How do I find my father’s world War 2 records

FayeBrinson 

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

If you have not done so already, we suggest that you request a copy of your father’s 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 1960 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. Veterans and next of kin of deceased veterans also may use eVetRecs to request records. See eVetRecs Help for instructions. 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. 

Archival OMPFs may also be requested by visiting the Archival Research Room at the National Archives at St. Louis. Please see the linked web pages for more information. Please email stlarr.archives@nara.gov for further assistance prior to making an appointment. 

For a complete copy of a personnel file, in Section II, on the line for "Other" (Specify), write "Complete copy of every page of personnel file - not an extract."

We also searched the National Archives (NARA) Access to Archival Databases (AAD) and located the World War II Army Enlistment Records database that includes one file related to Reeves, Roscoe F.  You may use the information in this file when requesting a copy of his OMPF.

The enlistment record for Roscoe F. Reeves indicates that he was born in North Carolina, so we located the series First Registration Draft Cards for North Carolina, 1940–1945 in the Records of the Selective Service System, 1926–1975 (Record Group 147) that includes a draft registration card for an individual named Reeves, Roscoe Fred. This file has been digitized and may be viewed online using the Catalog link provided (see image 1178).  

If you believe that this individual is your father, you may also wish to 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 a copy of 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.

Next, the Hospital Admission Card Files in the Records of the Office of the Surgeon General (Army) (Record Group 112) have been digitized and are available online via Ancestry.com. Please note that there may be a fee for using Ancestry. Instead, please check for access at your local library, since many library systems subscribe to genealogical sites and provide free access to them for their patrons. We located 2 cards for Roscoe F. Reeves and have included the information below for you.

In addition, we searched the National Archives Catalog and located the series World War II Operations Reports, 1940-1948 (entry NM-3 427) in the Records of the Adjutant General's Office (Record Group 407) and the series the series Unit Histories, 1943-1967 (entry UD 37042) in the Records of U.S. Army Operational, Tactical, and Support Organizations (World War II and Thereafter) (Record Group 338) that may include records related to the 654th Tank Destroyer Battalion. Please note that these records generally do not include details about individual soldiers; rather, they contain information related to the activities and engagements of the unit as a whole. General Orders (GOs) among the division records in these series may provide more information concerning the Bronze Star award your father earned. The General Orders are arranged by year and then by GO Number. There is no name index to these records. The soldier’s personnel file usually provides the year, date and GO number for an award. These records have not been digitized. For more information about these records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RR2R) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.

Since some veterans registered with their state or local veterans service agencies after they separated from service, you may also wish to contact the state or county veterans agency where your father lived for additional assistance. Please review the NPRC web page Other Methods to Obtain Military Service Records for more information. Please note that registering discharge papers with local and state authorities was optional, so we cannot guarantee that these types of organizations will have his records.

Finally, we suggest that you contact the U.S. Army Center of Military History or the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, which has a large collection of published unit histories, directly for further assistance. You may also wish to search their websites for additional information and resources.

We invite you to continue the conversation with community members on History Hub, but should you have follow up questions for the staff at Archives II, please email us directly at archives2reference@nara.gov so that we can assist you further. 

We hope this assists you with your research! 

Sincerely,

Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR)

[RR2RR 23-45424-RS]

HOSPITAL ADMISSION CARD #1

HOSPITAL ADMISSION CARD #2

FayeBrinson 

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

If you have not done so already, we suggest that you request a copy of your father’s 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 1960 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. Veterans and next of kin of deceased veterans also may use eVetRecs to request records. See eVetRecs Help for instructions. 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. 

Archival OMPFs may also be requested by visiting the Archival Research Room at the National Archives at St. Louis. Please see the linked web pages for more information. Please email stlarr.archives@nara.gov for further assistance prior to making an appointment. 

For a complete copy of a personnel file, in Section II, on the line for "Other" (Specify), write "Complete copy of every page of personnel file - not an extract."

We also searched the National Archives (NARA) Access to Archival Databases (AAD) and located the World War II Army Enlistment Records database that includes one file related to Reeves, Roscoe F.  You may use the information in this file when requesting a copy of his OMPF.

The enlistment record for Roscoe F. Reeves indicates that he was born in North Carolina, so we located the series First Registration Draft Cards for North Carolina, 1940–1945 in the Records of the Selective Service System, 1926–1975 (Record Group 147) that includes a draft registration card for an individual named Reeves, Roscoe Fred. This file has been digitized and may be viewed online using the Catalog link provided (see image 1178).  

If you believe that this individual is your father, you may also wish to 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 a copy of 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.

Next, the Hospital Admission Card Files in the Records of the Office of the Surgeon General (Army) (Record Group 112) have been digitized and are available online via Ancestry.com. Please note that there may be a fee for using Ancestry. Instead, please check for access at your local library, since many library systems subscribe to genealogical sites and provide free access to them for their patrons. We located 2 cards for Roscoe F. Reeves and have included the information below for you.

In addition, we searched the National Archives Catalog and located the series World War II Operations Reports, 1940-1948 (entry NM-3 427) in the Records of the Adjutant General's Office (Record Group 407) and the series the series Unit Histories, 1943-1967 (entry UD 37042) in the Records of U.S. Army Operational, Tactical, and Support Organizations (World War II and Thereafter) (Record Group 338) that may include records related to the 654th Tank Destroyer Battalion. Please note that these records generally do not include details about individual soldiers; rather, they contain information related to the activities and engagements of the unit as a whole. General Orders (GOs) among the division records in these series may provide more information concerning the Bronze Star award your father earned. The General Orders are arranged by year and then by GO Number. There is no name index to these records. The soldier’s personnel file usually provides the year, date and GO number for an award. These records have not been digitized. For more information about these records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RR2R) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.

Since some veterans registered with their state or local veterans service agencies after they separated from service, you may also wish to contact the state or county veterans agency where your father lived for additional assistance. Please review the NPRC web page Other Methods to Obtain Military Service Records for more information. Please note that registering discharge papers with local and state authorities was optional, so we cannot guarantee that these types of organizations will have his records.

Finally, we suggest that you contact the U.S. Army Center of Military History or the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, which has a large collection of published unit histories, directly for further assistance. You may also wish to search their websites for additional information and resources.

We invite you to continue the conversation with community members on History Hub, but should you have follow up questions for the staff at Archives II, please email us directly at archives2reference@nara.gov so that we can assist you further. 

We hope this assists you with your research! 

Sincerely,

Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR)

[RR2RR 23-45424-RS]

HOSPITAL ADMISSION CARD #1

HOSPITAL ADMISSION CARD #2