How can I find my grandfathers WWII military records?

Ms. Schlegel:

Someone else will provide information on how to try and request his file, if it survived the 1973 fire.

Here are three documents from Ancestry to help get you started. It appears he was assigned to a Field Artillery unit.

Lisa Sharik

Texas Military Forces Museum

Dear Ms. Schlegel,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

We searched the Access to Archival Databases (AAD) and located the World War II Army Enlistment Records database that includes one file related to Edelen, Joseph L.. If you believe this individual to be your grandfather, then you may use the information in the file when requesting a copy of his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF).

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 October 16, 1992 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 their next of kin 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.

Military personnel records are completely 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 his next of kin. For more information see Request Military Service Records.

Please note that the NPRC is prioritizing requests for separation documents needed by veterans and their dependents to prove eligibility for a variety of benefits. The NPRC expects to eliminate this portion of the backlog by the end of September 2022 and restore their pre-pandemic response times of under ten days for these requests later this fall. It will take considerably longer 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.

Finally, some veterans registered with their state, county, or local veterans’ organizations when they returned from the war. We suggest that you contact the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs to see if they can offer any additional assistance.

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

Thank you so much Lisa! This is very helpful!

Would you also help find my father in law's information? He is George Lee Schlegel from Cincinnati, OH. He was in the SeeBees in SE Asia.

Kelly

Thank you Rachael! This helps me! I will do what you say.

Would it be the same for my father in law George Lee Schlegel? He was in the SeeBees in WWII in SE Asia.

Thanks, Kelly

Since he wasn't in the Army there in no online record like for your other relative but here are two documents from Ancestry about George Schlegel:

Lisa Sharik

Kelly,

Here is information for your father in laws.

The procedures for ordering OMPFs for Navy veterans of World War II are the same as that for Army veterans.  The only difference is that Navy OMPFs were not affected by the 1973 Fire, therefore there is a much better chance that you NPRC will be able to find a file for him. One thing that you may wish to do with both of your requests is specify that you wish to have the entire file. If you do not do that, NPRC sometimes only provides the minimal documentation needed to provide proof of service.

We see that Ms. Sharik and Mr. Schneider provided you with documentation showing George Lee Schlegel’s service number, birth date, enlistment date, and discharge date. Be sure to include that information on the SF-180 when you submit your order. If you do not know his social security number, don’t worry, as the other information should be sufficient to narrow it down to the correct file.