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Re: Seeking information about William Gerald Bishop
Cara JensenJan 7, 2021 3:06 PM (in response to Stephen Joy)
2 people found this helpfulDear Mr. Joy,
Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!
We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the series titled Intelligence and Investigative Dossiers (IRR) Personal Files in the Records of the Army Staff (RG 319) that contains a personal name file for William G. Bishop XE066676. For access to the declassified non-digitized 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. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.
We also suggest that you request a search for records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for William Gerald Bishop. For instructions, please visit their website at Requesting FBI Records. In addition, you may wish to contact the National Archives of the United Kingdom, the State Archives of Belgium, and the Austrian State Archives to request any records regarding the earlier reported deportations of William Gerald Bishop.
These files may give you background information on the birthplace and parentage of William Gerald Bishop which you may use for further research.
We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research!
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Re: Seeking information about William Gerald Bishop
Stephen Joy Jan 14, 2021 10:41 AM (in response to Cara Jensen)Thank you, Ms. Jensen!
I had requested records from the FBI and CIA (among other agencies) with limited success (CIA will neither confirm nor deny, etc.). But I had not found the file to which you refer! It is an exciting discovery, and I have reached out to the Archives in hopes of clearing up some of the lingering questions about this man. Given that he dropped out of sight well before I was even born (and I'm no kid), his history and doings seem surprisingly relevant today - especially in the aftermath of the January 6th insurrection, in which he would certainly have played a major role.
I am less sanguine about finding information regarding his life before his first FBI contact in 1935. Nearly every story he ever told was a lie (we know this because there were so many different ones). My sense is that he probably was an American who rose from obscurity - there is some indication that he was in the Civilian Conservation Corps at one point, and he is believed to have worked in various menial capacities. But maybe the file you located will contain some information about this as well!
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