|
Hi, My grandfather, Berton Arthur Barrett was a Major in WWII. He is my namesake. I've recently been thinking about him and I would like to know more about everything he did during his time in the US Army. As far as I and my family know, he was a civil engineer somewhere in the Philippines area. When he was captured in the Philippines by Japanese forces, he was forced to walk the Bataan Death March. He marched and survived, only to be placed in Japanese prisoner of war camp Zentsuji. He died of what we suspect was intussusception, an intestinal disorder. I've done quite a bit of research on the subject and what we suspected caused it, malnutrition, may not have been the cause, but a major contributing factor. Coincidentally he died on November 11th, 1944 at 1930 hrs - the day that would later become veteran's day. I have his official burial flag that they draped over his coffin during his burial with full military honors at XXXXXX cemetery in XXXXX, NY - his hometown. The flag is in immaculate condition. It only has 48 stars on it. We found it high up, tucked away in a corner of my mother's mother, my grandmother, the recipient of the flag during the ceremony. The flag was neatly tucked in a brown paper bag with the words: "THIS FLAG WAD USED AT THE FUNERAL OF MAJ. BERTON ARTHUR BARRETT W.W. II BURIED AT XXXXXX CEMETRY 1949. IT IS TO BE GIVEN TO BERTON ARTHUR XXXXXX - HIS GRANDSON & NAMESAKE -Marcia XXXXXXX XXXXXXX" written on the brown paper bag with a ball point pen. I received the flag after my grandmother died some time ago, and kept it in the original brown paper bag bag in my closet. My mother snuck it out and had a custom flag case made with her words from the bad inscribed on a metal plate on the front of the case. I've kept it as a treasured possession and since then have been gathering what very little information I can find about him. I requested information from the US national archives (http://www.archives.gov) I did get a response back, but it was disappointing. On July 12, 1973, fire destroyed a significant portion of the national archives containing what I believe were the only records of the solders. They said they would recover what they could, but at a cost of $190 at the time. I believe I made this request around 1998. My family isn't rich by any means. We're quite poor. $190 was a significant expense at the time, so I was unable to pay the fee and request the restored copy of what they had. I have no idea how badly damaged it is. It could be singed, water damaged, misplaced, or burned to a crisp. I am currently disabled, and putting myself though college in an attempt to become a productive member of society and get my life restarted. But disability means my income is next to nothing. The good news is that it looks like the fee has been more than cut in half. I looked into it again, and it seems simple enough to request the information. I would like information on where he was stationed throughout his tour of duty, what he did and what accomplishments he achieved. What did he do as a Major, what medals and honors he received, etc. I would like to know it all. I carry his name, and I am proud of what our military forces did for our country, as well as numerous other countries during WWII. According to the National Archives, it looks like "A routine OMPF of 6 pages or more: $70 flat fee (most OMPFs fall in this category)" will get me pretty much everything I want - "date and type of enlistment/appointment; duty stations and assignments; training, qualifications, performance; awards and decorations received; disciplinary actions; insurance; emergency data; administrative remarks; date and type of separation/discharge/retirement (including DD Form 214, Report of Separation, or equivalent); and other personnel actions." however it does not contain participation in battles and their military engagements. I would like to know this too. But now I am running into problems. They would like his service number, social security number, date and place of birth, and because his records were damaged in the fire, they also need place of discharge, last unit of assignment, and place of entry into the service (if known). I can provide only a little of what they want. I'm also interested in his replacement medals he may have received during his tour of duty, but because this was before 1953, they will not replace them. They will only list them in his OMFP. When I was researching information about him about 8 years ago, I could find next to nothing about him. Recently I've started back up and found a little more. I found a website that game me the camp he was held at and the exact time and date of his death, as well as what he died from. Our family knew it was an intestinal disorder, and the site confirmed it. Sadly, it was a treatable disorder that he was denied treatment for. The majority of my family was captured as well in the Philippines. My Grandmother, Mother, Aunt and Uncle. They were transferred to Santo Thomas concentration camp operated by the Japanese to house American and British troops. They lived off what little the Japanese provided and what else they could scrape up to eat, which I am sure you don't want the details of. My mother told me a story that her mother used to sleep on the cold ground and make my mother sleep on her back so she could keep warm. My mother was only six years old at the time. She shared many stories with me, but her favorite is when an American bomber pilot flew low and slow over the camp on February 3rd, 1945 and dropped something. It was his flyer's