|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
How To Locate Someone Who Fought in World War II
The purpose of this handout
is to help you locate information on veterans who served
in World War II. Step
1 is concerned with getting
basic information on the veteran, while Step
2 concentrates on getting
in contact with the veteran's outfit.
START:
If the Veteran died overseas go to step 1A.
If the veteran returned from the war go to step 1B.
1A: Veterans
Who Never Made It Home
Request the veteran's Individual Deceased Personnel File
(IDPF). The IDPF will almost always establish his unit
and give information on his burial. In many cases, it
will also give valuable information about where and when
he died, possibly including reports of the action in which
he died. For men whose remains were never recovered or
identified, extremely valuable records of the testimonies
of his buddies are usually included, giving extraordinary
information about the action, what happened to him, and
when they last saw him. NOTE: You must send a letter before
any information can be sent out to you. The letter should
include your signed statement of willingness to pay the
Freedom of Information Act fees for the work involved.
If you are requesting your relative's IDPF, they may not
charge you. THEY CANNOT DO ANY WORK WITHOUT A
LETTER FROM YOU!
Freedom of Information ACT (FOIA) Office
Total Army Personnel Command
ATTN: TAPC-PAO (FOIA)
200 Stovall Street Alexandria, VA 22332-040
Phone: (703) 325-9256
You can find a listing of dead and missing Army and Air
Force personnel by county at The National Archives
and Records Administration website. Point your browser
to
http://www.archives.gov/research_room/arc/ to get
to the Archival Research Catalog (ARC).
Once there, you can now use shortcut links to go straight
to WW II casualty information without having to do a search.
Those shortcut links are: World war II Honor List of Dead
and Missing Army and
Army Air Forces Personnel:
www.archives.gov/research_room/arc/wwii/army_aaf_honor_list/table_of_contents.html
State Summary of war Casualties from World War II for
Navy, Marine Corps,
and Coast Guard Personnel:
www.archives.gov/research_room/arc/wwii/navy_marines_coast_guard_casualties/
table_of_contents.html
If the Veteran was buried
overseas and you want information on a gravesite or
possible memorial site, contact the American Battle
Monuments Commission:
American Battle Monuments Commission
Courthouse Plaza II
2300 Clarendon Blvd., Suite 500
Arlington, VA 22201
Phone: (703) 696-6897
1B:Veterans
Who Made It Home After the War
If the veteran came home then
his discharge papers will provide a lot of valuable
information. If you do not have these papers you will
want to contact the NATIONAL
PERSONNEL RECORDS CENTER.
To get this information you must fill out a Standard
Form 180. To get a form, call the following numbers
and leave you name and address. The Standard Form 180
will be mailed to you.
National Personnel Records
Center
(Military Personnel Records)
9700 Page Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63132-5100
Phone: (314) 801-0800
www.archives.gov/facilities/mo/st_louis/military_personnel_records.html
The National Personnel Records
Center might not have any information about your veteran
due to a sever fire in 1974 that destroyed many records.
You may try contacting the Department of Veteran Affairs.
They have addresses and information on veterans who
applied for benefits. To find out if they have any information
on your veteran, call them:
1(800) 827-1000
If the Department of Veteran Affairs does not have any
information you can try contacting the Veteran Affairs
Insurance Office:
1(800) 669-8477
If you do not know the veteran's Social Security number
and the veteran has applied for veterans benefits after
April of 1973 you can send a $2 check made payable to
the Department of Veteran Affairs. In a letter to them
ask for your veteran's VA claim number, not his Social
Security number. If the claim number is 9 digits then
it is also the veteran's SS number. Mail this letter
to :
Department of Veteran Affairs
Records Management Processing Center
P.O. Box 5020
St. Louis, MO 63115
STEP 2:
Finding a Veteran's Outfit
Once you find information
on your veteran, or if you already knew it, you can
contact members of that veteran's military unit. A
good place to start is with Ben Myers Associations and
Alumni Database:
Ben Myers Associations and Alumni Database
http://www.military-network.com/ben/Associationmenu.cfm
This site has information on many military organization
and groups. From here you can contact the person in
charge of the group your veteran served in to get further
detailed information. This is the best way to get in
contact with the soldiers who served with your veteran.
Other Links That Might Help
You
Marines
Military
Reunions
USMC
Reunions
WWII Veterans
Website
VA Homepage
US Veteran's
Website
Post Office Box 901
Columbia, MO 65202-0901
Phone: (573) 474-4444
Fax: (573) 474-7904
War
Buddies (a personal quest
for WWII veterans)
Or Try:
The United States Veteran
Support Information Index
P.O. Box 528
Morris, NY 13808
Good
Luck!
These pages could
not have been put together without the following sources:
- Dad's
War
- Ben Myers Associations
and Alumni Database
- "How to Locate
Anyone Who is or Has Been in the Military," by
Lt. Col. Richard Johnson and Debra Johnson Know, MIE
Publishing, Spartanburg, SC 1999.
|
|
|
|
|
