We are trying to figure out where my uncle was in WW2, and what company he was part of, if possible. We know few details, seeing as how he is dead and in life refused to discuss it at all. Here’s what we do know:
He trained at Fort Bragg
He was in the Battle of the Bulge
Of his company in the BOTB, he was one of only 2 survivors, all of whom perished during a Christmas Eve shelling
He was stationed in France and Germany during the war.
We figure Belgique is Belgium, but we have no idea where Eujen is, or if it is even a real town. My uncle didn’t have the opportunity to go past 8th grade in school, so it is very likely he is spelling Eujen as it sounded to him.
Anyone have any good guesses? Is it possible to ask the Army for info about him? I figure WWII is long over, he wasn’t in intelligence, and we are only looking for general information, not anything super-secret. But I’m not sure whether the Army would release any information, or who one might write to.
All we currently have is the one photo, and the only visable insignia is the one I posted on his right arm. His left has one as well, but it is not visible in the photo. We will keep digging, though.
The Wikipedia article describes the siege of Bastogne as occuring around that time. The troops were pounded from the 21st to the 26th of December. This is a description of the battle, and the link should put you in the Christmas Eve section.
I’ve never heard of Eujen, either (which is by no means proof that it doesn’t exist). However, there is a town in Belgium called Eupen located in the region contested during the BOTB. If you have the (presumably handwritten) postcard, is it possible to read that third letter as a “p” instead?
'Course, if the trip to this city took place in August of '45 it was well after the BOTB (and the German surrender, for that matter).
I think that either the U.S. Army or the U.S. National Archives will help people look up the service records of immediate family members. You might also want to call your congressman.
Check the return address on the postcard, if there is one. His unit info might be in there- I have an old one my grandfather sent to a friend, and it has his rank, his unit, the APO that the mail was addressed to, and his serial #, as well as the same stuff minus S/N for the guy he was mailing it to.
I’ve been doing some research into how to dig up info on WW II veterans.
This site lets you do a database search for everyone who was inducted into the army between 1938 and 1946. It only contains a limited amount of info, but it’s pretty interesting and might provide a couple of pieces of info you don’t have. There is a Michael A Lionetti listed.
There’s info here about how to get a copy of a veteran’s military record. If he’s alive, only the veteran himself can request a copy. If deceased, close relatives (parents, spouse, siblings or children) can order it. You can even order it online here. Anyone else needs to fill out a different form (SF-180), and may not receive some portions of the file (stuff they consider more personal info, I guess).
One of my grandfathers and several of my great-uncles served during WW II. My only great-uncle on my mother’s side was killed in the war and, because of that I suppose, he’s the one I’ve been most interested in finding out about. I haven’t yet put in a request for his file, because I’m still putting together the info I need to fill out the request. I’m still trying to track down his exact birthdate, for example.
The bad news is that the facility in St. Louis where the files are stored had a fire back in the 70’s and many of the WW II records were destroyed. But it’s worth a shot to see if something is still available.