NPRC

The Difference Between the OMPF & IDPF

October 22, 2024 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

A lot of people get confused with all the acronyms in military research. Especially when it comes to personnel files. So let’s clear this up shall we?

I wrote an article about the Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) which contained information on how to request it, what it contained, and how to share information with organizations who honor our war dead. Several people were confused about the difference between the Official Military Personnel File (OMPF), also known as the military service file and the IDPF. This article will clarify what those files are, where they are located, what they contain, and how to obtain copies.

Difference between the two files:

OMPF: Created for every single service man or woman in every branch of the military.

IDPF: Created for only those who were unrecovered and still considered Missing In Action or those who died in the war.

Official Military Personnel File (OMPF)

What: Also known as the military service file, the OMPF is the record of a soldier’s service from enlistment and induction until discharge or death. Some files are quite lengthy if a soldier was in service for many years. Other files are short because the soldier was inducted during the war years and served a very short time, or was Killed In Action.

These files contain, but are not limited to the following:

Birth, marriage, and death certificates for the soldier, sailor, or Marine and sometimes members of his family. I have even seen adoption records in a file.
Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Merchant Marine OMPFs have photographs of the sailor or Marine taken upon after induction. These photographs are also found in the IDPF if the man or woman died in service or is still Missing In Action.
Next of kin information can be found through vital records, insurance papers, beneficiary papers and next of kin designation papers. This is great information if you are a grave adopter in Europe and are trying to locate living relatives.
Educational records and letters of recommendation.
Training information.
Medical and dental information.
Service information: Training places and dates; type of training received; scores for tests and training; dates of service overseas; medals and citations earned.
Death information if the soldier died while in service.
Often the files contain handwritten letters from family members, especially fi the soldier died in service.

Where: The OMPF is held at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri. These files are available to anyone if a soldier died or was discharged on this date 62 years ago. So at the time of this article posting on my website, this means any OMPF for soldiers who died or were discharged by 17 July 1954, is available to anyone to request.

History and Confusion: There is a lot of confusion of the OMPF – does it exist or did it burn? In 1973 there was a devastating fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri. Approximately 80% of the Army, Air Corps/Army Air Forces/Air Force, and National Guard (under the authority of the Army during WWII) burned. Is that the end of the story? NO!

NPRC gets thousands of requests for OMPFs and other records every week. The facility holds records from WWI, WWII, Federal Employee Records, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and other records. The service files are not the only thing held there. Many researchers receive letters that say, “All the records burned.” Sometimes that really isn’t the case. I have copies of complete files and some files which are burned around the edges (or have mold or water damage.) Some files I have are partial and contain only bits of information.

Obtaining Records: If you work with a researcher, you have a much better chance of getting information out of NPRC. We are able to request and stay on top of whether or not there is a service file. My team is also able to ensure we at some point see a file that does exist. Case in point, last year my researcher at NPRC requested a Navy file for a client. NPRC found it, processed it and sent it to the wrong department in May. It was November before we saw the file and that is only because we stayed on top of the progress of locating it. Anyone who would have requested it by mail would never have received it most likely or it would have taken much longer than 7 months. NPRC also sometimes pulls the “right name but the wrong file.” This happened a couple years ago and my researcher caught the error and was able to save me hundreds of dollars in copy fees. We are also able to locate Morning Reports, Monthly Reports, Payroll, Air Force Award Cards and other records held there.

You do have the option to go to NPRC in person to conduct research. And you can send in Form 180 to request a copy of the OMPF. When you send this form in, the OMPF is the only thing they will sear€ch for you. Often you will pay $25 for a Final Payroll Record and a sheet that says the soldier served. This is a far cry from the available information there if you go there or work with a researcher.

Types of File Codes if the File was Affected by the Fire:

“P” File is a Final Payroll File. These are typically what NPRC charges you $25 for. You get the Final Payroll Record which has little information on it and usually a sheet stating the soldier served.

“B” Burned File. This file means the file is partially in existence and has damage. You never know exactly what remains until you see the file.

