Know anyone in the army in World War II?

[Rain Man]

See if you can find their enlistment record here. I found my grandfather's brother and my other grandfather's brother-in-law.

There's not much information here, but at the same time it's kind of cool that there are 9 million records.

The site is in the National Archives: http://aad.archives.gov/aad/fielded-search.jsp?dt=893&tf=F&cat=all. I think it's army only, though of course that would include the air force back then.

[Saccopoo]

Yep. Grandfather. I have the samurai sword he pirated out of Japan that he traded a shit ton of Army issued cigarettes for.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Completely awesome, Rainman. I found my dad's enlistment. Sadly, I wish there was even more detail, although I'm not sure what else they could provide.

[Hammock Parties]

Grandpa 1 (http://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&cat=all&tf=F&sc=24994,24995,24996,24998,24997,24993,24981,24983&bc=sl,fd&txt_24995=clarence+nath&op_24995=0&nfo_24995=V,24,1900&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=2035545)

Grandpa 2 (http://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&cat=all&tf=F&sc=24994,24995,24996,24998,24997,24993,24981,24983&bc=sl,fd&txt_24995=clyde+wendler&op_24995=0&nfo_24995=V,24,1900&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=6977095)

Very cool.

[Rain Man]

Here's a list of American prisoners of war. There were 15 guys with my last name who were POWs in WWII, 12 with the Germans and 3 with the Japanese. (I don't think any of them were immediate kin, just shared the last name.) One poor fellow got taken in the Philippines in 1942 and ended up being held in Manchuria. He wasn't released until November of 1945.

http://aad.archives.gov/aad/fielded-search.jsp?dt=466&tf=F&cat=GP23&bc=,sl

[Shogun]

Grandpa was in the Navy, his 2 brothers were both in the Army. One KIA.

My uncle was on Iwo Jima and lived through that shit hole.

[Rain Man]

Grandpa 1 (http://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&cat=all&tf=F&sc=24994,24995,24996,24998,24997,24993,24981,24983&bc=sl,fd&txt_24995=clarence+nath&op_24995=0&nfo_24995=V,24,1900&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=2035545)

Grandpa 2 (http://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&cat=all&tf=F&sc=24994,24995,24996,24998,24997,24993,24981,24983&bc=sl,fd&txt_24995=clyde+wendler&op_24995=0&nfo_24995=V,24,1900&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=6977095)

Very cool.


It's interesting that your first grandfather enlisted before we got into the war, and the second one was young enough that he didn't go in until after Germany had already tapped out. Two very different stories for people only four years apart.

[Buck]

My grandpa fought in Okinawa around 1945 (I think).

He was in the Marines though.

[Bugeater]

Huh, I know my grandfather on my dad's side was in it, but I can't recall what his first name was, and none of them with our last name from the state of Washington are ringing a bell to me.

[ClevelandBronco]

Yep. There they are. My father and a couple of his brothers.

[AndChiefs]

Here's a list of American prisoners of war. There were 15 guys with my last name who were POWs in WWII, 12 with the Germans and 3 with the Japanese. (I don't think any of them were immediate kin, just shared the last name.) One poor fellow got taken in the Philippines in 1942 and ended up being held in Manchuria. He wasn't released until November of 1945.

http://aad.archives.gov/aad/fielded-search.jsp?dt=466&tf=F&cat=GP23&bc=,sl

There were zero with my last name as POW's and only 10 overall. I have a very weird last name.

[Bob Dole]

Uncle Forrest is there.

Bob Dole has the telegram (and envelope) he sent his parents in Foster, MO for Christmas '43.

[Dave Lane]

Yep I see my dad in there not nuch information I ll have to tell him.

[ReynardMuldrake]

Found my grandfather. Very cool stuff.

[Swanman]

I found my grandpa's record in there. He worked on airplanes in Okinawa and was there when they dropped the bombs on Japan. He was obviously in the latter parts of WWII.

[notorious]

My neighbor fought on the Pacific islands during WWII. He was one the big guys that handled a BAR.


He won't talk about it much, though, and I don't blame him.

