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WWII USMC

BethSchultz

My dad was a Marine in WWII.  He was age 19.  He never talked about it.  He was in the Marines for 22.5 years.  I have pictures, but don't know where he was during WWII.  I found lists with his name, rank, etc., but they just say "in the field" during the time of WWII.  

(OCT 1944: Private 1st Class- 1st Battalion, (75mm), 13th Marines, 5th Martine Division, Fmf, in the Field) 

(Jan - April 1945: Private 1st Class- 1st Battalion, (105mm), 13th Marines, 5th Marine Division, Fmf, in the Field)

Oct 1945: (Corporal - 4th Bn, (155mm How), 13th Mar, 5th Mardic, Fmf, Sasebo, Kyushu, Japan.) 

Does "in the field" mean that he was involved in a battle?  How do I find out which ones?   What is the difference between 5th Martine & 5th Marine Division, or are the both the same?  Where do I request his records if he retired from the Marines in the 60's?  

Beth

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    While you wait for your dad's OMPF, here is some information that might help.  The information you provided seems to have come from Ancestry.com’s U.S., Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798- 1958. Sometimes unit location information can be found at the bottom of the unit’s first page for a given month. For instance, find your father in October 1944. Flip the images backwards until you reach the unit’s beginning of the month page. It is the “bottom” of the two pages on the image and has a grid with numbers on it. Make sure you have the correct unit. Scroll down to the bottom of that page. It is a bit blurry, but says:
    LOCATION OF UNIT DURING PERIOD:
    Marine Camp, Hawaii, T.H.

    Sometimes there may be a footnote in an individual Marine’s remarks. The footnote may also give more specific location information (footnotes are sometimes found after all the names).

    In case you are missing some months—keep in mind that Ancestry does not always find every instance of a name in the muster rolls. You may need to manually look for your dad.

    Each roll should (for the most part) have the following images at the beginning:
    --Date Photographed
    --Volume number; Date covered in the volume.
    --Title page. This has the volume number, as well as the overall unit category on the roll. According to the info given, your dad was with Fleet Marine Force (FMF). There is more than one volume (roll) for FMF.
    --List of Organizations in the volume. Look for 5th Marine Division.
    --Index of individual units with page numbers.

    There is a pattern to the rolls. By looking at the title pages, you can jump back and forth to find the missing months. Then use the index to find your father’s unit.

    Happy Hunting!

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  • 0

    While you wait for your dad's OMPF, here is some information that might help.  The information you provided seems to have come from Ancestry.com’s U.S., Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798- 1958. Sometimes unit location information can be found at the bottom of the unit’s first page for a given month. For instance, find your father in October 1944. Flip the images backwards until you reach the unit’s beginning of the month page. It is the “bottom” of the two pages on the image and has a grid with numbers on it. Make sure you have the correct unit. Scroll down to the bottom of that page. It is a bit blurry, but says:
    LOCATION OF UNIT DURING PERIOD:
    Marine Camp, Hawaii, T.H.

    Sometimes there may be a footnote in an individual Marine’s remarks. The footnote may also give more specific location information (footnotes are sometimes found after all the names).

    In case you are missing some months—keep in mind that Ancestry does not always find every instance of a name in the muster rolls. You may need to manually look for your dad.

    Each roll should (for the most part) have the following images at the beginning:
    --Date Photographed
    --Volume number; Date covered in the volume.
    --Title page. This has the volume number, as well as the overall unit category on the roll. According to the info given, your dad was with Fleet Marine Force (FMF). There is more than one volume (roll) for FMF.
    --List of Organizations in the volume. Look for 5th Marine Division.
    --Index of individual units with page numbers.

    There is a pattern to the rolls. By looking at the title pages, you can jump back and forth to find the missing months. Then use the index to find your father’s unit.

    Happy Hunting!

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