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Batman47 Board Founder/CNC User is Offline Joined: 10 Feb 2007 Posts: 368 Karma: 5 applaud / smite 397 points 0 warnings 0 tempbans	Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 6:06 am    Post subject: Veteran Record Search Information · Quote Questions Frequently Asked by Constituents Genealogy How do I begin conducting research for a family tree? My parents immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1904. They initially landed at Ellis Island. How can I find out more information about their arrival? I am applying for a passport and I cannot get one without proof of citizenship. I know that my father became a naturalized citizen sometime in the 1930's. How can I obtain proof of citizenship? Military How do I find information about my great-great-grandfather who fought in the Civil War? My father was stationed in Germany (or aboard the U.S.S. Whiteside) during World War II. How can I find out what my father did in World War II? I served in the 101st Airborne Division during World War II. How do I find my own service record and/or request my medal? How can I get a photograph of the ship that I served on during my service in the Korean War? My town is constructing a memorial for all those from the town who were killed in the Korean War. Can I get a casualty list for my town so that all of the individuals can be documented on the memorial? Answers on the web site http://www.archives.gov/congress/questions.html Introduction Whether you are a veteran, a descendent of a veteran, or an interested researcher, you can locate the information you are looking for. Check each of the sections below for what fits your needs. If you are looking for a unit, visit the [Databases] page. First Steps If you are a veteran, write down your recollections. Concentrate on known dates, events, or other significant details. The more data points you can provide, the easier the research task will be. If you are a descendant, or interested researcher, it is important to gather every scrap of information that you can. A lot of your initial ideas may derive from oral histories passed around the family. These can be important leads but should never be looked at as absolutes. Look for photos, old letters, telegrams, local newspaper clippings, government documents, diaries, uniform items, anything that might tell a portion of the story. As a researcher you should always strive to find the truth of the story. Often the research will lead you in directions that you might never have considered at the start of the process. Records to Locate - See below General Online Aids - Finding Needles in Haystacks One of the most common requests is help with finding crew members and other veterans. It helps to know the full name of the individual(s) you are searching for. If in the case of a lost aircraft, see the MACR file mentioned further down this page. American Battle Monuments Commission: WWII Honor Roll, if the veteran you are searching for was killed in action and is still buried overseas he should be listed in this database. Burials in the domestic United States are not covered. Department of Veterans Affairs: National Cemetery Administration - Nationwide Gravesite Locator, if your veteran is buried in a national cemetery, this database covers almost all 120 of them. Burials abroad are not covered. WWII POW Database Search at NARA, the records identify World War II U.S. military officers and soldiers and U.S. and some Allied civilians who were prisoners of war (POWs) and internees. (Select the orange "Search" button, then "Wars / International Relations: World War II" link, Records of World War II Prisoners of War, created, 1942 - 1947 "Search" button). You can enter a search term right away if you know what terms to search for, or I suggest clicking on the "Search" button link for more detailed search options. WWII Army Enlistment Records, this can be a great way to find a serviceman's serial number and other basic details (Select the orange "Search" button, then "Wars / International Relations: World War II" link, World War II Army Enlistment Records "Search" button). You can enter a search term right away if you know what terms to search for, or I suggest clicking on the "Search" button link for more detailed search options. Note: About 35% of the records have a scanning error, these are minor spelling errors so search accordingly. Additionally, about 13% of the available paper records could not be converted for the database. Furthermore, these records are for persons who enlisted in the Army, Army Reserves, and Women's Auxiliary Corps during World War II (1938-1946). The records do not include Army officers; however, note that many officers enlisted first and were commissioned later when they finished their training - so you may be able to locate their initial enlistment records. World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel, indexed by State. This resource is not searchable yet, the information presented online consists of image scans from the NARA publication. The veteran's hometown newspaper. This overlooked resource can be a huge asset. Dig through those archives and look for notices about service members. The public relations guys in WWII were great about getting notices posed in local papers about local servicemen; when they graduated from boot camp, training