I say this often in most of my WWII talks but I will say it again. It’s vital you search for information on the collaterals. Those people who served with your service member, especially if they were part of a bomb crew or tank crew, or any unit in which they served closely with several others.
Why? Because their records may contain details on their crew members, especially if they died in service or are still considered Missing In Action (MIA).
2nd Lt. Fred Davis, pictured here, was a co-pilot in a bomber that went down 2 November 1943 in Austria. Researching Fred’s service online didn’t yield much. When I searched for the pilot, Jefferies, I landed on a website in which the author had written (not published) an 800 page book about the mission. He documented every crew, had numerous photos, and histories of the crews, the mission, successes, and losses. It was so well sourced you could walk his paper trail. Had I only searched for Fred, I may have never found that resource.
In another case, I received five IDPFs for a bomb crew. Some of these IDPFs contained letters to and from a Dutch researcher dated in the 1990s. Usually you see this in OMPFs (service files) where someone has requested a search. Those requests and any documents they send to NPRC, show up in the files. The same happens for IDPFs.
You can see an example here.
Through searching the collaterals, you may meet others who have done research on the people for whom you are searching for information. You may also learn details about the men and women you are researching, or discover others who might be incorporated into a research project. The possibilities are endless.
What interesting things have you discovered by searching the collaterals? We’d love to hear your stories in the comments.
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Last week I gave four talks at the RootsTech genealogy conference in Salt Lake City. My Dutch husband, Johan, attended with me in his WWII 101st Airborne re-enactor uniform. The conference experience was intense and amazing. We received so many comments, heard so many stories as people tried hard to contain their emotions, learned new things, and opened space for people who told us they too communicate with the other side or know the healing power of this research.
DearMyrtle interviewed us on her 
Today is day 1 of the 
I will be teaching my fourth and final program at RootsTech on Saturday 3 March at 11:00 a.m. Please join me for Battlefield Stories in Ballroom J.
Are you attending RootsTech this month? I will be teaching four World War II research and writing classes. Learn advanced research techniques at The Greatest Generation: Advanced World War II Research. Session Number: RT1742 in room 251E on Thursday 1 March at 4:30 p.m.
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Are you attending RootsTech this month? I will be teaching four World War II research and writing classes. Only the first class, Finding the Answers. The Basics of World War II Research will be livestreamed. If you will be on-site, you can find this course in Ballroom A at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday 28 February.
73 years ago today, my cousin James Privoznik was Killed In Action near Bras, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge. Today I think about him, as I do most days, but especially on the anniversary of his death.