“R” Reconstructed File. This file means a few pieces of information were located to reconstruct enough information to prove service. If the soldier has an IDPF, often some of those papers come from this. I’ve also seen Final Payroll, and items family members sent to NPRC (newspaper articles, copies of letters, copies of the Separation and Discharge Papers, etc.)

Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF)

The IDPF is a file created for every soldier, sailor, or Marine who was listed as Missing In Action (MIA) and never recovered or who died in service. These files were never at the NPRC in St. Louis and therefore not part of the 1973 Fire and were not destroyed. These files are currently held by the National Personnel Records Center.

This is the first file you should request if you are researching someone who died while in military service. To learn more, please read the post about the IDPF to learn the specifics on this file.

Sharing Information:

There are many researchers seeking information on our deceased soldiers and many organizations and foundations which use the files to honor service men and women. One such foundation, the Stichting Verenigde Adoptanten Amerikaanse Oorlogsgraven (Foundation United Adopters American War Graves,) runs the Fields of Honor Database in the Netherlands. The Fields of Honor Database has a mission to compile information and photographs, in their free online database, for all those buried or listed on the Wall of the Missing at ABMC cemeteries in Margraten, Netherlands, Henri-Chapelle, Belgium, and Ardennes, Belgium. You can help them accomplish this mission by contacting them and sharing your soldier’s information.

Books To Guide Your Research:

If you live in Europe and have adopted a soldier’s grave or his name on the Wall of the Missing, this foundation is also selling my research book, Faces of War: Researching Your Adopted Soldier.

If you live in the U.S. and need assistance researching, check out my books, Volumes 1 and 2 of Stories from the World War II Battlefield, which are the only ones available which teach you step-by-step how to do WWII research. Need more assistance? Contact me to discuss a project. I am taking new clients at this time and there is no wait list.

Still confused or have questions? Please email info@wwiirwc.com to discuss a research project or writing project. We are taking new clients.

New IDPF Access (7 October 2024)

October 8, 2024 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

Finally after many years of waiting, ALL of the Individual Deceased Personnel Files (IDPF) are now at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis. Gone are the days where we have to request part of the alphabet from one location and the rest from another.

To access these files, you can submit a request to the NPRC. Surnames A-L are being digitized and you should receive the file that way. Surnames M-Z are still in paper format and need to be digitized.

Interesting though that many already have been for years, but this is the official line from NPRC.

Would you like help telling your veteran’s story?

I can help you discover the facts and records through research and write the story for you! Explore how I can help you and then email me at info@wwiirwc.com to set up a free consultation to discuss your research or writing project.

5 Reasons Why You Must Have Army and Army Air Force Company Morning Reports

September 24, 2024 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

I speak to many people on a daily basis about Army and Air Force research in the U.S. and Europe. Everyone is asking the same question. How can I find out where my soldier or Airman was every day? His OMPF (service file) burned in 1973.

The answer is simple. You start with Company Morning Reports. Here are 5 reasons you need these records.

Company Morning Reports will help you reconstruct a soldier’s service, allowing you to document where he was every day he was in a company in a particular unit. You will also know when he changed units so you can continue tracing his service.
Morning Reports document illness and wounds and if the clerk documented things, what field hospital or other hospital he was sent to.
You’ll see changes in rank, MOS (job), transfers to temporary duty assignments so you know where he was at all times. Often, men were sent to DS (detached service) to help another unit. In those moments you also want to consult the other unit’s records to learn what was happening. This changes the soldier’s war experience.
Changes in status to MIA, POW, KIA are also listed.
Awards may be listed in Morning Reports if the clerk added that information. Many people want to know when or why a soldier received a specific award or decoration. This is one resource to help you discover that information and the often elusive General Order (GO) number.

Important! In a recent conversation on Facebook, someone posted they couldn’t trace their soldier every day, I suggested Morning Reports. Their response was they were working with DPAA because their soldier was still MIA and DPAA had provided unit level records and told them the OMPF burned. I responded that DPAA didn’t provide all the information possible and Morning Reports are the answer.

