Burial record of my uncle

You would know more than I, but I would think Patrick Joseph Cullen is a relatively common name.  Can't really be sure, but the one interred in LI National that I think may be him shows up in a number of records, for instance:

1940 Draft Card - the WWII draft began on 1 Oct 1940.  He was living in Detroit where he registered as required on 16 Oct.  He was 34 at the time (the draft law required all men 21- not yet 36 to register), and had a wife, Ann Cullen.

1940 Census - living in Detroit, wife Ann and two children, Patrick Jr (4) and Margarite (2)

1950 Census - Still in MI but now Dearborn, four children, Patrick Jr (14), Margarite (12), Carol Ann (8), Mary (2).  However, states under "Veteran", NO

I believe Ann, his wife died in 1960.  Perhaps His daughter, Carol Ann is the Ann De West in the cemetery record?  She would have been 27 and maybe she went by "Ann", and De West was her married name?  But then she definitely would have been an NOK, hmmm??

Didn't see anything so far on parents or siblings.  Also, I'm thinking he ENLISTED in 1942 as they were not drafting married men at the time, especially 36-year-olds with two kids!  1944, yes!

OH, just noticed, his 1934 marriage cert indicates Father's name - Hugh Cullen, Mothers maiden name Ellen Burns!  Does that help?

Perhaps others can add more, or comment.

The issue is, why did he enlist in Pennsylvania in 1942 if he was living in Detroit in 1940? 

Why does it say "No" for Veteran?

Where does it list place of birth? We know the one we are looking for should say "Ireland."

If the Carol Ann listed as a daughter is the Ann De West, why would she list "none" for relationship if she was his daughter?

I think this individual is the wrong person. The information appears to be a match but doesn't withstand close scrutiny.

LIz:

He most likely was drafted. Even individuals who wanted to volunteer were told, at some points in the war, to just go home and wait until their number was called, because we didn't have enough room on the training bases for all the volunteers, so we had to time-sequence when they arrived. As were most of the people in our eight million plus man army.

And of all the records from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Army Air Corps, there's only one who shows up as having been born in the Irish Free State on 14 March 1906. And Findagrave doesn't show anyone else with that birthday (a civilian), either. Add in the ties on the form to horsemanship and the circumstantial evidence becomes overwhelming. There's nobody else who meets the criteria, and the Sergeant buried in the Long Island Cemetery does. Absent exhuming him and running a DNA test, there's no other way of proving it conclusively.

But it's him. We're all convinced it's him.

If you don't have a birth certificate for him, some other documentation would be good to show your relationship when you request a death certificate from NYC. Maybe a church record or family bible note. Anything that will show Patrick and you dad as having the same parents. Then, your birth certificate showing you are your father's child thus, Patrick's niece. Any other documentation of Patrick's travels would help. Let us know what response you get from NYC.

Agree.

Thanks for all your help. 

FOIA sent me a 12 page document from cemetery. Lots of blank spaces which I am appealing. Cemetery does have a lot of info. Seems he was married. NOK not related, not named. Frustrating that information is there and I can’t get it. 

So was he the sergeant?

Donald, I don’t know. They withheld a lot of information. Did not say if he was Irish, no address. Said he was married but no name of wife. NOK not related but not named. Gave details of when he joined army and left. Also his funeral casket!!  Very disappointing reply. Will appeal their withholding of information. 

Well, now compare what you've gotten from other sources to what they gave you. Next of kin not related--that's what Trajan said, as well, based on his source. Was the source not there, or was it redacted (removed)? Because he gave you a name--does the other information he provided line up with what you've got on the new record?

If you're having trouble understanding the forms, you could always post it as an attachment and we could take a look at it and see what we could figure out, even absent the redacted information. Living in the states, we might understand things that might not be obvious to you.

Donald, the new record just gave me his name, date of birth and death. It said he was married. Wife not named. NOK not named. It did say not related. I understand the information perfectly, They did not tell me if he was Irish or give any address. Privacy issue. The person I  thought was Patrick was single when he enlisted in 1942. Those dates were the same. Perhaps he was divorced. I don’t know. I do not understand why they would not give me information about him. They gave me Funeral details. I rang the Funeral company, now run by different family person and they do not have records for that long ago.  Record did have same serial number on his form. Feeling very tired. 

1. Donald, I should have said service number is same. 33293459. Veteran ID 3760092. Several pages just repeated this info and details of casket 

1. Donald, I should have said service number is same. 33293459. Veteran ID 3760092. Several pages just repeated this info and details of casket