Some Sources of US Military Info
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In reply to:
Camille R Tourville, Hartford, Conn.
6/24/01
Michael:
I'm not sure if your person was in the Army or Air Force, or a member of a fighting unit or perhaps in the Ordnance unit. I'm no expert, but I have extracted the following from other various sources of info over a period of time:
PFC = private first class
INF = infantry
AUS = Army of the United States
DET = Detachment
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - http://www.army.mil/history/http://www.army.mil/history/ -
How can I locate a former soldier or buddy from an old unit ?
How may I obtain historical operational information about a particular Army unit ?
How may I obtain a copy of my military personnel record ?
How may I obtain a copy of my military medical record ?
What is the number of the S*xual Harassment Hotline ?
How do I join the Army ?
How do I find Army Publications, Field Manuals, and Electronic Forms ?
How do I find out about Awards, Promotion Lists, and other Personnel Actions ?
Where can I find official DoD Per Diem rates and DoD pay rates ?
How do I find Army organizations and Units ?
My father fought in WW II and is deceased. Can I get his official Army records, including and information about any medals and awards he may have earned ?
The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) maintains "morning reports" for the period 1917-1974. These records were made each day in every company in the Army. A morning report tells where the soldiers are, lists casualties and people coming and going and even describes the weather. Ask for morning reports from the date he would have entered that outfit until a few days after your veteran died. Be specific about what unit he was with (example: 5th Army, 10th Mt. Division, 87th Mt. Infantry, Company A.) and where they were fighting (Italy). Send proof of your relationship. It takes at least 3 months to get these records. Contact:
Chief, Army Reference Branch NCPMA-O
Military Personnel Records
National Personnel Records Center
9700 Page Boulevard
St Louis MO 63132-5100
Discharge papers tell the person's unit. Discharge papers were recorded at the county courthouse where the enlisted person lived. If you know where they resided when they were inducted and
discharged, you should check there.
An individual usually filed a copy of his separation papers with the city and/or county clerk to prove eligibility for local veterans' bonus. If your state, county, etc., paid no bonus, there will probably be no papers. The unit listed in your subject's separation papers is the unit to which he was assigned while awaiting discharge. This may or may not be the unit he served with overseas (it usually isn't).
Since enlisted men were seldom -if ever- entrusted with their own records, the unit listed was most often merely the custodian of the individual's records while he was being processed out. In many cases, this was a purely "paper" assignment inasmuch as the individual went home on terminal leave and saw little -if any- actual duty with the unit.
Also, if you have not done so, go into this GENFORUM.COM under "Wars" and check what is posted under - http://genforum.genealogy.com/wwii/http://genforum.genealogy.com/wwii/ -