DPAA hardly uses Morning Reports or OMPFs in their research, from conversations I’ve had with them. It is not their job to reconstruct your soldier’s entire service history. Their job is to find details that document his MIA status in the hopes of locating the individual. They will not then provide you with the Morning Reports and details on service. If you want this information, you have to find it yourself or work with a researcher to locate this information. If they tell you it is impossible because the OMPF burned, they are wrong. You can retrace service without the OMPF.

Want to learn more about Morning Reports, how they can help your research, and how to obtain them? Read my articles:

Company Morning Reports

Can I help you with your research?

Are you ready to learn the bigger picture of your family member’s military service? Email us at info@wwiirwc.com to set up your free phone consultation today to discuss project options, fees, and time. You can also sign-up for our free newsletter at the Ancestral Souls Wisdom School and take a class on my 2-part military research strategy to research any veteran even if the service file burned.

Why Can’t We Get Military Records?

March 7, 2024 by Jennifer Holik 1 Comment

In November I helped someone fill out two of NARA/NPRC’s Standard Form 180s to get Navy personnel files. Only a miniscule number of Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps OMPFs were affected by the fire. So one would think if you send in Form 180 you’ll get a copy of the full service file. Right?

WRONG!

The man I helped fill out the forms brought me one response to his requests. The other we expect to arrive shortly. NPRC wrote in the letter, about the Navy OMPF, the following:

“We are unable to completely fulfill your request at this time and have focused all available resources to providing a Report of Separation (DD Form 2014 or its equivalent) for records requests. This is the most pertinent document needed to secure veteran’s benefits like medical emergencies, aid and attendance and final military honors. We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your patience and understanding.”

Let’s be honest – this makes me angry. I realize the priority is living veterans and the spouses or kids of veterans who need the benefits. However, there are plenty of people also seeking answers and closure to their family histories and these service files can provide that. So where is the balance or is this now standard operating procedure – give as little as possible. Do as little work as possible.

There are many people who prefer not to hire a researcher like myself because they want to do the research themselves or do not have the funds to do hire a researcher. They know the OMPF is available and not burned because of the military branch – and yet NPRC won’t release it to them.

This kind of response will likely result in more requests being placed which will mean more work for them, when they could have handled the first time the request came in. It will also mean that the backlog they just celebrated being finished or almost finished since the 2 year shutdown- by closing the facility for a day so they could celebrate – may begin again once word spreads that the archivists aren’t providing the information requested.

What is the answer here? I don’t know because the archives operate by their own set of rules which doesn’t always seem to benefit the taxpayer, family historian, and often not even the veteran.

As a side note – those Surname A-L IDPFs that are being held at NPRC. They were digitized years ago, through taxpayer money, as have the M-Z being held at Ft. Knox. I learned if you send in a request to NPRC for an IDPF – you will be charged. However, if you are on-site and request it – there is no charge and it’s emailed to you. Interesting right?

What Is the Current Solution?

If you received a letter like what my friend did above, and the file should be intact you have two options. 1) Send in another Form 180 and see if they answer your request. If not, request again and make sure to let them know you’ve requested before and not gotten the results you need. 2) Hire a researcher like myself to get you the records. We are on-site and will follow up to make sure we get the information we need. I offer a free phone consultation to discuss your research needs. Email me at jennifer@ancestralsouls.com to set up a call. Every client receives a customized quote for both parts of the research project that fits their research needs. Clients also receive two full research reports with information on what was searched, discovered or not discovered, all documents we receive and answers, peace, and closure. Are you ready to start your research project today? I can help you with WWI, WWII, Korea or Vietnam.

Explore Family Patterns Through Genealogy in a New Program

February 19, 2024 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

Navigating Life’s Labyrinth. Decoding the Circle of Influence.

Saturday, March 16, 2024 from 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CDT

A labyrinth symbolizes journeys, both physical and metaphorical, and are often associated with introspection, self-discovery, and the search for meaning. Finding meaning is what we do as family historians and healers using our genealogical records.