goggles with a note inside that simple read “Roll out the barrel, Christmas is coming.We’ll be with you Sunday or Monday !” They referenced Christmas too hope to confuse the Japanese, since they wouldn't know what it meant. But the prisoners who read it first knew exactly what it meant. American forces liberated the camp in February 23, 1945. My mother says she has a vivid memory of swinging on the main barrel of one of the tanks that helped liberate the camp. Before my grandfather left for service, my mother refused to say goodbye to him because she thought he wouldn't leave if she didn't say goodbye. That was the last time she saw him alive. Obviously because I have his flag, he was buried with full military honors. The flag only has 48 stars on it. Obviously this would mean a lot to me and my mother. My mother is getting old, and I would like to provide her with this information before, well, you know. So my main question is: Has anyone else gone though the process of obtaining an OMPF from the government? Do you have any suggestions or tips that could aid me? The national archives site says it could take up to six months to even respond to the request, so I would like to make sure I have everything I can possibly have to help expedite it. Thanks for reading this long rambling post. If you think you really can help, send me a PM and I will send you more personal information to help you in your search.
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2014 13:12
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 22:24 |
|
|
Kind of surprised nobody's chimed in yet. It sucks, but the National Archives really is your best bet. Calling on the phone is likely to get you better help than working through email; if you're close enough then going in person may help a little more. But sadly, because of the fire, they're going to need as much info as you can get to piece it back together. You're right that the basic file should have the things you're looking for. As far as battles/engagements, once you know what units he was assigned to you can piece that together with reasonable accuracy; if he received any specific decorations for them that can be used for confirmation (it may not have happened, though; that campaign was a complete loving mess). It's completely unsurprising that he could've died the way it seems he did...there's a book called Knights of Bushido that goes into serious detail of how prisoners were treated by the Japanese. It's pieced together from testimony of the post-war tribunals; a fair amount of information about the Philippines and Bataan, as well as Nanking, and more. It's unlikely you'll learn anything specific to him and it can be pretty tough to read, so go for it at your own risk. The treatment you describe was par for the course...it gets even worse from there. You might be able to get some help or advice from veterans groups like the VFW. If nothing else, you should find a few sympathetic ears. Once you do get more information, getting replacement medals shouldn't be hard, at least for most of them. WWII-specific awards might be tough, since I'm sure they're no longer manufactured. But for "normal" service medals, they almost never change and are probably still sold and worn today.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2014 07:46
|
|
|
Godholio posted:Kind of surprised nobody's chimed in yet. At least for me I just check the main board at the beginning of the month and do everything through bookmarks. OP, if you can get to St. Louis you may have a better shot at this by scheduling an appointment and going in person. I don't know how feasible this is for you, but we all can tell you that if you really want something done with the least amount of bullshit when it comes to government offices, you have to show up in person. http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/archival-programs/archival-research-room.html is the site for scheduling an appointment and stuff. This would be the absolute fastest way to get this done imo.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2014 22:00
|
|
|
Since you know his unit, try checking with the Army's Center for Military History. They could potentially have tons of pictures and artifacts of the unit from your Grandfather's era that would interest you, or even be able to provide you with more clues such as former CO's our friends that you can try and look up if they're still alive.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2014 22:10
|
|
|
The Department of Veteran Affairs gravesite locator might have some additional information in it. Nationwide Gravesite Locator http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/ Unfortunately, if the information did not make it into the VA's database, they will refer you back to NARA. I didn't have much luck looking for WW II history resources at national veteran sites, which is a little disappointing. It looks like most of the research done on people involved in the Bataan Death March is centered in New Mexico. Here's the site of a museum that might be able to help if you get in touch with them: http://www.bataanmuseum.com/bataanhistory/ It sucks that NARA is charging such a hefty fee for a record search. You might get a better response if you can find someone to support a waver for the cost. Asking your US senators or representative to ask NARA for you would be your best bet. The VA or a veteran's association might be able to help you with this too.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2014 03:46
|
|
|
Have you had any luck?
