I'm looking for information on my father's participation in WWII.  He
was a chief operator of a radar fire control crew with the 70th anti
aircraft 90mm gun battalion in the Northern Solomons Campaign in 1943.
 According to his discharge papers, his decorations included the
Asiatic Pacific Ribbon, 1 bronze battle star and a good conduct ribbon
all of which were lost when his duffle bag was stolen after discharge.
 Where could I research this?

Hello Jake,

There are a number of research resources available for those
investigating the military service of family members, notably the
National Archives, headquartered in Washington, DC:

The National Archives
http://www.nara.gov/

You can obtain your father's official service records from the
National Archives by requesting them in writing via snail mail *only*:

"Requests for military personnel records or information from them
cannot be accepted by e-mail at this time. The Privacy Act of 1974 (5
U.S.C. 552a) and Department of Defense directives require a written
request, signed and dated, to access information from military
personnel records. Our e-mail address below should only be used only
to request general information (hours of operations, procedures, and
forms) or to submit compliments, complaints or concerns."
 
National Personnel Records Center -  Military Personnel Records 
http://www.archives.gov/facilities/mo/st_louis/military_personnel_records.html
 
For general requests, use Standard Form 180: 
 
Standard Form 180 
http://www.archives.gov/facilities/mo/st_louis/military_personnel_records/standard_form_180.html
 
Other forms are available on the first page noted above. 
 
Be certain to sign and date your form, and mail it to: 
 
National Personnel Records Center 
Military Personnel Records 
9700 Page Avenue 
St. Louis, MO 63132-5100 

To learn more about his unit, you can request Unit Operational Records
from the College Park (MD) offices of the National Archives:

Archives II Textual Reference Branch 
National Archives and Records Administration  
8601 Adelphi Road 
College Park, MD 20740-6001 
(301)-713-7250

If you're seeking unofficial accounts, such as diaries, photographs
and letters, many of these can be found through the US Military
History Institute in Pennsylvania:

US Army Military History Institute  
Carlisle Barracks PA 17013-5008 
DSN 242-3611; (717) 245-3611

http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi/

Official Army photographs may also be available.  Check with the
Special Archives Division of the National Archives to see if there are
any of your ather and/or his unit on file.  You'll need to provide as
much information as possible - dates, unit, name of soldier - to have
the archives searched:

Still Picture Branch 
Special Archives Division 
National Archives and Records Administration  
8601 Adelphi Road 
College Park, MD 20740-6001 
(301) 713-6660 

For additional background information, including official brochures,
first hand accounts and tips for obtaining records, the U.S. Army
Center of Military History offers an "online bookshelf", as well as an
image search.  Searching on your father's name may turn up additional
information for you:

U.S. Army Center of Military History
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/default.htm

I hope this information is helpful to you!  If you need further
assistance, please don't hesitate to ask.  I'll be glad to help.

--Missy

Search terms: [ military records ] and bookmarked National Archive
pages

---

Clarification of Answer by missy-ga on 12 Nov 2002 10:11 PST

I'm sorry, Jake, I also meant to include information about how to
replace your father's missing medals.  You would likely want to have
these - I know I certainly cherish my grandfather's decorations (he
was with the 80th Infantry at Buchenwald).

"For those that do not have the original military awards and have no
hope of ever recovering those original military awards, the military
will issue a replacement for lost or stolen military awards to
veterans and their families. This process can take up to a year or
more, if the records weren't destroyed in the fire the Records Center
had in the 70's.

One can replace these missing military awards by contacting the local
Veteran's Affairs Office. Ask for Form S-180 and have as much
pertinent information as possible. If it is for a deceased relative,
the more information you have, the better eg: Social Security number,
Service number, place and date of entry into service, date of
discharge, units they were in, campaigns they were in (Europe, Pacific
etc. for WW-2)."

Missing Medals
http://missingmedals.com/replacinglostmedals.html

My apologies for the initial exclusion of this information.

--Missy