I am trying to learn which outfit my father was in during World War
II. He was in the Army Air Force, was a chaplain, went from the east
coast of the US, through North Africa and then spent about a year and
a half in the China Burma India Theater. He was in a bombing unit that
flew the Hump and I want to research what his unit did while they were
in China after the war in the Pacific ended. He left China in December
1945. His name was Richard William Moore and his serial number was
O-502 078. How can I do this?
 Thanks, June Hildebrand

Hello,

You need to fill out a form and send it to the National Archives. The
sites below explain how to do this.

"Military Records Request," Defense Department
http://www.defenselink.mil/faq/pis/PC03MLTR.html
The Pentagon's DefenseLink site explains how to obtain information
about soldiers no longer on active duty.

"National Personnel Records Center: Military Records," NARA
http://www.archives.gov/facilities/mo/st_louis/military_personnel_records.html
The National Archives' version of the information.

"SF-180: Getting Military Records," The American War Library
http://members.aol.com/forvets/htomr.htm
More information on the form you need to fill out and how to contact
the Archives.

As the sites explain, Air Force records for people discharged between
9/25/47 and 1/1/64 have been lost for people whose names come after
"Hubbard."

Once you find out to what unit your father was attached, you'll want
to research what that unit did. The following sites (along with many
others) discuss the China-Burma-India Airlift.

"The `Hump': China-Burma-India Airlift," Kate Levitz, Maxwell AFB
http://www.au.af.mil/au/aul/school/sncoa/hump.htm
Bibliography of airlift information.

"China Defensive, 1942-1945," U.S. Army
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/brochures/72-38/72-38.htm
Text of brochure about campaign.

"Other CBI Websites," Old China Hands
http://home.att.net/~oldchinahands/och_links.htm
Links to sites about the campaign on the Asian mainland.

"China National Aviation Corporation"
www.cnac.org
Information on commercial aviation in the region in the 1940s,
assembled by Tom Moore. A relative, perhaps?

I hope this answer meets your needs. If not, please request
clarification.

Search strategy:

military records
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=military+records

China Hump
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=China+Hump

China Hump units
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=China+Hump+units

Google the name of his unit, and you will likely find groups of men
who served in his unit, or knew of his unit, or who's children know of
his unit. I have done this with my husband's grand father who was a
military man, and was amazed at the many sites these men would post
their experiences, often naming colleagues, and commanders. You can
also post a question and see if someone has the info you need.