Finding information on soldier who died in WWII?

[horseshowmom]

I recently accompanied my mother on a visit back to see her relatives. We visited the cemetery where her parents were buried. She had a much older brother who was also buried there. He died at the age of 20 in April 1945 in WWII. She didn't know any of the facts.

I've always been interested in WWII. Can anybody direct me to some free online resources where I might find out more about his death (where he died, etc.)?

Thanks for any help you can provide!

 

[jerenaud]

I can't speak for the US, but in Canada she would be able to request her brother's war records. There may be some things blacked out, but sometimes the files are a great resource. We have a copy of my husband's great uncle's file and it has all his enlistment information, his pay rates, etc. I forget how we applied for it, but I'm pretty sure that there was an online form through Department of National Defence. Immediate family only can apply until a certain length of time past the person's death, at which time the list of those eligable lengthens. We only paid copying fees. I assume that the US would have a similar program.

Hope that helps,

Erica


Edited to add - I did a quick google search and found that while 85% of the Air Force records were destroyed by fire in 1973, there are still a lot of things that can be accessed. For example, http://aad.archives.gov/aad/series-list.jsp?cat=WR26 has links to the enlistment records for WW2.

This brochure http://www.archives.gov/research/ww2/ww2-participation.pdf is where I found this information. There are a lot of links held within it too.

 

[Golf4food]

Try ancestry.com or whatever it is, you can get war records. Find out what unit he was in and then figure out where they were fighting in April 1945 (my guess is in Germany if in Europe, they had crossed the Rhine by then, or possibly on Okinowa if fighting in the Pacific - do you have any idea what branch or unit they were in?).

Here's a cool site:
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1945/apr45/f20apr45.htm

Of course, he may also have died from an illness or earlier injuries while in a hospital and could have been wounded weeks earlier, etc.

 

[Quiksilvr]

You can get at some basic public information via military.com's BuddyFinder.

My grandfather (who fought in WWII in the 29th Division) is listed on the Buddy Finder even though he never registered with the site. It gives his branch, rank, specialization, and state of residence. That is likely all you will be able to get online unless someone has randomly posted something about him on the internet.

A few years ago, I helped my grandfather request his war records and other information from Department of Defense. As a previous poster mentioned, most of the war records were destroyed by fire at the national storage center, however, there is a significant amount still available. We were able to receive his discharge papers, which included his entry and exit date, his decorations, the battles in which he had participated, etc. The DoD also sent us replacement medals for his decorations because he had lost them over the years (he had done his best to forget WWII until late in his life).

If I recall correctly, the records may only be requested by the veteran (if he is still alive, N/A in your case), the veteran's spouse, or (I think) someone in the immediate family (e.g., your mother may be able to request them because it was her brother but you may not because you are a niece). There are definitely restrictions on that stuff. It's not all necessarily subject to FOIA. That's one reason I tried to get my grandfather's stuff taken care of while he was still alive, because otherwise it would have been very difficult for me to get the records. They also only sent replacement medals because he was still alive at the time, so don't get your hopes up on that.

Anyway, I hope that information is helpful.