafted in the Army 5 Jan 1944 and was released on 24 April 1946.
He said he was a paratrooper in the the 82 Airborne Division and also in the 101st. He said he was on a boat to another location when the war ended. My nephew would like to know more about which unit he belonged to and what campaigns he was involved in. Kenneth never said more than the information above.

If anyone has any stories that would involve Mr. Hatfield or has heard his name mentioned by family members, or can direct me to a roster (s) of the 82nd and 101st during that time period, I would be eternally grateful.

I can be contacted at JohnnyMSanchez@earthlink.net. I do genealogy research on my family names and am an Air Force Vet who served in Viet Nam July 67 to Aug 68. Info is provided to establish legitimacy.

 

Hi JMS! Welcome to the forums.

I searched for Kenneth Eugene Hatfield through the normal online genealogy links, but I didn't turn up anything in relation to military service. Several Kenneth Hatfields in the NARA WWII Army Enlistment Records database, but the dates and middle initials aren't correct.

I'm assuming you've done all this...

Do you have his Army Service Number? If you do, I suggest you contact NARA and attempt to get his Official Military Personnel File, if you haven't already. His records are considered "archival" and will be open to you to request them, if they still exist.

If they don't have anything (due to the 1973 fire) there are some "plan B" options, but that should be your first step.

Good luck!

 

Welcome to the forum! You can also check the Calhoun County courthouse at the Recorder of Deeds to see if there may be a copy of his discharge paper there. Service members were encouraged to register their papers at their local courthouse after returning home in case they would need it for future benefits. If the courthouse has a copy it can tell you a lot. Have a good one!

 

Found him on Findagrave.com, but that doesn't move the ball downfield at all. Adambhoy and buk2112 have given you the best suggestions. If you have his discharge papers, you will have quite a bit of information that you will need to research further. Another source that most overlook is checking with family and extended family for any letters that he may have written home. The letters would often have the soldier's ASN and unit and, of course, the date it was sent. Even if you initially get negative or neutral responses, keep putting the word out. I started doing that several years ago and got a lot of info and items. In fact, I'm still getting stuff from relatives as they come across them or their memory gets jogged.

 

You may want to try 82nd Airborne - WWII and 101st Airborne - WWII. Each of their respective regiments (and other subordinate units) have rosters, though I don't know how complete they are.

His reference to being "on a boat to another location when the war ended" may be referring to the surrender of Japan. A number of units that fought in the ETO were slated to head over to the PTO for the expected invasion of the Japanese mainland.

 

Everyone, Thank you for your help. We will check with relatives to see if they have written letters or cards from him to try and find his serial number. I will also check at NARA. I live in Northern Virginia and the National Archives are just a couple of metro stops away. I will also check into the 101st an 82nd sites. Again, Thank you.