Seeking military records of Edward R. Golon and Michael A. Titre

Hello, I am currently researching two separate family members and their World War II service. Any additional information that can be located, or if someone would be kind enough to point me in the right direction for who to reach out to would be much appreciated! I have done some digging online but have run in to dead-ends with certain information not being digitized. Here are the family members that I am currently researching:

PFC Edward R. Golon - 2nd Battalion, E. Company, 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division. Per his Discharge Paperwork, his Service Number is: 36628356. I believe my Grandfather was drafted in 1942, and sent overseas with the 29th Infantry Regiment that landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, in the Second Wave. I'm aware that I know a good deal more than some other folks who are struggling with location information-- but I located a letter in my Grandfather's items after he passed that mentions "General Order #42, HQ, 115th Infantry, dated 11 November 1945" that awards him the Combat Infantry Badge. What's interesting is that despite landing on D-Day and fighting in the Normandy Campaign for 30 days (he was wounded around a month later), his Discharge paperwork does not list the Combat Infantry Badge as an award. Can anyone assist with locating General Order #42 for the 115th Infantry in 1945? Or point me in the right direction? Also, where can I go for access or copies of Morning Reports for 2 BTL, 115 INF? I am hoping to get additional information on the whereabouts of where exactly he was wounded. Any additional information would be much appreciated-- whether it's located or if you know who I can reach out to/ contact. Thank you very much!

Maj. Michael A. Titre - Here I have much less information. I'm looking for any additional information on my father's Uncle, a P-47 pilot with the 405 Fighter Group, 509 Fighter Squadron in WWII. I know he served Post War through Korea and was medically retired before Vietnam due to hearing loss. he was a mentor for my father growing up-- and was responsible for getting my father interested in aviation and having his own career flying for the US military. Are there online resources or anyone I can reach out to in order to get additional information on his WWII Service? My father even mentioned that at one point he had some gun camera footage from his time in WWII. I just don't know who/where/how to reach out and see if this still exists in any archives.

Thank you! Any assistance would be much appreciated!

Parents

0 Jason, National Archives 3 months ago

Dear Kevin Cowan,

This reply focuses on your questions regarding Michael A. Titre.

We searched Ancestry and located the following information that may be a match for your great uncle. Please note that without a date of birth or death, we can not be certain that these are the correct files.

Michael A Titre in the U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010

Name:	Michael A Titre
Gender:	Male
Birth Date:	23 Oct 1923
Death Date:	27 Aug 2007
SSN:	347163812
Enlistment Branch:	AF
Enlistment Date:	1 Oct 1942
Discharge Date:	1 Oct 1962

Source Information

Ancestry.com. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Original data: Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death File. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

We also located an entry on Find-A-Grave and an obituary that may be a match for him.

Plus, we locate Michael A. Titre in the National Cemetery Administration Nationwide Gravesite Locator which lists the following:

Name:	Michael A Titre
Rank:	Major
Death Age:	83
Birth Date:	23 Oct 1923
Death Date:	27 Aug 2007
Interment Place:	Elwood, Illinois, USA
Cemetery Address:	20953 West Hoff Road
Cemetery Postal Code:	60421
Cemetery:	Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery
Section:	8
Plot:	1386
War:	World War II
Branch of Service:	US Army Air Forces

We searched the Access to Archival Databases (AAD) and located the World War II Army Enlistment Records database that includes a file pertaining to Michael A. Titre of the US Army Air Corps. Please note that the service number there is the one he got as an enlisted person when first joining the Army. When he was commissioned as an officer, he would have been assigned a new service number.

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the Award Cards, 1942 - 1963 for the U.S. Army Air Force/Air Force that includes a Distinguished Flying Cross card for Michael A. Titre (now with officer service number O-770008) and an award card for the Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters. The General Orders (GOs) under which the awards were granted in 1945 might contain some relevant information. Army Air Force GOs are in the custody of the National Archives at St. Louis (RRPO). Please provide the General Order number, unit designation, and date from the Award Cards when you submit your request to them via email at stl.archives@nara.gov. You may also include a copy of the linked cards in your inquiry.