Join me for a two-part workshop using my Circle of Influence tool to discover what’s hidden in your family history. Workshop includes:

What the Program Includes

50-Minute Webinar – Circle of Influence. Using Genealogy & FAN to Identify Family Patterns and Trauma.

We’ve heard of the FAN concept in genealogy – Friends, Associates, and Neighbors – as a way to locate genealogical records to prove the “John Smith” in the records is or is not your John Smith. Have you ever considered using this concept another way to help you identify why an ancestor was the way they were or carried certain patterns? Using storytelling, the circle of influence tool, writing prompts and research, we will create the web of who was involved in an ancestor’s life or even your own. Then we will explore how that may have influenced who you became, the beliefs, behaviors and patterns you live and possibly any traumas. gifts, and blessings that may have been passed down.

15-minute Q&A to discuss what you discovered.

Short Break.

50-Minute Webinar – The Ripple Effect. Mapping the Intersections of Family, Trauma, War, and Patterns.

This program will help you use the Circle of Influence in a different way as we explore the impacts of war on our service members, civilians, and children of war. The material will pave the way for you to understand your family better, create new research paths and ask better questions so you can write better stories. You may walk away with big ah-ha moments about who your family members really were!

15-minute Q&A to discuss what you discovered.

You Also Receive

30-Minute Private Coaching Session

– Receive personalized guidance and feedback from an experienced coach to explore the depth of your family’s patterns and life. Ask research and writing questions. Share your stories and see what else is possible. This session must be scheduled and used by Thursday, April 11 or you lose it.

Workbooks

– Each webinar comes with its own workbook with notes and resources.

– PDF Guide full of writing prompts, resource lists for your circles of influence and additional resources so you can take what you learn further.

Learn more about this new program and register to save your spot today!

A Word of Caution: Hiring a Military Researcher

February 17, 2024 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

We don’t know what we don’t know.

Over the last few months, I’ve had many people contact me to ask questions or hire me to do military research projects after they hired another firm. Why? Because the other firms gave them records without understanding what the client needed. Gave no explanation through a research report to explain what was discovered and what was not. Never gave the option for customized research. Never offered to pull all available records.

And, in one recent case, the research firm copied hundreds of pages of Morning Reports that were for the wrong unit and never once checked to make sure the veteran was ever listed in the reports. On top of that, her veteran died while in service but the research firm didn’t give her the IDPF (death file) because she didn’t pay for that “Package” of research. So she was left with hundreds of pages of paper she had no idea what they meant, what to do with, and no answers about the death of her veteran. I was amazed at what she gave me to review before our consultation. My team is working with her and she is now getting answers.

How does this happen?

Because many research firms have a form for you to fill out asking what you need. They give you a package price for whatever they think is going to fill your need. Then they take your money and give you records that may not be helpful at all and probably don’t answer your questions. Additionally, many of them quit researching if it gets too difficult to find the records.

This is not how I work with clients.

A Bit of Archives History

Researching WWI, WWII, Korea or Vietnam veterans has been difficult and complex since the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) Fire of 1973. You may know that the archives told us 80% of the Army and Army Air Force/Air Force service files burned. So you can go to the NARA website, download Form 180 and request a records search but you are likely to only get a Final Payroll document back if the file is gone, which doesn’t help you at all with research. Yet NARA has never give more explicit instructions on how to actually do the research and what you really need to have done – the archivists will not do for you.

What options do you have to learn about your veteran’s history if you don’t know how to do the military research, even if you are a seasoned genealogist? Well, you can hire a researcher, but be aware there are questions you need to ask before investing your money with one.

