How to Locate Someone Who Fought in World War II

American prisoners of war celebrate the 4th of July in the Japanese prison camp of Casisange in Malaybalay, on Mindanao, P.I. It was against Japanese regulations and discovery would have meant death, but the men celebrated the occasion anyway.

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.

How to Locate Someone Who Fought in World War II

Other Links That Might Help You