[phisherman]

found my grandpa too. very neat stuff.

[Frosty]

Found my grandpa. Also found his brother who was captured by the Japanese in the Philippines (he went through the Bataan death march, IIRC).

[seclark]

found both grandfathers.
6 great uncles

very cool, rainman...thanks!
sec

[MOhillbilly]

Granddad was Army Medic. Listed.

Grandpa was Navy UDT. Not Listed.

[morphius]

Found my Grandpa, he was a bit younger and was part of the group training to invade the island of Japan, luckily his tour involved helping them rebuild their country because I don't believe he wasn't looking forward to the other option.

[siberian khatru]

Both my grandfathers. Cool. Thanks!

[beach tribe]

Grandfather, and Great uncle both have TONS of Japanese, and German weapons, Nazi flags, Lugers all acquired from the dead soldiers/officers of the enemy forces they defeated. It's some cool shit. My Grandfather is a baptist preacher, and will not speak much of it, by my uncle has no problem telling you how many he killed, and if his numbers are accurate.......It was A LOT.

[Jenson71]

My grandpa is there. He beat up Audie Murphy.


Nah, I'm kidding. But he could have.

[MOhillbilly]

My dad said he never shot anyone then he would get weird and talk about how quick a m-60 would passify a village and what a grenade launcher would do to a man.

Hard to say whats what with combat vets sometimes.

[bowener]

Hm, roughly 120 with my last name.

[LiveSteam]

I couldn't find either of my moms uncles. Neither made it home. Oct 15 2009 the last vet that i knew from WWII past away in his sleep. He drove the Higgens boats up on to the beaches of OMAHA & was wounded in the second wave. from a motor round.

In 2004 when my father past away . 1600 vets of WWII were passing away each month. I was lucky to be the son of a solder.
In his 40 years as a solder. I had the privilege to meet & make friends with many that served in WWII. I have first hand battle story's from men that served in the BULGE, Italy & the Boot , D-DAY, & the Pacific Island hoping campaign. They were,are & always will be? The finest generation EVER!

[MOhillbilly]

i worked with a dude named wally at msu. he was in africa,italy,1st wave d-day, the bulge, all the way to germany.
Hard boiled. Nicest dude i worked with in the paint dept.

[AndChiefs]

Granddad was Army Medic. Listed.

Grandpa was Navy UDT. Not Listed.

Yeah, one of my grandfathers was also not listed.

[1adam1238]

found both grandfathers. Cool site.

[Chiefs Pantalones]

My Grandpa was. He took a pic of the Dali lama(sp).

[mlyonsd]

Cool sight. I found my Uncle who was in the Air Corp on B-29's. He made it home for Xmas in '44 and brought with him an MP that was supposed to make sure he didn't talk.....or something like that. That's my mom's story anyway.

[Rain Man]

There's all sorts of cool stuff in the National Archives.

Here's a database of 99.9 percent of the people who died in the Korean War. In many cases, it also includes how they died: http://aad.archives.gov/aad/display-partial-records.jsp?f=519&mtch=33615&q=navy&cat=all&dt=194&tf=F

Here's the same thing for the Vietnam War: http://aad.archives.gov/aad/fielded-search.jsp?dt=197&tf=F&cat=GP21&bc=,sl

[HonestChieffan]

many records were lost in the fire in st louis but they can find a lot if you get to right person. I got dads mission records, photos, crew list and more from the archives in England...he was a tailgunner in a b-17

[Frosty]

There's all sorts of cool stuff in the National Archives.

Here's a database of 99.9 percent of the people who died in the Korean War. In many cases, it also includes how they died: http://aad.archives.gov/aad/display-partial-records.jsp?f=519&mtch=33615&q=navy&cat=all&dt=194&tf=F

Here's the same thing for the Vietnam War: http://aad.archives.gov/aad/fielded-search.jsp?dt=197&tf=F&cat=GP21&bc=,sl


It's weird but the way that my family is spaced out, my grandpa was in WWII but I had no family at all in either of the above wars. My dad was stationed in Korea in '63 - '64, watching the DMZ, and then was out of the army by the time the Vietnam war (Conflict) heated up. I just missed out on the Gulf War (my National Guard unit went but I was out by then).

