I’ve asked for military record advice for another topic on this board before and you guys delivered in style, I was hoping I’d have the same luck again.
Two great uncles where in Normandy just after D-Day, I’d like to learn more about them. I’m not next of kin, obviously, but as I understand it I can request Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) from 1956 to prior as it’s open to the public. They certainly were discharged before then.
The National Archives seem like a byzantine labyrinth of bureaucracy and it looks like it’ll set me back $75 and 10+ days for a printed copy per soldier.
Other than their names and county of birth I don’t have much else to work with. I was wondering if you knew of any other place I could get some traction for free first.
Note that ancestry.com has bought a lot of smaller genealogical sites and they have the most records but beware that there is a lot of inaccurate information posted there.
After accepting info from ancestry a little too faithfully my Ancestry family tree now has a number of ancestors who apparently were born in Massachusetts around 1610.
ETA: But reviewing the source data (e.g., census or military records) directly rather than letting the site populate the tree when it offers should address most of that risk.
I have found information on my grandfather in WWI from a book that has a synopsis for all Ohio soldiers. I ran across it in the local library by accident in their genealogy room. Perhaps each state has such a book. If they made these listings for WWII it would be a much larger book. Ask at your library to see if they have heard of the book. I copied the relevant page but it would take me awhile to find it to come up with the title.
I have an Ancestry.com membership. If you PM me the names and any other info you have on them (DOB, place of birth, etc), I’ll take a look there. Generally, all one can find is draft registration information, however.
If you know the units your uncles were in … perhaps the unit history can be found for less cost … my father spent the all of WWII on a destroyer in the Pacific … and the ship’s history is on Wikipedia … pretty much told me all I wanted to know … yes, he was in the “T” at Layte …
I wonder if we’re related, because Ancestry shows that I, too, have English (i.e., non-Indian) ancestors who were born in the Massachusetts colony around 1610. Remarkable!!
Check the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress for their names. You never know, there might be a video of them talking about their service!
If anyone reading this has a loved one or even an acquaintance who served, I highly recommend doing this project with them! I am SO glad I have a video record of my grandpa talking about his time in the service. Even if you don’t know someone who served, you can help the project by interviewing veterans near you either via the VFW, a senior center or a retirement home.
