how to find military records..

[red91]

for my father who served in the Korean War in the Air Force.

He never was one to talk much, and I'd like to find out info on him through military channels.

What course would I persue ?

I can come up with a social # I'm sure, all I've got is his Dress cap, full length jacket, and what appears to be a formal photo of just him.

ANY advise would be nice.

AND...even after 18 years, would it still be possible to get a military marker for his grave ?

Thanks guys.

Seems like every year around now... meh...you know.

 

[prb24]

Try this...it's a start.


http://www.archives.gov/veterans/index.html



I'll send an email to a friend of mine about the marker. He's a Major in the USAR and may be able to find out something.

 

[red91]

Try this...it's a start.


http://www.archives.gov/veterans/index.html



I'll send an email to a friend of mine about the marker. He's a Major in the USAR and may be able to find out something.

good god...trying to get a dd-214 is like pulling teeth....some many links that go nowhere.

Thanks. I'll keep plugging away. Looks like the site will be operational again tomorrow.

Cool.

keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[Tarakian]

Check with the Veterans Administration for the marker, you will probably have to provide some documentation such as Discharge Papers or a DD-214. Check with the county records office where he was discharged to. Sometimes, the county clerk will have a copy of the veterans DD-214 on file.

 

[prb24]

good god...trying to get a dd-214 is like pulling teeth....some many links that go nowhere.

Thanks. I'll keep plugging away. Looks like the site will be operational again tomorrow.

Cool.

keeping my fingers crossed.

I know...sorry. I wish I knew an easier way. I just sent that email out and I also asked him about the records, so, we'll see.

 

[Yucca-Man]

Headstones and markers: http://www.cem.va.gov/hm.htm

Service Records: (you'll need to complete at least one SF-180): http://www.cem.va.gov/omsrinfo.htm

The VA and your state Veteran's associations are the places to start. PM Glenn or hit up www.talkmilitary.com to see what he has out there for finding records.

Records can be a pain in the arse. Over a year ago I sent a request to the proper Marine Corps records branch to get an update to my DD-214 and a free Korean Defense Service Medal, which had just been authorized. I spent a year there (attached to a Navy command) in 1994-95 but I received an award from the Admiral, etc so I figured no problem, right? A year later I finally got a short letter from some LtCol in Washington, "after a thorough review of your records, we find no evidence that you were in korea during the dates you specify. Please fill out the enclosed form and suplementary documentation." The enclosed form of course was another SF-180...same thing I had already sent to them. I looooove bureaucracies...

Edit: He may not have a DD-214 depending when he was discharged. In many cases up until the 50s or so, the Honorable Discharge certificate was all the proof a veteran had that they had been in the service. DD-214s were apparently an early 60s introduction. Additionally, there has been at least one fire in the military's records storage areas; the last being in the early 70s if I remember correctly - they may no longer have any easily accessed info about your dad.

 

[Darky]

For me, my best experience was getting a hospital bill paid by TriCare. I was still under TriCare overseas (from Okinawa, and they never mention anything about changing it yourself) and made the claim to TriCare West since that's where I was... both places were in the same building but West couldn't walk across the hall to tell Overseas they had a claim for one of their guys. Took 4 or 5 months in collections to finally get this handled. It got to the point where the collections agent refused to talk to me or TriCare anymore...

 

[planefixer]

My brother has been tracking down our dad's(deceased ) military records/history (5th SF group) recently with some success.I'll give him a call and if he has any useful info I'll get it to you in the next couple of days.He didn't talk much about it when he was alive- just little bits and pieces.

 

[red91]

Thanks to everyone so far.

Somehow I knew I could count on you guys...

I think I'll also pay a visit to the local USAF recruiters office, and tell them I'd like to enlist.

at 39 I'm sure they'd get a kick out of it.

 

[Tarakian]

They MIGHT take you if you have a skill they need badly. I have heard of people with nursing degrees and MD's going in up to about 40. No personal experience, just what I have heard

 

[Glenn B]

http://www.lewis.army.mil/DPTMS/POMFI/RECORDS REPOSITORIES.html

 

[Glenn B]

Also this may help:
http://www.talkmilitary.com/forums/showthread.php?t=193
Glenn

 

[red91]

Thanks Glenn.

If he ever did get any medals or such..I certianly NEVER saw them. But I know he'd be entilted to a couple of them.

 

[red91]

Thanks for the leads.

I've filed an electronic DD-214, and put the breaucracy in action.

Actually they "say" its not supposed to take too long.

But just wanted to say thanks.

 

[red91]

alright guys....

any of you old enough to recognize a military ID # Before they used you SS#.

I think mine was printed on the inside of my dads dress jacket, and could use someone that might be able to confirm or deny.

Thanks.

 

[churky89]

Navy had every article of clothing we had stinceled with our service #the only thing that wasn't was our butts

 

[RichP]

I was in before they did the switchover to ss#, it was letter-numbernumber-numbernumber-numbernumber

 

[red91]

I was in before they did the switchover to ss#, it was letter-numbernumber-numbernumber-numbernumber

letter coresponding to the first letter in your last name ?

then say 4 other digits ?

I also have another set of numbers right below his name...last name first and 2 initials.

 

[Yucca-Man]

Service number (at least for the Marines, it may have varied for other services) was based in part on the recruiting region where the servicemember first enlisted. They were numerically ordered so at least in part you could tell who was senior (or had more time in service) based on their number.

 

[red91]

Service number (at least for the Marines, it may have varied for other services) was based in part on the recruiting region where the servicemember first enlisted. They were numerically ordered so at least in part you could tell who was senior (or had more time in service) based on their number.

that would make sense. The number under his name is...and I don't have it with me right now, but about 8-12 #'s long.

Which probably contains a fair amount of info if you know how to decode it.