Questions to Ask

What are the questions I have about my veteran’s service? What questions do I have because of things I’ve heard whispered in the family or through family stories?
Do I know what records I need to be able to reconstruct military service if the file burned? For many people, even seasoned genealogists tell me – they have no idea how to do military research beyond sending in Form 180. They don’t know that having a unit at some point in time can make or break a project sometimes. They don’t know what records can be helpful in doing a project. Even seasoned genealogists can’t know every record that exists whether military or genealogical, no matter how many years they study. There are always new records to discover.
Do I know what information I need to obtain military records? Where can I find out?
Will a firm that only asks me to fill out a form without talking to me know what records I need to answer my question?
Is the firm going to only scan a time period of records like Morning Reports for the months of June, July and August 1944 without ever checking to see if my guy is listed? Is any customization available or can I only get weeks or months worth of reports? I recently had a client come to me that hired a firm that uses forms and has this approach to research. She gave me 369 pages of Morning Reports that she received and was completely overwhelmed and had no idea what to do with it all. She didn’t even really know what it all meant or if her veteran was listed anywhere. When she asked me for a consultation I looked through all of those 369 pages, which covered about a year of service in one unit. Her veteran appeared 3 times. Had he been transferred out of that unit after the first 10 pages, the other 359 would have been completely worthless and a waste of her money. Thankfully he was in the unit and but the clerk who created the reports gave almost no daily information so much of the paperwork was useless considering the amount she paid to have research done.
What happens if they can’t find a unit and the record burned? Do I lose my money?
Will I get a detailed explanation via email or a research report to know what records were searched? Why a dead end was hit? Or what all these records mean?
Can I ask the research firm questions about the records after I receive them? If not, where can I go to find answers?

It’s important to realize that even if you have a full service file for your Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or Merchant Marine service member of even a Civilian Army Transport Service Employee or other federal employee, you are still reconstructing service history. Why? Because a file has clues but never the entire story of your veteran. It’s also never given to you in a format that’s easy to understand as you read through it. You still have to create the timeline, understand the lingo and abbreviations, and piece the history together.

Which Type of Researcher Do I Hire?

The best advice I can give you is to do your homework and ask yourself what you really need and what your knowledge level is as far as military records are concerned.

Are you knowledgeable and know what records you need? Or do you need just a time period of certain reports? If you are knowledgeable and only want a certain time period of reports copied, hiring a firm with a form on their page to just scan records may be fine for your needs.

If you do not need customized research to receive answers about your veteran, hiring a firm with a form to fill out may be what you need.

Read research testimonials.

If you are not sure what you need and require an explanation about the records you receive, hiring someone like me is a better option. Why? I customize every project and get to know the client and their needs. My business model is not how much money can I make today by just copying records for people. I also have the gift of healing and many clients come to me because they want more than paper records. They want answers, closure, and peace, especially if their relationship with their veteran was rough or non-existent for whatever reason. Schedule a free consult today.

I give every potential client a free consultation via phone or Zoom to listen to their stories, ask them questions and listen to their response, and find out what they really want out of the research.
I take time before the consult to dig a little so I make sure I have enough information to start a project, especially if the record may have burned. This means time emailing the client asking more questions, asking if they have certain records, etc. This is helpful to them because often they have the information, but didn’t realize it.
Every client I work with receives information along the research process. They receive a research report with source citations along with all the records I obtain from NPRC or NARA and many other sources. The research report has the information presented in a way that is very easy to understand by the client. They can clearly retrace the footsteps of their veteran through the timeline I provide. They also get narrative sections which explain discrepancies or sometimes what couldn’t be found or shocking things discovered that the client didn’t mention (or maybe didn’t know).
I created a two-part research strategy over 10 years ago to research any veteran even if the service file burned. My projects are done in two parts so clients receive the reconstructed history and then the narrative to understand the context of their experience. By the end of a project, the client receives at least two reports.
For clients who wish to have a book written after research, I can also easily move from research into writing for them. For others, I often serve as a developmental editor. The transition is smooth.

The most important thing when hiring a research is asking yourself what you really know and what answers you want to find. Then find a firm that will help you accomplish your goals.

Would you like to discuss what’s possible to tell your veteran’s story and help you find answers and closure? Schedule a free consult today.

