Seeking how Staff Sergeant Louis Mingione was killed

Question

We would like to know how Staff Sergean t Louis E. Mingione was killed in action during WWII. We think he was killed in action in Germany and if you can supply any additional details for our family.&#160; His service number was 32000603 and he enlisted on 6/1/1941 and he was born in 1918. We believe he was killed in 1945 according to family verbal information. Thank you.

Roberta Russo · Answer

I did a search of U.S. WWII Hospital Admission Card files on Ancestry.com for him using his Army serial number and am attaching a copy of that record.&#160; It lists his Military Branch as "Infantry, Glider Units".&#160; Hope this helps.&#160; Good luck with your research.

Lowell Silverman · Answer

The advice to request his IDPF isn't bad, but you'll be waiting a long time.&#160; It could take a year even pre-pandemic.&#160; Sometimes the IDPF has information about cause of death, and sometimes it doesn't.&#160; Requesting the OMPF is standard advice, but with the backlog from the pandemic it will likely take years at this point to (most likely) learn that the file was destroyed in the 1973 fire. While you wait, the good news is that there are digitized hospital admission cards available under his service number available on Fold3 and Ancestry.&#160; These are basically digitized punch cards.&#160; They were filled out even when a soldier was killed in action and didn't make it to a hospital.&#160; Sometimes there's a lot of information and sometimes very little.&#160; Theoretically errors could creep in when being made or digitized.&#160; It's just a general impression but they usually seem to be fairly accurate, though sometimes there are contradictions with other sources. This card was for when he was wounded: Race: White, includes Mexican Admission Age: 26 Admission Date: Oct 1944 Admission Type of Injury: Casualty, battle Military Service Number: 32000603 Rank: Enlisted Man Branch: Infantry, Airborne or Glider Units Length of Service: 4 Year(s), 0 Month(s) Injured in Line of Duty: In line of duty Medical Diagnosis: First Location: Back, generally; Causative Agent: Artillery Shell, Fragments, Afoot or unspecified Discharge Type :Duty Discharge Date: Oct 1944 This card was filled out after he was killed: Gender: Male Admission Age: 26 Admission Date: Feb 1945 Admission Type of Injury: Injury Type: Battle casualty; InjuryType2: All battle casualties, and all battle injuries not intentionally inflicted by self or another person Military Service Number: 32000603 Rank: Enlisted Man (includes Aviation Cadet or Student) Unit:3 Branch: Infantry, Glider Units Length of Service: Unknown Medical Diagnosis: Diagnosis: Wound(s), character not stated (includes Wound(s), multiple, Not Elsewhere Classified; Wound(s) unqualified) with no nerve or artery involvement; Location: Abdomen, abdominal wall and pelvis: Back, generally; Location: Buttock and hip; CausativeAgent: Artillery Shell, Fragments, Afoot or unspecified; Diagnosis: Wound(s), character not stated (includes Wound(s), multiple, Not Elsewhere Classified; Wound(s) unqualified) with no nerve or artery involvement Discharge Date: Feb 1945 Discharge Place: Not in Medical Installation Prior to Death In this case, only the Ancestry version tells the full story, Fold3's being cut off for some reason.&#160; Unit numbers are pretty rare in the cards.&#160; I guess the 3 is from the first digit of his unit, Company "A," 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.&#160; Date of death February 2, 1945, per the roll of honor here . Hope this helps.

David Grob · Answer

Hello Mr. Prudente, There is a mention of your relative on page 719, Nordyke, Phil, 2005, All American, All the Way: The Combat History of the 82nd Airborne Division in World War II, Zenith Press. Regards, Dave

keith styer · Answer

https://www.google.com/books/edition/All_American_All_the_Way/KY_672qQf0kC?hl=en&gbpv=1&kptab=sideways&bsq=SGT%20Louis%2&hellip; He's name is in this book "All American, All the Way."

Elliot Schneider · Answer

Andrew, Here is some information below.&#160; I would also suggest obtaining his IDPFs Individual Deceased Personnel File you can obtain through the following. The specific information you seek may be contained in your relative&#8217;s Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF). IDPFs from 1940-1976 for personnel with surnames that begin with A-L are in the custody of the National Archives at St. Louis (RL-SL). For access to these records, please contact RL-SL via email at stl.archives@nara.gov . For the IDPFs of personnel with surnames that begin with M-Z, please write to U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Casualty & Memorial Affairs Operations Division, ATTN: AHRC-PDC, 1600 Spearhead Division Avenue, Department 450, Fort Knox, KY 40122-5405. They are being scanned by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in order to properly identify remains of those still listed as missing.

andrew prudente · Answer

Mr. Lowell Silverman Thank you for your interest. I would certainly hire a researcher if I knew how to engage one. I suppose now is not the time since I understand the records are in some kind of transistional state and is also being delayed for Covid. If you know how I can hire a researcher, by all means, let me know. regards, andrew

andrew prudente · Answer

Thank you Ms Russo I appreciate your pro-active research. I have already requested his personnel file from Fort Knox and they replied it will take at least a year or more. All of you on this site have been very helpful in uncovering at least some partial information about Uncle Louie. kind regards, andrew

