[Milsurplus] Finding Facts About Your WWII Person

[David Stinson]

(part of a letter sent to a list member concerning my father's
 WWII service, copied here
 in case someone was thinking about investigating
 their loved-one's WWII history.  The person often,
and for good reason, does not wish to talk of it.
And if they do, you'll be dealing with an
80-year-old memory which can be honest,
but honestly wrong.  If we work at it, we
can honor them without forcing them to relive Hell.
D.S.)

I should say that I didn't get most of  this information from him;
I've been digging it out a fact at a time from historic records,
regimental histories and photographs.  I never knew about
his Soldier's Medal  and he didn't remember being 
given the award, but he did remember the grenade incident.
I have a photo of him in his dress uniform taken when he
arrived in the States in Aug. 1945 and it shows his ribbons,
his Sharp Shooter badge with a half-dozen shingles,
his Combat Infantryman's Badge etc.
The Soldier's Medal is unmistakable.  That's an example
of the perils of dealing with an 80-year-old memory.
You would think a person would remember that;
it's a major decoration.  But he doesn't.  
Yet the evidence is conclusive.
Also- you must be careful about relying on DD-214 records.
At the end of the war, when people were getting out 
by the thousands, clerks were "half-assing" the discharge papers
and not including a great many things that should have been there.
I have interviewed vets who can prove beyond question
that they earned decorations and rank that do not appear on 
their DD-214.  My father's shows no decorations of any kind,
yet he is right there by name in the official regimental history, 
with a photograph of him and nearly day-by-day accounts of 
what his company was enduring.  Moreover- his unit was 
issued medals at the unit level, from a Presidential Citation
to French, Belgian and other decorations.  If he was there
and breathing at all, he is entitled to these decorations,
as is everyone who was in his regiment at the time.
None of them appear on his DD-214; not even 
a Good Conduct ribbon.  I know two other vets with 
proof of their rank and decorations who are in the same boat.
It's a darn shame, but I'm told
the DOD is aware of this and, if a person can do the work
to provide some evidence, they will correct the document.
Don't know if that's true, but I intend to investigate it.

Good luck with your search.  
Our fathers and mothers who served deserve to be remembered,
and it's worth a little work to recognize them.

73 Dave S.