Captain Dr. Ralph E. Rosen with the 667th Coast Artillery in Germany

Question

Hi, My grandfather was Captain Dr. Ralph E. Rosen. He was with the 667th Coast Artillery in Germany. He was called to active duty in February 1942. He saw combat in the North African Campaign, Italy, Southern France, the crossing of the Rhine, Germany and the liberation of Dachau. I was hoping that you may have some information about him, and I would greatly appreciate any assistance you have in finding out more about my grandfather. Thank you in advance for your kind assistance, Ilena 
 
 [Moderation Note: This new research question was split from the older discussion thread Seeking roster for 45th Infantry Division ]

Textual Reference Branch, Archives II · Answer

IlenaRosen 
 Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! 
 
 Your request indicates that you are seeking information on your grandfather&rsquo;s military service with the &ldquo;667 th Coastal Artillery&rdquo; in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during World War II. 
 
 The Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR) has custody of the Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1917- (Record Group 407) and the Records of U.S. Army Operational, Tactical, and Support Organizations (World War II and Thereafter) (Record Group 338). Military unit files among these records consist mostly of historical reports, after action reports, unit journals, and general orders. These records do not include personnel information, nor do we have a name index to these records. 
 
 General orders, as referenced above, do include information about the official bestowal of medals on individual service personnel. However, these records are arranged by unit, thereunder by date and thereunder by general order number. We would need this information in order to search our records. If you have a copy of his discharge certificate, this information might be included therein. 
 
 We have searched our available finding aids for the relevant series in the abovementioned record groups for records of the 667th Coastal Artillery, but our search met with a negative result. A check of the Organizational Records Branch (ORB) worksheets indicates that the 667 th Coastal Artillery Anti-Aircraft AW (A/B) Battery was activated on February 10, 1943, and redesignated as the 667 th AAA MG (A/B) Battery on February 13, 1943. The unit was apparently later redesignated as the 667 th AAA MG Battery (SEP) (A/B), but no date is provided. The unit was inactivated on September 7, 1945, in the India Burma Theater. 
 
 We performed an additional search of our available finding aids for the relevant series in the abovementioned record groups for records of the 667th AAA MG Battery and located the following: 
 
 Record Group 407 
 Entry (NM3) 427 
 Box 14204 
 Files: 
 
 CABY-667-0.3.0: Unit Diaries, September 1943-November 1943 
 CABY-667-0.19: Inactivation Order, August 27, 1945 
 
 Military service personnel files and individual medical reports for the period in which you are interested are in the custody of the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO. To submit a request via Postal Mail please use the Standard Form 180 (SF-180): Request Pertaining to Military Records to submit your request. You should complete and mail the form to NARA's National Personnel Records Center, (Military Personnel Records), 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138-1002. You may also apply online on our Request Military Service Records webpage. Please be aware that there was a fire at the Records Center in 1973 and some records were destroyed. 
 
 Selective Service records for individuals who served after World War I and born before 1960 are in the custody of the National Archives at St. Louis, ATTN: RL-SL, P.O. Box 38757, St. Louis, MO 63138-0757; Phone: 314-801-0850; Fax: 314-801-9187; the email address is stl.archives@nara.gov . There are two types of records: the ledgers and the cards. The ledgers are in the public domain and not restricted by privacy. The cards are considered personal information and written permission for release, a death certificate, and/or an indication that the information is requested for genealogical purposes should accompany the request for copies of the cards. Please use the enclosed form to request a search of these records. 
 
 World War II U.S. Army Enlistment Records are in the custody of the Electronic Records Division (RDE) and are available via AAD (Access to Archival Databases) on the National Archives website at: https://aad.archives.gov/aad/ . Click on "World War II" under the category section. A list of the databases relating to WWII will appear and select the first database to search the WWII U.S. Army Enlistment Records. 
 
 Copies of most of the monthly rosters from 1912-43 and 1947-59 for U.S. Army units (including Army Air Corps) are in the custody of the National Archives in St. Louis, MO. Please contact them for access to these records. The address is the National Archives in St. Louis, 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138-1002 and the email address is stl.archives@nara.gov . Rosters for units serving in World War II from 1944-46 were destroyed in accordance with U.S. Army disposition authorities during the early postwar period. 
 
 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 at archives2reference@nara.gov so that we can assist you further. 
 We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research! 
 
 Sincerely, 
 
 Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR) 
 [24-33559-PBB]