phases, were promoted, sometimes even in action overseas - it's worth your time. Social Security Death Index at Rootsweb.com , FamilyTreeMaker.com, FamilyTreeLegends.com, FamilySearch.com, search these online indexes for likely matches. This resource can save you a lot of time. World War II records held by NARA, nice overview of the NARA holdings. Records To Locate: GREAT RESOURCES http://www.armyairforces.com/help.asp Basic Research Information for Family Members of Unaccounted-for Americans 1. Overview on Conducting Research on Prisoners of War/Missing in Action A. The key to researching information about a particular POW/MIA case is to begin with as much basic information as possible on the individual, the loss incident, and post-incident reporting. This information can then be used to direct searches for more specific records. Individual personal information means: full name, nickname, branch of service, rank, service number, race, height, weight, hair and eye color, a photograph as close as possible to the date of loss, any distinguishing characteristics, and medical and dental records. Incident information includes: date, location, description of incident, loss of vehicle (if any), others in incident along with their status, and any known witnesses. Post incident reporting includes: any information from incident witnesses, subsequent sightings or hearsay from returned POWs or indigenous personnel, physical evidence, and U.S. and/or foreign military, civic or other documentation. B. The Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO), the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), and the individual Service Casualty Offices (SCO) maintain most of the information in individual casualty files for Korean and Vietnam War losses. The Archival Research Directorate is developing case files on missing World War II personnel as requested by family members, DPMO directorates, JPAC, and other constituents. C. The U.S. Government Repository that houses personal information about an individual’s service history is the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), in St. Louis, Missouri, where service records are filed and stored. The first step in obtaining the service record of your loved one is to fill out an SF-180, which can be obtained from NPRC’s website. If you do not have Internet access, call the service branch at NPRC and leave a message with the serviceman’s name and the mailing address. It is important to let them know if the request for information relates to an ongoing medical emergency. D. The primary U.S. government repository that houses general and specific military information about an individual’s unit, its actions, and history is the National Archives & Records Administration (NARA). The NARA system is a collection of repositories that includes the main Archives in Washington, DC, NARA II in College Park, Maryland, the Washington National Records Center in Suitland, Maryland, most of the Presidential Libraries, and several regional repositories. NARA has the preponderance of its records organized in “Record Groups” according to the organization that created them. The more precise you can be in identifying the organization and dates, the more successful you will be finding the records for which you are searching. NARA is not resourced to do the research for you, but individual staffers will assist you in getting started. To assist researchers in conducting POW/MIA research at its facilities, NARA has published several Reference Information Papers (booklets) on American POW’s and MIA Personnel from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War. You can obtain some of these directly from NARA for a nominal fee. E. Other domestic repositories that may contain information related to the loss include the Service History Offices and Museums (see below), and local university and public libraries. Many of these facilities have “Special Collections” of individuals who left their personal papers to their university or hometown library. F. Networking with other family members whose loved ones were lost in the same incident or area may be a way of locating additional information that may not be in the official case files. 2. Sources for Historical Documentation Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) – contains circumstances of loss, search & recovery efforts and graves registration service investigations, in addition to the recovery or non-recovery of remains and burial location. Found at the National Archives & Records Administration II (NARA II) in College Park, MD Individual Personnel File (IPF or ‘201 File’) – provides basic details such as enlistment information, duty stations and assignments, awards/promotions, and separation from duty data. Found at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. Morning Reports – Indicates the operational strength of the serviceman’s unit in addition to verifying unaccounted status (KIA, MIA, WIA, etc.). Found at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. American Graves Registration Services (AGRS) records – include Search & Recovery Reports, Field Search Cases, Mortuary Records, and Unknown X-Files. Found at NARA II. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) – An Army Air Forces record documenting the mission of the aircraft, roster of personnel aboard, destination, and the circumstances of loss. Found at NARA II. Unit histories, war diaries, muster rolls, ship logs, mission reports – Pertaining to all four of the armed services. Found at NARA and the various service history offices/libraries on various bases (see detailed list below). 3. Information Flow – A Visual of How Research is Conducted Within AR Just how do we gather information in our research? The following is a Diagram of how we proceed with the typical WWII question/request… This interactive chart provides a link to each important document researchers use in their quest to furnish additional information to families (i.e., the IDPF, MACR, Mission Report, Form 180, et.al.) http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/research/archival_efforts.htm Access to Military Service and Pension Records http://www.archives.gov/research/order/vets-records.html Frequently Requested Records Which Are NOT at the National Personnel Records Center - Military Personnel Records Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) records. For further information call the VA Toll Free number 1-800-827-1000. Pay records. If available at all, these would be at the various Department of Defense Finance Centers. Records of veterans who have been separated from active service, but have reserve status, either active or inactive. Contact the Reserve Component of the appropriate branch of service. Records of veterans who have been discharged, retired, or who died in service since 1995 (Navy), 1999 (Marine Corps), 2003 (Army), or 2005 (Air Force). Contact the Personnel Center or Headquarters of the appropriate branch of service. Records of members currently in the National Guard. Contact the Adjutant General's office of the appropriate state. The National Guard Bureau website contains additional information. Records of former National Guard members who were not called into active federal service. Contact the Adjutant General of the state in which the member served. Selective Service Records. Most active duty health records have not been retired to NPRC (MPR) since the dates in the chart below. Those records are managed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Records Management Center, 4360 Goodfellow Blvd. Bldg. 104, St. Louis, Mo. 63120-8950. Call the VA toll free number at 1-800-827-1000 to identify the current location of specific health records and to find out how to obtain releasable documents or information. http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/frequently-requested-records.html Military Record Requests: Standard Form SF-180 http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/standard-form-180.html Military Service Records and Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs, DD Form 214) http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records Location of Military Service Records, Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs) and Health and Medical Records http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/location Military Medical and Health Records http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/medical.html Correcting Military Service Records and Discharges http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/correcting-records.html Requesting Replacement Medals, Awards, and Decorations http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/replacement-medals.html National Personnel Records Center (St. Louis, MO) Archival Research Room http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/public/archival-programs.html NARA's National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), St. Louis http://www.archives.gov/st-louis World War II Alphabetical Names http://www.kirksville.k12.mo.us/Veterans_Memorial/WWII/A_TO_Z.HTM#P List of World War II aces from United States This is a list of fighter aces in World War II from United States. http://experts.about.com/e/l/li/List_of_World_War_II_aces_from_United_States.htm Phipps is not listed Recipients Of The Navy Cross Award of WW II (This listing is as complete as we are able to provide from numerous resources, however it is possible that a few recipients may not be listed. You can verify if someone received the Navy Cross from this list, but absence of a name should NOT be construed to definitively negate a veteran's claim to this award.) In Alphabetical Order are the names of the 3,634 individuals who earned one or more of the total 3,972 Navy Crosses awarded for heroism during World War II. Phipps, Peter, Lieutenant Commander (Foreign) - NC (WWII) http://www.homeofheroes.com/valor/0_NC/06_ncross_wwii-listAll.html The ribbon to the World War II Victory Medal consists of a central stripe of red edged in white. The edge stripes of the ribbon consist of a double rainbow. The center stripe of red is the color of Mars, the ancient Roman God of War. The thin white stripes at the edge of the red represent the "dawn of a new day of peace and freedom," or the end of war. The edge stripes (the double rainbows) are the colors of the World War I Victory Medal. The use of two of them on this ribbon signifies the second world war; they also encompass all the colors of the Allies and allude to the rainbow at the end of a storm. http://www.foxfall.com/fmc-wwiiv.htm World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a decoration of the United States military which was created by an act of Congress in July 1945. The decoration commemorates