Research a WWI Army Veteran Online – Part 2

June 20, 2022 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

This is the second article in a short series about researching your WWI Army Veteran online. Also, if your veteran served before the war, or after the war from 1918-1939, a lot of these tips may also help you discover puzzle pieces. Be sure to read the first article if you missed it. You will want those tips.

Ok, so you have started a timeline of service and started reconstructing military service and unit(s) your veteran was in. What’s next? We will talk today about those who died in service and the World War I Burial File (which became the IDPF for WWII and beyond). I provide a few resources for you to explore in your quest to add to the death story of your veteran. Please remember, there are many more resources available online and offline.

World War I Burial Files

World War I Burial Files are held at the NPRC in St. Louis. You can send in a request for this file and wait a long time or hire a researcher to request that plus the service file and do other research on-site, which will be much faster. This is a required file to tell your veteran’s story and I encourage you to obtain a copy.

What do these files contain and why are they so valuable?

Details on the death of the soldier including a body chart. Sometimes the explanation of death was written much later, as you will see with Michael’s. True or not? No one can really say.
Temporary and permanent burial. May also include details if it was an isolated grave and recovery was required. This helps tell the story of the soldier.
Correspondence from family about their son. When I read Michael’s I sobbed as I could feel my 2x great grandmother’s pain. I also have all boys and that made it even harder to read her letters. You can really learn a lot about the family if there are letters.
Sometimes details of military service.

View my great grand uncle’s Burial File. Michael Kokoska

NARA Burial Cards & Maps

View Michael’s Burial Cards FRONT and BACK now digitized by NARA. Check NARA’s database of Burial Cards for WWI deceased personnel. These cards provide similar information as what is contained in the Burial File and OMPF but you may also find additional details. All is helpful especially if the OMPF burned.

NARA RG 92: Initial Burial Plats for World War I American Soldiers. This database provides locations of the initial burials for soldiers. You might have to dig a little and definitely enlarge the maps but these add a visual to your story.

Ancestry.com

US, Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1970. If your service member (any branch) was repatriated if they died overseas, or died in the U.S. and have a military marker, you want to check this database. Be sure to download the front and back of the application and remember, just because it is on here and the stone doesn’t always make it correct! A good example is my cousin Frank Winkler, KIA 24 June 1944 as part of the 115th Infantry Regiment 29th Division. Yet his application states 129th Infantry Regiment 29th Division, which is wrong. His dad completed the application after Frank’s remains were repatriated and buried at Bohemian National Cemetery. The government checked the application, though did not accurately verify unit, carved the stone and it is incorrect.

World War I, World War II and Korean War Casualty Listings. This database will provide you with a name, service number, and state from which they lived at time of service.

U.S. World War I Mothers’ Pilgrimage. Did your female ancestor go overseas to visit the grave of her son? You might discover information here.

Newspaper Research

Finally, be sure to search newspapers online or at archives, libraries, and genealogy centers. In World War I, even in larger cities, because there were not as many men who served, you will often find photos in the newspaper of our soldiers. Wounds and death information will also be discovered there.

Newspapers may also contain copies of letters the veteran wrote to their families or former employers.

Newspapers also had articles and sometimes photos of the funeral ships. These were the USAT ships that brought back the remains of our fallen. If you have the WWI Burial File, the ship name will be listed in that file. Search the ship name, your veteran’s name, or just ‘funeral ship’ and see what shows up. Sometimes the descriptions of these ships passing military bases or coming into port are very emotional.

Have questions? Please ask in the comments.

Be sure to come back for additional parts of my Research a WWI Army Veteran Online series.

Are You Ready to Start Writing and Researching?

I would love to help you research and write the stories of your family members from World War I – Vietnam. If you are ready to start a research or writing project, email me at info@wwiirwc.com and let’s set up a free phone consultation. I’m excited to help you bring your family’s military history to life and preserve it for generations. Also visit the Ancestral Souls Wisdom School to learn how a Genogram Session can help you identify your ancestor’s trauma and patterns and start to heal.

