Looking for Army service members or family that might have served in WWII during March 1st 1944 until February 14 1946 in the European Theater Campaign. Daniel Joseph Maresca PFC medium tank crewman 2736
Looking for Army service members or family that might have served in WWII during March 1st 1944 until February 14 1946 in the European Theater Campaign. Daniel Joseph Maresca PFC medium tank crewman 2736
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To get started with your research, we would recommend that you request his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) and specifically ask for a list of medals earned. OMPFs for Army enlisted personnel who were separated from the service after November 1, 1912 (July 1, 1917 for officers) are serviced by 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.
Please note that Army, Army Air Corps, and Air Force records were the most affected by the 1973 fire. While the NPRC will typically have organizational records that can be used to determine proof of service (for veterans’ benefits purposes), it can make it difficult to determine what medals a service member earned, as those records do not reflect that information. It may not be possible to know all of the medals your grandfather earned, unfortunately. However, veterans serving in WWII were awarded certain automatic medals depending on their service dates.
Here is a list of automatic medals issued to WWII service members:
We still highly recommend that you submit a request for your grandfather’s OMPF and a list of medals earned, because it could be possible his record has enough information to determine most, if not all of the medals he earned, if it contains his Report of Separation from service.
Veterans and next of kin of deceased veterans may use eVetRecs to request records. See eVetRecs Help for instructions. Please note that next of kin of a deceased veteran must provide proof of death of the veteran such as a copy of death certificate, letter from funeral home, or published obituary. For more information see Request Military Service Records.
You may instead 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. 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. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF).
Military personnel records are opened to the public 62 years after the veteran leaves the service. If fewer 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. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Non-Archival Holdings.
Archival OMPFs, those that are 62 years and older, may also be requested by visiting the Archival Research Room at the National Archives at St. Louis. Please email stlarr.archives@nara.gov for further assistance prior to making an appointment.
As for locating any veterans or the next of kin of any veterans who may have served with your grandfather, we understand that some individuals have had success in locating former members of the Armed Forces by placing advertisements in publications of various veterans organizations such as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. You might also consider creating a page or group on a social media site to reach a broader audience. Additionally, there are many search services (both free and for a fee) on the Internet that may assist in locating a person. NARA does not recommend or endorse any specific Internet site or private researcher.
We hope this is helpful with your family research!
Thank you for posting your question to History Hub!
To get started with your research, we would recommend that you request his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) and specifically ask for a list of medals earned. OMPFs for Army enlisted personnel who were separated from the service after November 1, 1912 (July 1, 1917 for officers) are serviced by 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.
Please note that Army, Army Air Corps, and Air Force records were the most affected by the 1973 fire. While the NPRC will typically have organizational records that can be used to determine proof of service (for veterans’ benefits purposes), it can make it difficult to determine what medals a service member earned, as those records do not reflect that information. It may not be possible to know all of the medals your grandfather earned, unfortunately. However, veterans serving in WWII were awarded certain automatic medals depending on their service dates.
Here is a list of automatic medals issued to WWII service members:
We still highly recommend that you submit a request for your grandfather’s OMPF and a list of medals earned, because it could be possible his record has enough information to determine most, if not all of the medals he earned, if it contains his Report of Separation from service.
Veterans and next of kin of deceased veterans may use eVetRecs to request records. See eVetRecs Help for instructions. Please note that next of kin of a deceased veteran must provide proof of death of the veteran such as a copy of death certificate, letter from funeral home, or published obituary. For more information see Request Military Service Records.
You may instead 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. 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. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF).
Military personnel records are opened to the public 62 years after the veteran leaves the service. If fewer 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. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Non-Archival Holdings.
Archival OMPFs, those that are 62 years and older, may also be requested by visiting the Archival Research Room at the National Archives at St. Louis. Please email stlarr.archives@nara.gov for further assistance prior to making an appointment.
As for locating any veterans or the next of kin of any veterans who may have served with your grandfather, we understand that some individuals have had success in locating former members of the Armed Forces by placing advertisements in publications of various veterans organizations such as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. You might also consider creating a page or group on a social media site to reach a broader audience. Additionally, there are many search services (both free and for a fee) on the Internet that may assist in locating a person. NARA does not recommend or endorse any specific Internet site or private researcher.
We hope this is helpful with your family research!