military service during the Second World War and is awarded to any member of the United States military, including members of the armed forces of the Government of the Philippine Islands, who served on active duty, or as a reservist, between December 7, 1941 and December 31, 1946. The World War II Victory Medal was first issued as a ribbon, and was referred to simply as the “Victory Ribbon.” By 1946, a full medal had been established which was referred to as the World War II Victory Medal. There is no minimum service time limit for the issuance of the World War II Victory Medal, and the National Personnel Records Center http://www.answers.com/topic/national-personnel-records-center has reported some cases of service members receiving the award for simply a few days of service. As the Second World War ended in August 1945, there are also cases of service members, who had enlisted in 1946, receiving the decoration without having been a veteran of World War II. The reason for this late date is that President Harry S Truman did not declare an official end of hostilities until the last day of 1946. The corresponding decoration from the First World War is the World War I Victory Medal. See also: Awards and decorations of the United States military National Personnel Records Center The National Personnel Records Center is an agency of the National Archives and Records Administration and is divided into two large Federal Records Centers located in St. Louis, Missouri. The current director of the National Personnel Records Center, as of June 2004, is retired U.S. Coast Guard Captain, Ronald Hindman. The records centers which comprise the National Personnel Records Center are the Military Personnel Records Center, located on Page Avenue in Overland, Missouri, and the Civilian Personnel Records Center located on Winnebago Street in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. A separate building, which houses archived Navy and Marine Corps military records (now released to the public as of 2005) is located within walking distance of the Military Personnel Records Center on Dielman Road, also in Overland. http://www.answers.com/topic/national-personnel-records-center EACH STATE Library as history: Research Guide to World War II Service Records at the Connecticut State Library http://www.cslib.org/worldwarii.htm The World War II Service Database Honouring The University of Manitoba's Contribution to the Allied War Effort http://umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/archives/WorldWarII/index2.shtml To verify an American prisoner of war and learn the last camp he or she was held in try this new service - Prisoner of War Information Systems There is NO charge for the service of verifying POW status. They also provide other free services. There is a charge of $20-25 for a POW Certificate of Captivity, which provides a personalized description of the individual POW's experience, with photo background depicting captivity in the various theaters of operations for WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. The company is owned by 2 former WWII POWs and they have spent several years researching and organizing this list of POWs. E-mail stofkos@prodigy.net If starting from scratch, you should first try to locate the service member’s military service records in your families records. If you can not locate them then you can request a copy of the their military service records by contacting the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), St. Louis, MO to request "Standard Form (SF) 180, Request Pertaining to Military Records", at the following (314) 538-4261 or fax (314) 538-4175 or you may download this form at http://www.nara.gov/regional/mprsf180.html. Please be aware that many records were lost in the 1973 fire. But this is a good place to start. If you are researching an Army Air Force service member, once you have identified the group or unit he served with you should try to contact his Bomber or Fighter Group Memorial Association to obtain basic information, like crash date, crewmembers, etc. Many of these groups now have websites. To find the group's contact person visit the Heavy Bombers website unit locator page. If you do not know the group number, try to find the discharge papers which will indicate the Group or Squadron (there were usually 4 squadrons to a group). Missing Air Crew Reports are invaluable and one of the most easily obtainable reports from the government. I can not stress enough how valuable this report will be to you in your research. To obtain your copy of a WWII airplane crash simply send an email to inquire@arch2.nara.gov Give them as many details as you know about the crash, such as crash date, Bomb Group, crash site (if known), pilot, etc. and of course the address you would like the report mailed to. They will then mail to you (it takes about a week) the full governmental report on the crash, including eyewitness accounts and any German documents (in English) that they acquired after the war. It may come on micro-fiche, so you may have to go to your library to read and /or print copies. They also will send you a bill for $5.00 for this service along with the documents. Click here for a full description of the MACR report ( or scroll down to the bottom of this page). The MACR also contains the names of the other crew members on the plane when it was shot down. You