Hello, everyone! Newbie to the forums here. I'm here because I'm just starting to do some extensive research on my Grandad's time in the war. He was part of the 8th Air Force (Carpetbaggers) and a POW. About 15 years ago I recorded him telling his story, and I would eventually like to write a book about it as well. Here's a link for anyone interested: https://youtu.be/aW_6nFBKNJ8 I have some high-level records, like when he enlisted, where he was a POW, etc., but I am interested in getting into some more specific and local research, and generally curious what resources anyone around the forum might have used to get records from any of these places: Ft. Hayes (Ohio) Sheppard Airfield (Texas) Ft. MacDill (Florida) Any airfields in Utah around SLC Ft. Dix (New Jersey) Americans stationed at RAF Harrington Base, UK Specific timelines/movements of POWs after they were moved from Stalag Luft IV Some examples: In the video, my grandfather mentions a "Major Fletcher" several times at Harrington. Any way to find a list of those that were stationed at Harrington to see if I could figure out more about him? Or would there be any training or flight records from Ft. MacDill? Just curious if anyone has had any luck getting more local records and how you went about getting a hold of them. Or if you think I'm probably outta luck on finding anything more specific than what's on the National Archives website, feel free to let me know that too. : ) Thanks so much for reading, and I look forward to learning from the folks on the forum!
Welcome, JMeoww. I found a few things. Here is his listing in the NARA POW electronic archives. He was in the 36th Bomb Squadron (Heavy). You may recognize him in this photo (front row, far right):
I found a couple other items from the Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) that may interest you. The Casualty Questionaire regarding your Grandfather View attachment 25085 and the Statement of Capture or Recovery recording his capture View attachment 25086
WWII records for Army installations, if they exist, would most likely be at the NARA, probably College Park. For places like Fort Dix which are still in use, you could try contacting their Museum. They may be able to steer you in the right direction.
You can find out more about Stalag Luft IV here (if you've not already seen it) http://www.b24.net/pow/stalag4.htm You might also look here for info about the 36th http://36rcm.com/personnel/aircrew/aircrew.htm For a lot of material on the 36th, look here http://www.36rcm.com/
Wow, thanks so much for the information and tips! You guys are great! @TD-Tommy76, I hadn't seen those documents before -- really appreciate that. I'll definitely start reaching out to those bases and have a look at the NARA POW records. College Park is close enough for me to make a trip too. The photo I've seen before, and it's actually mislabelled. My grandfather tried to tell a few sources that it wasn't him in the picture, but it's still listed as him all around. Haha. @LRusso216, I hadn't come across those sites yet, so thank you for sharing those links. Thanks again for the warm/informative welcome!
That is interesting, and unfortunate. Not only is it mislabeled with respect to your grandfather, but they guy who is pictured is not properly identified.
