| jcroach |
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Any military history buffs?
#236933 - 10/21/10 02:48 PM
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My Dad died last week. He was a veteran of the US Army in the early 1950s, right after Korea. I'm trying to piece together his military record. Units he was assigned to, medals he may have won, insignia that may have been on his uniform.
Anyone know of good web resources?
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| snake78 |
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sineku setenta y ocho
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Re: Any military history buffs?
[Re: jcroach]
#236937 - 10/21/10 04:06 PM
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GatKong |
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Tetris Mason
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Re: Any military history buffs?
[Re: jcroach]
#236938 - 10/21/10 04:13 PM
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Download this form Military Record Requests: Standard Form SF-180.
Mail it to:
National Personnel Records Center
9700 Page Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63132
And ask for copies of his OMPF (Official military Personnel File, also called a "201 file". That will summerize every major thing about his military career for you (awards, training, assignments, combat, evaluation reports, disipline etc). Even though a 201 file should include his DD214 (discharge summery), specifically ask for that as well, because alot of the older records don't include the DD214. Medical Records request will slow you up months if not years, I'd skip it or request it seperately.
Be warned, the military records building had a huge fire a few years ago, lost alot of records from WWII era.
Hope that helps.
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| Andrew |
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Girl Watcher
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Re: Any military history buffs?
[Re: jcroach]
#236943 - 10/21/10 05:18 PM
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Sorry for your loss. Thank you for his Service to our country. 
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A story of one man and his obsession with the female anatomy.
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| Andrew |
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Girl Watcher
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Re: Any military history buffs?
[Re: GatKong]
#236945 - 10/21/10 05:21 PM
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> Download this form...
My Dad served in the Air Force in the late 50s/early 60s. He's still around and I've been meaning to get a full chronology from him. Good to know this is available in case his memory fails him.
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A story of one man and his obsession with the female anatomy.
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| jcroach |
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MAME Fan
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> Download this form Military Record Requests: Standard Form SF-180.
>
> Mail it to:
>
> National Personnel Records Center
> 9700 Page Avenue
> St. Louis, MO 63132
>
> And ask for copies of his OMPF (Official military Personnel File, also called a "201
> file". That will summerize every major thing about his military career for you
> (awards, training, assignments, combat, evaluation reports, disipline etc). Even
> though a 201 file should include his DD214 (discharge summery), specifically ask for
> that as well, because alot of the older records don't include the DD214. Medical
> Records request will slow you up months if not years, I'd skip it or request it
> seperately.
>
> Be warned, the military records building had a huge fire a few years ago, lost alot
> of records from WWII era.
>
> Hope that helps.
Thanks for the help. I made a request earlier today and did ask for a lot, but I wish I would have seen your post first! I should have specifically asked for the OMPF! We already have his discharge papers.
I've read about that fire. "On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at NPRC destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files." 80% of the files for Army personnel discharged between 1912 and 1960 were lost. He was discharged in 1956.
I'm most interested in reconstructing his uniform and knowing where he was stationed. I have a lot of this, just missing a few pieces. On his discharge papers I learned about the medals he won. I never saw these as a kid. I wonder where they are now?
From left to right:
National Defense Service Medal
Korean Service Medal
United Nations Service Medal - Korea
[ATTACHED IMAGE]
Edited by jcroach (10/21/10 11:48 PM)
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| GatKong |
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Tetris Mason
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Re: Any military history buffs?
[Re: jcroach]
#236994 - 10/21/10 11:35 PM
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>I learned about the medals he won. I never saw these as a kid. I wonder where they are now?
>
> From left to right:
> National Defense Service Medal
> Korean Service Medal
> United Nations Service Medal - Korea
You can order replacements from the military here. They are reliable but slow, and will likely send a "dull" (ie not bright and shiney) version of the medals.
If you want them in a hurry, and want them "stay-bright" shiney, I ordered a shadow-box of my military medals here and they were excellent... everybody asks me where I had it made. They even found a rare medal nobody else could find for me. I recommend them to everyone.
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| jcroach |
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MAME Fan
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Re: Any military history buffs?
[Re: GatKong]
#236995 - 10/21/10 11:56 PM
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> > I learned about the medals he won. I never saw these as a kid. I wonder where they
> are now?
> >
> > From left to right:
> > National Defense Service Medal
> > Korean Service Medal
> > United Nations Service Medal - Korea
>
> You can order replacements from the military here. They are reliable but slow, and
> will likely send a "dull" (ie not bright and shiney) version of the medals.
Yeah, I made a eVetRecs request today. What kind of medals were origonally issued in the 1950s? Bronze or Anodized? I was under the impression they were bronze. So, it's a mater of authentic very stay looking good forever. Or in Arcade speak NOS vs. reproduction?
>
> If you want them in a hurry, and want them "stay-bright" shiney, I ordered a
> shadow-box of my military medals here and they were excellent... everybody asks me
> where I had it made. They even found a rare medal nobody else could find for me. I
> recommend them to everyone.
One place I found will tie them together so they all connect for a uniform.
How about replacement/recreation dog tags? Anyone know what Korea era dog tags looked like/what info they had on them?
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| GatKong |
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Tetris Mason
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Dog tags have stood the test of time.
Stamped with
Last Name
First Name
Social Security #
year entered service was included in Korean era
Blood type
Religion
All era tags have rolled back edges. Korean war era tags had indent stamps (as opposed to embossed). Religious preference then was a single letter for religion (c cathoilic, p protestant, b baptist, j jewsh etc).
Tons of places do oretty accurate repros
[ATTACHED IMAGE]
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Don't disgrace him.
[Re: jcroach]
#237014 - 10/22/10 07:23 AM
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US Military medals are not "won" they are EARNED one way or another. I know the term "won" is thrown around a lot in books and in the press, but they are simply not a prize. They represent what was sacrificed and/or contributed (in the case of achievment medals) to the service and our country.
My condolances.
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Just broke my personal record for number of consecutive days without dying!
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| jcroach |
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MAME Fan
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Don't disrespect me
[Re: URherenow]
#237032 - 10/22/10 03:02 PM
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> US Military medals are not "won" they are EARNED one way or another. I know the term
> "won" is thrown around a lot in books and in the press, but they are simply not a
> prize. They represent what was sacrificed and/or contributed (in the case of
> achievment medals) to the service and our country.
>
>
> My condolances.
Implying that I've disgraced my father, his memory or his service may have been the rudest thing anyone has ever said to me.
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My apologies
[Re: jcroach]
#237094 - 10/23/10 06:10 AM
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That wasn't my intention. I was just pointing out a subtle misconception/misrepresentation of military honors.
Poor choice of subject line on my part 
At any rate, it was meant to be a sign of respect for your father's service, not disrespect towards you.
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Just broke my personal record for number of consecutive days without dying!
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