Seeking Military records of James Byron Penrod

Dear Ms. Maurer,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

To seek the records of James Byron Penrod, please begin by requesting his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). OMPFs and individual medical reports for those who served in the U.S. Armed Forces and who were separated from the service prior to 1955 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.

Additionally, as part of our on-going commitment to preserve our records, the National Archives has entered into partnerships with Ancestry and Fold3 to digitize some of NARA's holdings. We located a draft registration card for James Byron Penrod within the series WWII Draft Registration Cards for Missouri, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947 that has been digitized via Fold3. There may be a fee for using Fold3. Instead, you may view these records online at one NARA's facilities for free via a NARA PC. For the nearest NARA location, please consult our web page at https://www.archives.gov/locations/.

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

HI Penelope, if you haven't already tried, you might want to search Familysearch.org. It's a free service after registration. I did a search and found separation papers for a James B Penrod from KC, Missouri, from the collection: Missouri, Reports of Separation Notices, 1941-1946 (provided by the Missouri State Archives). I was not able to attach the file, but this individual was a pilot with the 511th Bomber Squadron, and born November 1917 in Golden City, MO. The separation papers list years of service and decoration. Hope this is of some help. joan

Penelope,

Your father was very decorated as well serving ww2 and  retiring in the AF in 1971 according to the Officer registers. Can you  take a picture of his ribbons and post. Many individuals can help you identify. I suggest calling the following to obtain records of your father here is link and online request form from the Missouri State Achives.

MISSOURI STATE ARCHIVES
600 WEST MAIN
PO BOX 1747
JEFFERSON CITY, MO 65102-1747

Submit your Research Request to archref@sos.mo.gov or through the online request form.

Joan great find with wonderful information.

Just a side note I found a William Penrod also very decorated with a silver star award. I presume this is his brother.

Thanks,

Elliot Schneider

Penelope,

Found this hope this helps you in researching your father. Now you can hopefully obtain copies of those orders. Matbe someone can help me but lost the information for the Air Force Records.

Thanks,

Elliot Schneider