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» Forum Category: PT Boats of WWII
http://www.ptboatforum.com/cgi-bin/MB2/netboard.cgi?cid=101&fct=showf


» Forum Name: PT Boats - General
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» Topic: St. Louis Archives--What to Ask For
http://www.ptboatforum.com/cgi-bin/MB2/netboardr.cgi?cid=101&fid=102&tid=3229



hi,

i want to query the st. louis military records archives for any and all information they might have regarding my father who served on the 127 boat.

i'm guess if i ask them to send "everything" that might be the wrong approach. can anyone tell me what i should be specifically asking for?

thanks so much.

on an aside….i'll be returning to leyte this february. two years ago i went there to trace my dad's footsteps and found several of the locations he was photographed in. i've since located new locations, thanks to the wonders of the "interwebs" and will track those down as well.

-m



Posted By: PT127 | Posted on: Jun 25, 2013 - 12:20am
Total Posts: 35 | Joined: Aug 21, 2011 - 1:32pm



Hi -m,(name helps)

Try Name ,Rank, Service No. Year of Birth, Year/ Month of signing up, Year/ Month of Discharge, Service speciality eg,Cook ,Gunner, Motor Mech, if enlisted or Capt, XO if Officer.

Maybe which Ron / Rons he served in if you know he was on a PT Boat if not what other Ships ,Shore Bases, if you know of any, Any Medals and if possibly their dates of issue.

That should help to get you started if you can't get to the Archive its self try to email a researcher and obtain there assistance, If you are in the States there may be a local Archive that may assist you to have the records sent to that Archive for you to view the originals, "all you gotta do is ask "

Good luck with the search ,By the way if he was on a PT Boat and you wish to put his name on the board the Guys here have a wealth of info that may just help.

Yours,

D.buck

Posted By: David Buck | Posted on: Jun 25, 2013 - 1:54am
Total Posts: 332 | Joined: May 4, 2008 - 2:59am



I just completed a large document grab about my WW2 father from St. Louis.
They will charge you ... I was charged $70 for 150-200 or so copies.
I started here:
http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/

They were pretty quick to respond. I wish the veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan were getting the same speedy help with their medical requests.

natsmith

Posted By: Nathaniel Smith | Posted on: Jun 25, 2013 - 5:10am
Total Posts: 211 | Joined: Jan 19, 2008 - 6:55am



Hi "M",
I dont suppose you work with Agent 007?
But yes seriously, if you were to give this Forum a little more info to go by, there are several people who have a lot of info and could help out with crew photos and pics of the PT Boat etc. Perhaps you could list his name and rank and what units he served with, or really anything that would help and we could probably come up with more information for you. You may want to look at Robert Douglas's PT127 website for starters. [url]http://www.pt127.org/[/url]
Good luck in your search! Jerry

Jerry Gilmartin

Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: Jun 25, 2013 - 10:58am
Total Posts: 1469 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm



hi gerry,

didn't mean to be all 007ish....

but, i'm mark douglas, creator of the pt127.org site.

i've retrieved record from the archives in washington, but not from the st. louis archives. i can remember reading, somewhere...., about items folks have requested from st. louis, but i don't remember where i read it.

i'm hoping someone here might have recently requested records there and would be able to suggest what i should ask for.

thanks again,

-m (-mark)



Posted By: PT127 | Posted on: Jun 25, 2013 - 2:32pm
Total Posts: 35 | Joined: Aug 21, 2011 - 1:32pm



Hi Mark,
Aha! Ok so now I cant recommend that you contact yourself because the PT127 website is pretty fantastic! I actually looked for your name on your website and could not find it. Your Dads photos really show a lot of great stuff.
Back to the St Louis Archives, I think maybe Dr Al Ross may have some contacts that are knowledgable about there. I myself have only visited the NARA in College Park, Maryland. I think I remember hearing that somebody went to another regional archives. Maybe it was Steve Nugent? Anybody remember? Jerry

Jerry Gilmartin

Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: Jun 25, 2013 - 5:42pm
Total Posts: 1469 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm



Here's a great link with lots of info for ordering records.

http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/standard-form-180.html

I always use the SF-180 form AND a letter attached to the form. And be patient! If the records are in St. Louis, there's no charge. If they come from NARA you will be charged accordingly. I was charged $50 for 17 pages and 12 of those pages I already had received for free from St. Louis.

I've had good success and I've had terrible success.

Good luck!





Posted By: Robert Orrell | Posted on: Jun 26, 2013 - 1:49am
Total Posts: 80 | Joined: Jul 2, 2008 - 6:18am



Mark,
I just had a look at your pt127.org web site. There are some great reference photos there! Thanks for sharing. It will help me with my project.
Dave

David Waples

Posted By: David Waples | Posted on: Jun 26, 2013 - 5:58am
Total Posts: 1679 | Joined: Jan 2, 2007 - 9:55pm



hi - i have researched at College Park and have sent for info from St Louis. College Park has more of the military info and St Loius has personnel records. You can ask for things like his medical file, separation report, a document called D2 (I think), death report, medals awarded, etc. It took awhile for me to get the requested information but was interesting reading once I got it.

And as I always ask people - if you ever come across any pictures of PT 300 I would greatly appreciate a copy!!!

Thanks!



Posted By: Colleen E | Posted on: Jun 27, 2013 - 5:40pm
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered



Colleen,
I need to email you something, can you write me and send me your email address? Jerry

Jerry Gilmartin

Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: Jun 28, 2013 - 12:38am
Total Posts: 1469 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm



Hi Jerry - just sent you an email.

thanks

Colleen



Posted By: Colleen E | Posted on: Jun 28, 2013 - 5:12am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered