FOR VETERANS WHO RETURNED HOME
If the qualifying veteran came home, then his Report of Separation will provide a wealth of information. If you do not have these papers you may contact the National Personnel Records Center. You must make your request on Standard Form 180. You may write and ask for a form at the Center's address below, or you can go on-line to their website and print out a copy at:
http://www.archives.gov/research/order/standard-form-180.pdf.

National Personnel Records Center
(Military Personnel Records)
9700 Page Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63132-5100

Website address: www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel

The National Personnel Records Center suffered a severe fire in the 1970’s that destroyed many records. They have since recreated many files from a variety of other information such as final pay vouchers. If they can not provide the information you need, you may call:

• The Department of Veterans Affairs: (800) 827-1000
• The Veterans Affairs Insurance Office: (800) 669-8477

FOR VETERANS KILLED IN ACTION OR MISSING
You may request the veterans’ Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF). The IDPF will almost always establish his unit and gives information on his burial. It may give information about where and when he died, possibly including reports of the action in which he died. For men whose remains were never recovered, records of the testimonies of others in his unit are usually included.

You MUST send them a letter before they can do any research for you. The letter should include your signed statement of intent to pay the Freedom of Information Act fees for the work involved. If you are requesting a relative's IDPF, you may not be charged. Please write them at:

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Office
Total Army Personnel Command
ATTN: TAPC-PAO (FOIA)
2461 Eisenhower Ave
Alexandria, VA 22331-0482
Phone (703) 325-9256

If the qualifying veteran was buried overseas, you can obtain information on a gravesite by writing:

American Battle Monuments Commission
Courthouse Plaza II
2300 Clarendon Blvd, Ste 500
Arlington, VA 22201

We highly recommend the book, World War II Military Records, A Family Historian’s Guide by Debra Johnson Knox, MIE Publishing, 2003 (Spartanburg, SC) ISBN 1-877639-91--5 for additional sources of research.


OTHER LINKS OF INTEREST

National Archives
www.NARA.gov

"Finding Information on Personal Participation in World War II" brochure
ww2-participation.pdf

Cyndi's List of Geneology Sites on the Internet, Military - WWII
http://www.cyndislist.com/worldwar2.htm

US Army, Enlisted Reserve Corps, Women's Army Auxillary
Corps Enlistment Records 1938 - 1946
http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2006/spring/aad-ww2.html