Book Review: Nurses in Vietnam

May 4, 2022 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

Are you curious about our female Vietnam veterans? I am. I recently finished reading a book, Nurses in Vietnam. The Forgotten Veterans. Edited by Dan Freedman. Associate Editor Jacqueline Rhoads.

This book tells the stories of nine Vietnam Army nurses. It becomes clear after two or three stories that the editors must have had a specific list of questions they ask each veteran as she tells her story. For me, the most impactful questions related to how they felt about the war, should they have been over there, what was the point of it all, and would they do it again?

Now, most everyone knows about the history of Vietnam, at least in a general sense, along with the American home front feeling of the veterans that served there, which was not good. There were no welcome home parties or parades. Veterans were often abused or ignored if it was discovered they were returning home from Vietnam or had served. Much of this was due to American propaganda to sway the people one way or another. It wasn’t until decades later that Vietnam veterans were finally being recognized and honored.

If you have done World War I or World War II research, you may have read about nurses in those wars. Women who signed up to help but were not likely a career service woman. This was different for many nurses who served in Vietnam. Most of the women in this book went on to continue service for many years, or even retired from the military after a long career. Times had changed.

The stories also spoke a lot about the differences between civilian nursing in the 1960s and 1970s versus military nursing and more specifically, what was allowed in Vietnam. Now, most of us understand there are levels to nursing degrees. Those levels also existed in those decades. What I didn’t understand is for civilian nurses, many of the things that could be done in Vietnam, were not allowed in civilian settings. Drawing blood, giving an aspirin, setting up an IV, for example. These are things Vietnam nurses learned but could not practice stateside. Each story discusses the frustration of being able to learn so many new skills and take charge while in Vietnam, only to come home to male doctors telling them what to do, even if the doctors had zero experience, or not being able to use their extensive skills.

Another thing I really appreciated in this book, were the stories of survival, shutting down emotions, drinking too much, avoiding what was uncomfortable, and dealing with constant exhaustion, stress, and fear. Each of these women explained how they handled the stress and long hours in Vietnam then how it affected them when they came home. Never before in World War I or World War II books, did I read such honest experiences. Almost all the women in this book also suffered from what would be later diagnosed as PTSD. Each had their own way to move through this on the home front.

I really got a different perspective of women in war and how women were treated on the home front through this book. The stories also gave me a completely different look at how the stress was handled, or not, during service and after. And perhaps the biggest honest passage in each story……how they each felt about the war and how they were taught never to say anything against it while in service in Vietnam. It is a good example of propaganda and programming of society, both at home and in Vietnam, and how we still carry those programs of secrecy today.

Isn’t it time we stop keeping secrets and share how we feel, how we felt about experiences, and heal?

Are You Ready to Start Writing and Researching?

If you are ready to start a research or writing project, email me at info@wwiirwc.com and let’s set up a free phone consultation. I’m excited to help you bring your family’s military history to life and preserve it for generations.

If you want even more military and ancestral healing content, follow me on TikTok. I share a lot of additional tips there.

Are You Ready to Write Your Stories?

May 2, 2022 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

Are you ready to write your military stories? Have you been writing and need some guidance or developmental editing? Unsure what might be missing from your research or narrative?

I have openings for three (3) new book clients in the month of May. If you are interested in taking your book project to the next level, getting organized to start, need your research examined to see what might be missing, or are ready for an edit, please contact me to set up a free phone consult to discuss your project and what’s possible.

For those who are writing a more spiritual military story, one of my gifts is helping you put more of yourself or the emotions into the story. Ask yourself how this story, how this service member added to your life, changed your life or perspective. Perhaps like me many of my family’s service members stepped forward to help me heal parts of myself, do the deeper inner work, and create a different kind of life. Many of my military ancestors also had past life things to work out with me, which we accomplished through research, writing, teaching, and travel.

Never be afraid to put yourself or the spiritual into your stories. It might be exactly what someone needs to read.

Are You Ready to Start Writing and Researching?

If you want even more military and ancestral healing content, follow me on TikTok. I share a lot of additional tips there.