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2014 18:48
|
|
|
ManMythLegend posted:Since you know his unit, try checking with the Army's Center for Military History. They could potentially have tons of pictures and artifacts of the unit from your Grandfather's era that would interest you, or even be able to provide you with more clues such as former CO's our friends that you can try and look up if they're still alive. This is a really good idea. You're kind of bottle-necked here OP. Because that fire happened in the 70's, there's not going to be a chance of digital backups. If you can find some of his coworkers (and trusting those vets are still alive). Even if they are deceased, their surviving family may have some overlapping records that mention your grandfather. You could consider hiring a private investigator to help with that last park. That could easily run you $30+ an hour though, likely more expensive than that $190 fee you mentioned.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2014 23:32
|
|
|
I personally handled research requests like yours for USAF/AAC/AAF veterans and their relatives. Because we had Army roots, I'm sure some of my observations apply to your case. You need to work both official and unofficial channels. Near the top of the Office of History food chain, you will find beltway academics concerned chiefly with publishing books and monographs on strategy or some obscure expedition no one cares about. You will likely get a nice form letter for your trouble. That's OK. Don't expect instant gratification from a government agency. The National Archives is a fantastic resource for photographs--I have no experience requesting anything else from them. It looks like they've evolved quite a bit in terms of records requests. Some services had an office of history that dotted lined from Washington right down to the majcom and combat unit levels; beneath that it was a volunteer/ancillary duty. Assigned personnel wrote and maintained the official record of their units, and copies were bound and mailed off to reside in permanent storage (Maxwell AFB, in the Air Force's case). These organizations generally maintained contact with their lineal predecessors, even if it wasn't an uninterrupted line between units and there were major changes in mission/weapon systems. That said, they also have access to unofficial histories written by self-appointed Mickey Spillanes either during the conflict, or years later through self-published works by reunion groups. Some of these veterans groups eventually took to the web as well. The 44th Bomb Group is one of a zillion examples. http://www.8thairforce.com/44thbg/ In your case, these might be a start: http://dg-adbc.org/ https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Apouu1ZLpN8cdGVOb2hsSUZVcXFHb3NRUlpfWDFpMEE#gid=0 The key to navigating this and plotting out your project (it is going to be a bit like genealogy) is, as you know, finding out what units he served in. From there, you hit the modern active duty descendants, AND the WWII veteran's group that bears the unit name/number, AND post to every relevant forum, AND ask the National Archives for any pictures pictures related to said combat units, etc. Believe it or not, letters to any of your relatives would hold key information--up through the 1980s, Service/Social Security numbers were ON THE OUTSIDE OF ENVELOPES. If you hit dead ends, make your congressman get off his fat rear end and do something useful. It's amazing what a piece of letterhead will do sometimes. Obviously, act quickly with the WWII vets. They're still sharp as hell, some of them, and have astounding recall. One of these people met or knew your grandfather. Also--in a lot of cases, the best information was kept in personal scrapbooks. They may not take the trouble to send them off to the right place before they check out, or as I've witnessed, they get strewn all over the floor by estate sale vultures. I've helped preserve a lot of this stuff in recent years--the thought of having it go to File 13 makes me want to put my fist through a wall. There is no need to throw money at anyone for this. The custodians of these memories will welcome the opportunity to share, and to receive even the small amount of info you provided here. Best of luck--it was rewarding for me, and it will be doubly so for you.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2014 02:23
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 22:24 |
|
|
another route you may want to try is writing your congressman for help accessing official records. This is the kind of not too hard for them (they'll just make a staffer do all the work) but looks really human interest and feel goody for them kind of request they might actually help with.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2014 21:07
|
|