Roberta Russo · Answer

Hello Andrew, As a historian for a veteran's association, I do a lot of WWII research but don't live in DC or the St. Louis area, so I rely on a private researcher to get many records. I have used Golden Arrow Research for several years and found them to be very reliable. Their lead researcher is Geoff Gentilini. Last I heard, NARA has not reopened any of its research rooms - so the general public and private researchers are out of luck when it comes to getting records.&#160; If NARA does plan to reopen its research rooms any time soon it would certainly be helpful to know when they plan to do it. Regarding Individual Deceased Personnel Files (IDPF) - Because the soldier's name you are seeking begins with the letter "M" and those files have not yet been transferred to NARA in St. Louis, you can request his IDPF from the Army Human Resources Command at Ft. Knox, KY.&#160; Here is a link to their webpage with instructions on how to request an IDPF: Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests (army.mil) Be aware that these files take a VERY long time to get, even pre-pandemic.&#160; I have literally waited 2 years or more.&#160; My advice is to follow up every several months.&#160; You might also want to contact your Congress person or Senator and ask them to make the request for you.&#160; Most of them have someone on staff that specializes in veteran's issues.&#160; Let them know that you are next-of-kin of the soldier who was KIA.&#160; They might get a quicker response. Good luck with your research - persistence pays! Best Regards, Roberta

andrew prudente · Answer

Hi Roberta Thanks for the info I truly appreciate it. We are also trying to find out about his promotions. He joined the Army in 1941 and by 1945 he was a full Staff Sargent. His commendations and personnel file are interesting to us. We knew he was extremely intelligent and from his photos we knew he was extremely handsome. So, our family would like to honor him at one of our next gatherings. Kind regards, andrew

andrew prudente · Answer

Hi Thankyou for your input. I have the book but it is a little short on details. Happy Holiday andrew

Jason, National Archives · Answer

Dear Mr. Prudente, Thank you for posting your follow up request on History Hub! You do not need to be immediate family to request these records.&#160; Personnel records of military members who were discharged, retired, or died in service 62 or more years ago are open to the public and may be requested by anyone.

Lowell Silverman · Answer

Given the likelihood that his OMPF was destroyed in the 1973 NPRC fire, your best bet at obtaining the information about his promotions is to hire a professional researcher, who can work backwards from the Company "A," 325th GIR morning reports, tracing transfers and promotions.&#160; That should give you the information you seek.&#160; It will probably cost a few hundred dollars (though less than going to do it yourself unless you live in St. Louis). At any rate it won't be possible until the NPRC reopens to all but emergency inquiries.

Lowell Silverman · Answer

Mr. Carfora: 1) It is my understanding that all the hospital admission cards originally had only service numbers.&#160; Ancestry/Fold3 then added the names by crossreferencing the service numbers to another set of digitized cards: U.S. Army enlistment data, which includes both ASN and full name.&#160; To the best of my knowledge, no other sources were used in filling out the names.&#160; Of course, this omits all officers, as well as people for whom there was no successfully digitized enlistment card (at least 15% of soldiers).&#160; I've also found plenty of hospital cards on Fold3/Ancestry with the name field blank even when there was an enlistment card that should have resulted in an update.&#160; For that reason, I tend to search for these cards using service number only. 2) Most of the cards don't have any unit listed (at least not what's on Ancestry or Fold3).&#160; The 3 really isn't meaningful on its own.&#160; I searched in the airborne honor roll because he was listed as being a glider or airborne soldier.&#160; That was the helpful detail, not the 3.&#160; I found him on a roll of honor for the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, leading to my speculation that the 3 stood for 325.&#160; But it could just has easily have been a glitch, I suppose.

Jason, National Archives · Answer

Dear Mr. Prudente, &#160; Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! &#160; In addition to the IDPFs suggested by Mr. Schneider, we suggest that you request a copy of his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) . OMPFs and individual medical reports for enlisted men of the U.S. Army who were separated from the service after October 1912 and before 1959 are in the custody of NARA's National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis. In many cases where personnel records were destroyed in the 1973 fire , proof of service can be provided from other records such as morning reports, payrolls, and military orders, and a certificate of military service will be issued. Please complete a GSA Standard Form 180 and mail it to NARA's National Personnel Records Center, (Military Personnel Records), 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO&#160; 63138-1002. If there is any information requested by the form that you do not know, you may omit it or provide estimates (such as for dates), but the more information you provide, the easier it will be to locate the correct file if it survived the fire. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Archival Records Requests . &#160; With the unit information from the IDPF or the OMPF, you may be interested in reviewing unit journals and after action reports about the activities of his unit at the time of his death. We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the World War II Operations Reports, 1940-1948 in the Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1917 - 1985 (Record Group 407) that includes records of many of the Army units that served during WWII. For more information about these non-digitized records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov . &#160; Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of NARA staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgement as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT2. Also, NPRC will continue servicing requests ONLY associated with medical treatments, burials, homeless veterans seeking admittance to a homeless shelter, and those involving the VA Home Loan program. If your request is urgent, please see Emergency Requests and Deadlines . Please refrain from submitting non-emergency requests such as replacement medals, administrative corrections, or records research until NPRC returns to pre-COVID staffing levels.&#160; Please check archives.gov/veterans for updates to the NPRC operating hours and status. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience. &#160; We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your family research! &#160;

Seeking how Staff Sergeant Louis Mingione was killed

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