Seeking military status of Luke A Sowieralski & John Sterry

Luke,

Do you have a DOB, or place of birth for  Luke Adam Sowieralski. Here are a couple other possible family members.

Hope this helps,

Elliot Schneider

Dear Mr. Sowieralski,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

Persons classified as 4F by their draft boards were disqualified for service in the U.S. Armed Forces, would not have been drafted, and would not have been allowed to voluntarily enlist.  The only exception may have been if they were initially classified as 4F but were reclassified following an appeal of their classification.

Selective Service records for individuals who served after World War I and were born before 1960 are in the custody of the National Archives at St. Louis (RL-SL). There are two types of records: cards and classification histories.  The individual Draft Registration Card (SSS Form 1) may contain information such as: name, Selective Service registration number, age, date and place of birth, ethnicity, place of residence at time of registration and basic physical description. The Classification History (SSS Form 102) may contain: name; date of birth; classification and date of mailing notice; date of appeal to the board; date and results of armed forces physical examination; entry into active duty or civilian work in lieu of induction (may include date, branch of service entered and mode of entry, such as enlisted or ordered); date of separation from active duty or civilian work; and general remarks. Please complete a Form NA-13172 to request a search of these records and email it to RL-SL at stl.archives@nara.gov.

For men who registered for the draft prior to 1976, all other individual draftee files besides the cards and classification histories were destroyed by the Selective Service System in 1978, in accordance with approved records retention schedules. Physical examination and test results, medical letters, laboratory work, and other medical documentation that may have been included in these files no longer exist.

Please note that the existence of a draft card does not indicate that that a person served. Also, a person would not have registered for the draft if he was already in the military at the time he would have otherwise been required to register.

Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive listing of all persons that served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II.  There are some databases with partial information. The World War II Army Enlistment Records database available through Access to Archival Databases (AAD) is a compilation of enlistment data captured on punch cards by the Army. The database includes  most of the personnel who enlisted in the Army from 1938 through 1946. We searched for LUke Sowieralski and John Sterry without results.  However, please note that the absence of a record in this database does not prove that a person did not serve in the Army, as there are gaps in the database where the original records were missing or unreadable. It does not include records for those who were commissioned officers when they first joined. Also, it does not include those that served in the Marines, Navy, or Coast Guard.

If either served, there should have been an Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) created for him. OMPFs and individual medical reports for those who served in the U.S. Armed Forces and who were separated from the service prior to 1958 are in the custody of NARA's National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. In many cases where Army and Army Air Corps 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. Navy and Marine Corps OMPFs were not affected by the fire. 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. If there is any information requested by these forms that you do not know you may leave it blank or provide estimates (such as writing “World War II” for service dates), however the more information you provide, the easier it will be for NPRC staff to locate the correct file if it exists and if it was not destroyed by the fire. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Archival Records Requests.

Because you believe that at least one of the persons you are researching was 4F, which would preclude him having been in the military and would mean there would be no OMPF for him, we suggest that you wait until you receive information regarding the draft classification records before deciding whether or not you wish to submit requests for OMPFs.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of NARA staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgement as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RL-SL. Also, the NPRC is closed except for emergencies. Currently, NPRC will continue servicing requests ONLY associated with medical treatments, burials, and homeless veterans seeking admittance to a homeless shelter. If your request is urgent, please see Emergency Requests and Deadlines. Please refrain from submitting non-emergency requests such as replacement medals, administrative corrections, or records research until NPRC returns to pre-COVID staffing levels. Please check archives.gov/veterans for updates to the NPRC operating hours and status. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Some veterans registered their discharge information with their county court or registered with their state for the purpose of receiving state and local veterans benefits. You may wish to contact the county where he resided after the war, as well as the state archives and the state agency that is responsible for veteran services where he lived.

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

Luke,

John P. Sterry would have been to young to be drafted for WW2, however he may have registered for the Korean War. Noticed he was married in 1954. If your moms father is still alive ask him to request his military records. He may have some stories to tell or maybe your mom remembers.