[MOhillbilly]

many records were lost in the fire in st louis but they can find a lot if you get to right person. I got dads mission records, photos, crew list and more from the archives in England...he was a tailgunner in a b-17

Think this is why i cant find anything on my dads service? I seem to remember something about a fire...way back.

[Rain Man]

Think this is why i cant find anything on my dads service? I seem to remember something about a fire...way back.


Probably. It seems like it was a disaster from a historical perspective. Click the link to find a link to possible alternative sources.

http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/fire-1973.html

On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at NPRC (MPR) destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files. The affected record collections are described below.

Branch
Personnel and Period Affected
Estimated Loss

Army
Personnel discharged November 1, 1912, to January 1, 1960
80%

Air Force
Personnel discharged, September 25, 1947, to January 1, 1964
(with names alphabetically after Hubbard, James E.)
75%

No duplicate copies of the records that were destroyed in the fire were maintained, nor was a microfilm copy ever produced. There were no indexes created prior to the fire. In addition, millions of documents had been lent to the Department of Veterans Affairs before the fire occurred. Therefore, a complete listing of the records that were lost is not available. Nevertheless, NPRC (MPR) uses many alternate sources in its efforts to reconstruct basic service information to respond to requests.

[Iowanian]

I found my people...just wish there was more information. Nice find.


Over Thanksgiving, I found out a little family history as a stash of old photos appeared recently from a more distant relative.

My Mom's grandfather was in WWI with his buddy who was my great grandmother's brother. My great grandmother's brother's foxhole was hit with a shell and nothing was ever found...until a few years ago, a the Family of a German who had ended up with his bible and something else sent them. My great grandfather was gassed, nearly died and was shipped home in very poor health. He eventually married my great grandmother, fathered my grandpa, and died not long after. I have a photo of these 2 that I am going to scan and do something with.

[HonestChieffan]

Think this is why i cant find anything on my dads service? I seem to remember something about a fire...way back.

A huge amount of info on flyers is in England as all records pertaining to service from bases there remained in England and has been maintained.

[Rain Man]

It's weird but the way that my family is spaced out, my grandpa was in WWII but I had no family at all in either of the above wars. My dad was stationed in Korea in '63 - '64, watching the DMZ, and then was out of the army by the time the Vietnam war (Conflict) heated up. I just missed out on the Gulf War (my National Guard unit went but I was out by then).

My family also has had very few in the military, but for a slightly different reason. They tended to either have young kids at the time and were thus disqualified, or they worked in fields like agriculture that were deemed vital to the war effort. (One grandfather was also a civilian working at an army base and so wasn't drafted.)

[Jenson71]

many records were lost in the fire in st louis but they can find a lot if you get to right person. I got dads mission records, photos, crew list and more from the archives in England...he was a tailgunner in a b-17

So was I!


well, on chiefsplanet.

[Frosty]

(One grandfather was also a civilian working at an army base and so wasn't drafted.)

My family missed all of the drafts because of age. My grandpa tried to enlist after Pearl Harbor but was basically told "we'll call you when we need you" and sent home. They called him up two years later. During that time, he married my grandma, who ended up being six months pregnant with my dad when they called him up.

If they had taken him at first, I might never had existed. Kind of weird to think about.

[Iowanian]

My grandpa and 3 of his brothers enlisted essentially at the same time. Another brother, who was around as much as a grandpa while I was growing up, was eaten up his entire life because he wasn't allowed in, because he'd been bucked off of a horse and had broken his back. Army's loss because he was the roughest of the bunch.

[MOhillbilly]

My family missed all of the drafts because of age. My grandpa tried to enlist after Pearl Harbor but was basically told "we'll call you when we need you" and sent home. They called him up two years later. During that time, he married my grandma, who ended up being six months pregnant with my dad when they called him up.

If they had taken him at first, I might never had existed. Kind of weird to think about.

my stepdad turned 18 on the c-130 to vietnam.