Book Review: The Dead Were Mine

April 27, 2022 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

I just finished a book called The Dead Were Mine, which is the story of a Vietnam Memorial Activities (Graves Registration /GRREG) man in Vietnam. Having extensively studied the activities of Graves Registration in World War I and World War II, and writing and teaching about this, it was time for me to explore Vietnam and understand the differences between the wars and how our Soldier Dead were handled and honored.

First let me say that this book is not graphic and gross. Not to say it is an unemotional read, but the author has kept out the gruesome parts of his story and work. Bill does explain at the start the effect on his entire system, this work had, from the smell and sites. He mentions he made a conscious choice to block it out and focus on his work so others would not know the mental anguish he suffered. I’ve read similar things from Graves Registration men from World War II.

Second, Bill uses a lot, and I mean a lot, of abbreviations and acronyms in his book. Reading this, I learned a lot of new terms I had not seen in World War II records. Most civilians will not understand what these mean, but he does spell them out at least once and provides an extensive list in the appendix, which I referred to often.

In this short book, we follow Bill Honaker through his military career, which included two tours in Vietnam working for GRREG. Bill explains at the start of his story that the memories, pain and grief he felt (and pushed aside) as a GRREG man are still with him today, but more bearable. Bill seemed to have healed on many levels in the years following the war.

One big difference between prior wars and Vietnam is that we did not create temporary cemeteries in Vietnam. There was a Concurrent Return Program in place and once remains were processed, they were shipped home quickly. I also learned that doctors signed death certificates after identification had taken place and all paperwork was in order before the remains were shipped home. My IDPF (Individual Deceased Personnel File) expertise is primarily World War II files where you might see some sort of death certificate in Navy files but as a general rule, an actual death certificate was not made out during this war. Utah is one state that officially created and filed death certificates for their World War II war dead.

Bill describes many of the S&R (Search & Recovery) missions he and his men conducted. You really get a sense of the terrain, conditions, and constant fear these men lived with as they tried to recover our fallen. These recoveries again are very different from prior wars, even including how we handled enemy dead. He also describes many of the military missions that took place and provides photos to accompany the text.

The job of a GRREG was often done at a base in relative safety. However, the men did go out on S&R missions. One S&R mission in particular was to LZ Orange (Landing Zone Orange) on top of a mountain. Bill includes the operations report of this battle so the reader has context of what the GRREG men were being dropped into. This mission will keep you on the edge of your seat as you read it and grasp what happened just on this one mountain. A story that I sense played out in various ways in many other places in Vietnam. When you understand the story of the battle that took place, then Bill takes you on the S&R recovery which will also keep you on the edge of your seat as you wait to learn what happens next and did all the men make it out safely after recovering remains. Bill’s descriptions of exactly how they tried to recover remains and provide identification in the field is amazing. Readers may be shocked at the level of detail and lengths the GRREG men went to to recover our fallen, especially if this is their first time learning about this work.

The end of this book made me cry. Bill talks about sharing slides of the photos he added in this book, with his family. He was so overcome by emotion it took a long time to explain what his family was seeing. Bill indicated the writing of the book was healing, but would never fully heal his heart or the pain and grief he still carried. Like so many, he still wondered what more he could have done and felt some guilt about not being able to recover every man he was sent to find. Using military writing as healing myself, I understand some of what he is saying.

The book is a short read and I appreciated Bill’s honesty about how he felt, functioned, and made it through his two tours. He did not sugarcoat things. His descriptions of his work and dangers he faced were just descriptive enough for the reader to not be too overwhelmed but still see in their mind’s eye, what our men faced in the jungle. I would invite anyone interested in our Soldier Dead from Vietnam, to read this book if you read no other. You will gain a new perspective about our military personnel and the dangerous and emotionally draining jobs they did so our boys could come home.

Are You Ready to Start Researching?

Every single piece of paper or photo you have might contain clues to help your military research projects move forward. When you work with a researcher or on your own, pay attention to all the details.

If you want even more military and ancestral healing content, follow me on TikTok. I share a lot of additional tips there.

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