Posted on 08/13/2013 8:22:42 AM PDT by Slump Tester
My mother's brother recently passed away. I know he saw a lot of combat in Europe and liberated several camps. Unfortunately, that's about all I know, as Uncle Stanley never talked about the war, and we weren't allowed to ask him about it.
Whenever I see a movie about the war in Europe, I always wonder if that was his unit, if he was in that battle, etc...
Is there any way to find any of this out?
In addition to contacting the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO (archives.gov), I recommend getting a copy of “Finding Your Father’s War: A Practical Guide to Researching and Understanding Service in the World War II US Army” by Jonathan Gawne.
If you have a copy of his discharge, that is the best place to start. If you do not, check to see if he registered a copy with the county courthouse of his home county. After WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, soldiers were told to place a copy of their discharge with the local county courthouse records section so that one would be on file if they lost their original. In this era of identity theft, this is no longer recommended.
I would like more info on my worthless brother-in-law (If you know him he probably owes you money).
He got out of the Navy on a medical discharge, However, I’ve found family letters that he was scheduled for a court martial and a bad conduct discharge.
His father and a congressman managed to get him discharged with a medical discharge.
Back in the 1980s he found that if he played it right, he could get a VA pension, so since then his worthless hide has been sucking at the government tit. He has always had an aversion to WORK and has not worked since Reagan was President.
Mr/Ms Slump, some possible bad news concerning you relitives’ WW II Records: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Personnel_Records_Center_fire , good luck
Did it ever occur to you that they may not have wanted you or anyone else to know such things?
Tread carefully.
A LOT of WWII vets were EXTREMELY sensitive about their actions and their conduct. In their minds, the war died with them.
They took it to their graves.
Just a suggestion.
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