Dear Ms. Trudell,
Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!
The database on the Military Times Hall of Valor is not a complete or official list but an ongoing project which accepts submissions from the public. See their About page for more information, to include how to submit your grandfather’s name to be added to the database
We suggest that you request a copy of his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF), which should include information about any awards. OMPFs and individual medical reports for enlisted men of the U.S. Army who were separated from the service after October 1912 and prior to 1959 are in the custody of NARA's National Personnel Records Center 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. 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.
We searched National Archives Catalog and located Applications for Headstones, 1/1/1925 - 6/30/1970 in the Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General (Record Group 92) that includes the headstone application for your grandfather. We are attaching a copy to the end of our reply. The application references his Bronze Star Medal (BSM), and indicates that he served in the 662nd Quartermaster Railhead Company.
Next, we located the World War II Operations Reports, 1940-1948 in the Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1917-1985 (Record Group 407) that may include general orders of the 662nd Quartermaster Railhead Company. For more information about these records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.
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 RDT2. 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.
Finally, we searched Ancestry and located a document in the Iowa, U.S., World War II Bonus Case Files, 1947-1954 that may be for your grandfather. We are attaching a copy to the end of our reply. It matches in all the particulars on the headstone application except that the Iowa application shows his birth date as March 13, 1920 instead of March 13, 1919. While the form does not reference awards, it does provide his service number, entry date, and separation date, that you should include on the SF-180. These Iowa records did not come from the National Archives, but were provided to Ancestry by the State Historical Society of Iowa.
We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your family research!
Jan 25, 2021 6:53 AM