may wish to contact them or their next of kin. There are several ways to try and contact them. The quickest way is check with the American Ex-Prisoners of War Organization and see if they are a member. Send them an email with the names and the military group they were assigned to and ask them to check their membership directory and let you know if that person is or ever has been a member. If they find them in their records they can provide the current address, phone number and the POW Camp they were held in. I also have a copy of the latest published membership directory - 1999 (as I am the volunteer webmaster for AXPOW) and will be happy to look someone up for you - you can email me at stalagluftone@hotmail.com If that fails you could try doing a "people" search on the Internet using Switchboard.com or Whitepages.com (of course this really works best if it is an unusual name, etc.). You also might try searching the AOL member directory. If these fail you can write to: Department of Veterans Affairs Records Management Center P. O. Box 5020 St. Louis, MO 63115 They can not give you an address, but can forward a letter to the last known address for the Veteran. Again you must give as much info as possible about the veteran (military group, dates of service, area of service, etc) so they can locate the proper person you are looking for. Once you learn the crash site, you should write to the town's archivist or historian, who can assist you in trying to locate any accounts of the crash. Ask them to forward your letter to a historical association in the area and/or hand your request to a local newspaper which could publish a note asking eye-witnesses to contact you. However, you will have to give them as many details of the crash as possible (exact crash location, day, time and other circumstances, which you will find in the MACR). There are surprisingly many people still alive that witnessed these crashes and researchers are having good luck finding them. (On a personal note I have just located two eyewitnesses to my Dad's crash.) Click here to read the eyewitness accounts of my Dad's crash. The American Ex-Prisoners of War has a monthly publication called the Ex-POW Bulletin that is mailed to all its members, as well as published on their website. Try placing an ad in their "Looking For" section. There is no charge for placing the ad. Here is the link to that page on their site http://www.axpow.org/lookingfor.htm Visit the Dad's War site or Heavy Bombers Research site for more tips in researching. Good luck in your search for information, I am sure it will be worth every hour you put into it. In doing so you will meet some wonderful people, some of whom may have wondered for 50 plus years whatever happened to your loved one. http://www.merkki.com/macr.htm How to get Medals Decorations and awards have one main purpose: to provide tangible and visible evidence of heroism, acts of valor, meritorious service, personal and unit achievement, and other valuable service rendered to our nation and others. Such decorations and awards are highly valued not only by those who have earned them, but also by their families. The information that follows is intended to be an aid to you in getting medals that have been awarded to you or someone you are trying to help. If at any time in the process you need help, contact your Department Service Officer in your area or call our Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation office in Detroit at (313) 964-6640. The appropriate branch of service will issue medals awarded while in active service if requested by veterans or, if deceased, their next of kin. One replacement set of medals will be authorized. A letter can be used for this purpose or, Standard Form 180; Request Pertaining To Military Records can also be used (you can obtain a copy on the web from http://www.nara.gov/regional/mprsf180.html). In either case, the veterans full name should be printed or typed, so that it can be read clearly. The request must contain the following information: Branch of service; Service number or Social Security number of the veteran; Dates of service; Date and place of birth (especially if service number is not known); Name of the requestor if the veteran is deceased; Return address (and daytime telephone number); Signature of the veteran or the next of kin; A copy of the discharge or separation document: WDAGO Form 53-55 or DD Form 214 (if available). You may wish to request any and all awards and decorations to which you may be entitled. Here are the addresses for each branch of service: Army: U.S. Army Reserve Personnel Center ATTN.: ARPC-VSE 9700 Page Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63132-5100 Air Force: Air Force Reference Branch NCPMF National Personnel Records Center 9700 Page Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63132-5100 Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, Marine Corps: Navy Liaison Office (N314) Room 3475, N-314 9700 Page Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63132-5200 http://www.michiganlegion.org/var/medals.html Awards and decorations of the United States military http://dictionary.laborlawtalk.com/Awards_and_decorations_of_the_United_States_military _________________ U. S. Navy Veteran  August 1977 to July 1983 Yoeman Second Class, with student pilot's license
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