I'm bummed, just learned my grandfather's military records burned up in 1973 fire

[Equinox Moon]

I was doing some family research and wanted to look up my grandfather's military records from WWll.
They are gone forever - what a bummer!

Army ----- Personnel discharged November 1, 1912 to January 1, 1960----80% destroyed
Air Force ------Personnel discharged September 25, 1947 to January 1, 1964------75% destroyed



https://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/fire-1973.html

[Sherman A1]

1. Sorry to hear that

It was a huge fire. I watched it from my then girlfriends home a mile or so away. It about bankrupted a couple of local fire departments and I think that the Federal Government sent them some cash later on.

You might have some luck rebuilding some of his records by going through the units in which he may have served. It won't be perfect and the archivists in the new location are working to restore what they can, but it is a painstakingly slow process and many records are beyond recovery.

[Equinox Moon]

2. Thanks, it will be a bigger task than I had planned.

It is all public information at this point for anyone discharged before 1956, so I have that on my side. Thanks for the tip on looking into his unit.

[Sherman A1]

5. There may be some other alternative methods to reconstruct

his record, but I don't know them as I was dealing with a Navy Record and those survived the blaze. I would do some research on Ancestry, Fold3 and similar sites for advice on the subject. You may not get lucky and find a work around, but you very well could and it's worth at least doing some poking around to see if there is hope.

Good Luck!

[Equinox Moon]

7. One never knows where these historical info quests take them.

[Sherman A1]

11. Very true

I came across the Muster Rolls of my Dad's ship on Fold3 and have been able to track it's movement from the US across the Pacific in general terms at least. I also found the Amphibious group diary to which it belonged.

After attending a presentation by the DAR recently, I did a little digging and found an ancestor in my tree served briefly in the 5th VA Regiment in 1777.

It's cool to place one's family tree against the background of history.

[Equinox Moon]

12. Wow, that is really something Sherman.

What a find!

[Sherman A1]

14. Dumb luck

more than anything along with more and more records being digitized.

[csziggy]

17. It's strange the odd things that survived over time

I found the records for my Dad's time in the Navy, on the USS Spot, along with the details of a boarding party he was part of. Those, along with his service records, give us a very complete picture of his time in WWII.

The coolest thing I found on Fold3 that was unexpected were the reports of the Army Corp of Engineers during WWI. My grandfather (DMW) was a lieutenant and all officers were requested to write reports on their actions. DMW did not arrive in France until shortly before Armistice Day so much of what he did was to rebuild roads. He had a good writing style and I especially enjoyed this part of his report:

"The insatiable appetite of the road for brick and rock soon developed a shortage of material. The entire town of Binarville was soon on the road and all the ruined buildings from Vienne le Chateau soon followed. Workable deposits of concrete in German pill boxes, Cut and Cover shelters, and Artillery emplacements were found. With the assistance of Salvaged German explosives, a good production soon developed."

We have photos he took in France while he was there and the devastation he saw was horrific. This one is labeled Binarville:

[Sherman A1]

21. Wow! Photos from the Great War!

You are very lucky to have come across this and the account provided is excellent. I have no doubt that you are pleased with your find and will share it with your following generations. Simply amazing.

I was lucky with my find of the information on my ancestor in the 5th VA Regiment and I encourage anyone to take a look at the DAR site if there’s anyone in your line that may have served in the period. The site is free for basic researching.

I found a GGGrandfather who served in the Civil War using the National Parks Soldiers and Sailors webpage and did follow up on Fold3 getting some pay records of both he and his younger brother.

I am also lucky to be able to access Fold3 through my local library for free.

It can be hit or miss, but it pays to go back occasionally and take another look as so much more is being digitized for online research.

[csziggy]

24. We've got more - and photos earlier than that, too

Grandfather took photos of New Orleans before WWI. He was a civil engineer and took photos of levees blowouts, rebuilding levees, and construction of pump stations. He also took photos of the New Orleans social scene with yacht races on Lake Pontchartrain and other events.

After my father died we found a paper bag with envelopes of those photos and negatives. Sometimes the photos and negatives matched up, sometimes not. I've scanned them all and have them online. I've tried to get some to the attention of appropriate history groups, but so far have no response from any. The images date from 1909 (Michigan School of Mines in Lansing) to 1940 (Agricola, Florida, a Swift & Co. mining town that no longer exists).

My family never threw anything away so we have a lot of oddball stuff like this. Now that Dad is gone and Mom going, my sister and I are trying to sort it all out and get it where it can all be seen.

[mulsh]

18. The Archives will send you what records they have. I worked on the national Asbestos trials for a

number of year and processed thousands of military records from the time your relative served.

If records exist, and some are intact, you'll get copies. If records partially burned you'll get copies of what they've got plus a certificate for the burned records. If all records were burned they will send you a certificate verifying this.

You won't know until you apply for the records which I highly recommend you do.

Good luck.

[USALiberal]

3. So did my Dads, I was really disappointed. nt

[Equinox Moon]

4. Bummer

[rickford66]

6. We all recorded our discharge papers with the County Clerks back then.

My Dad was pretty upset when he found out his WWII service records went up in smoke, but he still had copies at the Court House. In the age of magnetic media, it's still a good idea to get those records recorded at your County Clerk's Office. It's not just for titles, birth certificates and marriage certificates. By the way, back in 1971, the US Immigration Service lost our marriage certificate, but I was able to get certified copies at the County Clerk's Office.

[Equinox Moon]

8. Great tip

Thanks

[rickford66]

9. I wasn't home from the Navy for 5 minutes and my Dad said in the morning get those papers recorded.

[Equinox Moon]

10. I guess I should do something with mine

[rickford66]

13. Right. A plain ZEROX of your DD214 may not be accepted by someone.

The County Clerks's copy will be certified. It should have a seal or imprint. It shouldn't cost anything either. I know mine didn't, but that was back in the Dark Ages.

[Equinox Moon]

15. Yep, I a few copies with the embossed seal.

I should not have them all in one place though.

[Frustratedlady]

16. Check out your local library, as well.

See if they have microfilm/microfiche (ours has records for many subjects), information on his unit/Naval history, etc. They should also have advanced software for running searches. If they have a research center, the clerks should be able to guide you on where to find what you need.

My great-great-grandfather was a Captain in the Civil War. The library had a bunch of books with descriptions of all the battles/marches they went through. They were like diaries, but all official records from the federal govt. I should think they would have similar books for WWII. Although I already had a lot of this information, those books verified dates/details and added a lot more information.

Also, a lot of people wrote books about the various wars and WWII should have tons of those to use for research. You may only have a few pages, but those bits of info add up. You wouldn't believe how much info is out there.

I need to get my info gathered together again and type up books on each family. I may not live long enough to finish them all.

Good luck!

[kairos12]

25. I did that when I left the service as well.

[UTUSN]

19. Yes, burned up

[sorcrow]

20. What a sad story

The account from the archives is very interesting. I guess I am lucky to have my father's records. He went in to the Army Air Corps c. 1938 and died in 1962 in the while in the USAF. He demobed after WW2 and then re-enlisted after a year or so of so-so jobs including mannequin repairer and rat catcher.

(My uncle Bill also caught rats, but ended up having a long career with the state public health service. My cousin Tony had the best bug collection ever, a perk of his dad's job.)

Regards,
Crow

[Omaha Steve]

22. My dad's records were lost too

[LeftInTX]

23. My grandfather - WW1

He was dc/d in basic training, but the reason is murkey. Gunshot accident in training or bar fight stabbing. Either way, he was injured, but we'll never know the story.

[Brother Buzz]

26. Interesting, I knew of this tragedy decades ago, but just noticed....

it only affected Army and Air Force records, so I assume my pops Navy record is intact.

Anyone know how to acquire a copy of an individual's military records? Cost?

[Equinox Moon]

27. Here is the link.

May your quest go well!

https://www.archives.gov/veterans