Get unstuck and discover your veteran’s story
Military Research from World War I to Vietnam can be tricky, frustrating, time consuming, and at the end, you may not have the correct answers. So what can you do to ensure you are finding your veteran’s story? Avoid these 5 Mistakes when doing research and learn how to find the answers.
Mistake #1: The Discharge Paper has a unit. This may not be the combat unit or only unit.
One thing many people tell me when they hire me to do a research project or attend one of my classes is that they can’t find information on their veteran using the unit listed on the Discharge & Separation Paper.
Sometimes that unit is a discharge only unit. All is not lost if this is the case because that unit is a start point to move through the records, especially if you are researching Army or Army Air Corps/Army Air Forces/Air Force service. Additionally, on Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine papers, the space to list all ships/stations/units is small and all units may not be present on the discharge so you’ll need the service file to discover more information.
How to avoid this mistake
Use the discharge paper as a start point. It is full of puzzle pieces to help you start building the puzzle of your veteran’s service. Create a timeline of service using the discharge paper to create the foundation of service. This allows you to see where your gaps and errors are; help you formulate better research questions; and ultimately find answers.
Mistake #2: The Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) contains everything you want to know.
The OMPF contains the building blocks of someone’s service. You’ll learn about enlistment and discharge or death. Medical information. Next of Kin information. Training stations, MOS (jobs), rank, where they served, promotions, court martials, and so much more. Often these records contain letters or official documents regarding family members. You just never know what you’ll discover.
That said, these files provide the foundation for you to add dates and facts to your timeline of service. They do not give you the context of service unless someone was taken Prisoner, Missing, or Killed In Action – then there may be some additional context. Use the OMPF as a start point but realize there is so much more to discover.
How to avoid this mistake
Recently I wrote an article, Reconstruction WWII Veteran History, about the military service file on my WWII Research & Writing Center website. The information in this article also applies to the Separation and Discharge paper for WWII. It’s a puzzle piece but not a veteran’s entire story. This document does contain vital information about service that may contradict a veteran’s story.
Mistake #3: All the Records Did Not Burn
Society has been programmed to believe All the records burned in the 1973 NPRC fire. This is not true. In fact, previously damaged files are being reconstructed or “healed” in some way using new technology at the NPRC in St. Louis. While you might not receive every page that was in a damaged file (water, fire, mold), chances are better today than even a few years ago, that you will receive something.
What burned? They said about 80% of Army and Army Air Corps/Army Air Force/Air Force OMPFs.
What didn’t burn? Navy, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine and Marine Corps OMPFs.
There are plenty of records in the NPRC, NARA, Presidential Libraries, online websites, University Archives, Museums, Genealogical Societies, and many other places to help you discover information so you can conduct research.
If you are researching Army or Army Air Force service, you must have a unit at some point in time to do any research if the file burned. There are Company Morning Reports, Payroll Records, and Rosters to help you reconstruct service and the footsteps of your veteran. However, the archivists at the NPRC will not do this research for you. You have to go there or hire a researcher like me to get the records. You’ll need a unit to search these records. It isn’t enough to tell us your dad was in the 90th Division. If you can say 358th Infantry Regiment of the 90th Division, we can work with that but if you can go down to the Company level, it’s much easier and faster for us to search.
Don’t have a unit? Ask me how to start research by emailing me at jennifer@ancestralsouls.com. I give every potential client a free phone consult and help you find information so a project can be started. There are many ways to find a unit.
How to avoid this mistake
Remember there are many other records available to help you reconstruct military service. It’s important to find as many clues about your veteran as possible using home sources and online sources. There are also some records at NPRC we can access and other places, to help you find answers.
You can read more about some of these records at my WWII Research & Writing Center website.
Mistake #4: The Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) is not the OMPF and Did Not Burn
There are two main files people confuse.
OMPF: Official Military Personnel File. This is the veteran’s service file.
IDPF: Individual Deceased Personnel File. This is a veteran’s death file IF they died while still in military service.
If your veteran survived the war, he will not have an IDPF. If he was discharged and died a day later, he will not have an IDPF. If he died of illness or wounds, as a POW, was Missing In Action and never recovered, or was Killed In Action, he will have an IDPF.
The IDPFs have been in various locations within the National Archives system since 2010. How to obtain copies of these files has changed many times. This is a file you will need if your veteran didn’t survive the war. It will contain information on the death, temporary burial, permanent burial, personal effects, possibly information on the circumstances of the death or Missing status. There may be legal papers for family members, especially if the legal Next-Of-Kin changed. There may be (rarely) a photograph. These files range from 20 pages on average to over 360.
The IDPF was never in the NPRC when the fire took place. They never burned. They also do not contain the full OMPF. Many people think the OMPF was merged into the IDPF but it was not. There may be some documents that were copied and added, but overall they were not.
How to avoid this mistake
Learn more about these two files in my article at the WWII Research & Writing Center.
Learn current ways to access the IDPFs for surnames A-L and M-Z in my article.
Mistake #5: All the Records are not Online
Online and everywhere I teach I hear complaints that more records are not online. There are many records available to help you tell a story, but it is extremely rare to find everything you need online. The 7th Armored Division website may come close as they seem to have all IDPFs, Morning Reports, Unit Records (but not OMPFs).
You will find some records to help you reconstruct service on Ancestry, Fold3, Newspapers.com, FindAGrave, NARA, Branch-Specific Military museums, and many other sites. Use these as puzzle pieces to help you build the larger puzzle. Then visit a library or archive and do some old fashioned research! It really can be fun!
TIP! No matter where you get information – online or through archives – VERIFY the information you find against other sources. Military records do contain errors and sometimes other people’s documents.
How to avoid this mistake
Use online sources to help reconstruct service and find unit level records. Use online Finding Aids to discover what records still exist at a repository from the war. Then work with an archivist, librarian, or professional military researcher to obtain paper records stored in archives.
Work with a researcher who knows how to obtain records and will get you what you require – not just take your money and give you what they think you need. Learn more in my article A Word of Caution When Hiring a Military Researcher.
Explore your World War I or World War II Veteran’s Story
If you’d like to learn your veteran’s history, I take research and book clients. Email me at jennifer@ancestralsouls.com and let’s set up a time to chat. I offer free consults to discuss the research strategy, fees, time, and possibilities.
I also offer the Honoring Our Heroes program consisting of six webinars with workbooks to help you research any veteran from WWI-Vietnam, even if the records burned.
You can also pick up a copy of my book Research a Veteran which will guide you through the initial information gathering.
© 2024 World War II Research and Writing Center
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