We also located Draft Registration Cards for Illinois, October 16, 1940–March 31, 1947 in the Records of the Selective Service System, 1926–1975 (Record Group 147) that includes the draft registration card for Michael Angelo Titre. We are attaching the card to the end of our reply.

You may also request his Classification History (SSS Form 102). The Classification History may contain: name; date of birth; classification and date of mailing notice; date of appeal to the board; date and results of armed forces physical examination; entry into active duty or civilian work in lieu of induction (may include date, branch of service entered and mode of entry, such as enlisted or ordered); date of separation from active duty or civilian work; and general remarks. Please complete a Form NA-13172 to request a search of these records and email it to the National Archives at St. Louis (RRPO) at stl.archives@nara.gov. We recommend that you attach the draft registration card, as it includes information which will make it easier to locate his classification history. For more information, see Selective Service Records.

Microfilmed copies of Air Force Individual Flight Records have recently been accessioned by the National Archives, St. Louis (RRPO) and are open to the public for the years 1911-1958. Please contact RRPO at stl.archives@nara.gov to request a search of these records.

If these records are for the correct person, please use the information above when requesting a copy of his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). Please include both his enlisted service number of 16136104 and his officer service number of O-770008. You may also wish to specify that he served in both the US Army Air Force and the US Air Force.

Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs) and individual medical reports for those who served in the U.S. Air Force and separated before October 1, 2004 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 63138-1002. You may enclose any additional information, such as a print out of the enlistment and BIRLS records we shared with you.

Military personnel records are opened to the public 62 years after the veteran leaves the military. If less than 62 years have passed since the veteran’s discharge date (to include any reserve time), certain information in the records is not available to the general public without the written consent of the veteran or the next of kin the deceased veteran. Next of kin is defined as the un-remarried widow or widower, son, daughter, father, mother, brother or sister. Next of kin must provide proof of death of the veteran such as a copy of death certificate, letter from funeral home, or published obituary. Cemetery listings should also count. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Non-Archival Holdings and Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Archival Holdings.

The 62 years is a rolling date. If the separation date listed in the BIRLS entry we located is correct, his OMPF will become archival October 2024. However, if there was any additional reserve time after 1962, it may take longer for his records to become archival.

Please be aware that NPRC is prioritizing the requests for separation documents needed by veterans and their dependents to prove eligibility for a variety of benefits. NPRC continues working to restore their pre-pandemic response times of under ten days for these requests. It will take a considerable amount of time to eliminate the backlog on other types of requests, such as genealogical requests for complete copies of records. For more information, please refer to Onsite Operations at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis.

To inquire about gun camera footage and other motion pictures, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Motion Picture (RRSM). Please contact RRSM via email at mopix@nara.gov.

Photographs of various U.S. Army and US Air Force activities dating from 1940 to 2007 are in the custody of the National Archives at College Park - Still Picture (RRSS). Please contact RRSS via email at stillpix@nara.gov to request photographs of specific persons or units. Please be advised that RRSS will not necessarily have photographs of every member of the Air Force.

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located a series titled World War II Combat Operations Reports, 1941 - 1946 in the Records of the Army Air Forces (Record Group 18) that includes the a file unit titled 405th Fighter Group: Statistical Reports - Group Claims July 26, 1944 - February 28, 1945. For more information about these non-digitized records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RR2R) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.

Unit histories and supporting records of many Air Force units are in the custody of the Air Force Historical Research Agency, 600 Chennault Circle, Building 1405, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL 36112-6424. These files often include historical reports. Please call (334) 953-5697 or write to that office for further information concerning these records.

Finally we located Titre, Mike (Oral history) on the website of the Imperial War Museum.

We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your family research!

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