[Bikers4Bush]

I'm looking for the same kind of info. What I have is not complete so bump to this.

[GopherIt]

Any of the local veterans groups, e.g. American Legion or VFW, can help you, and there are websites such as http://www.vetfriends.com/.

Yes, seek out more about him and embrace what you find. It is never too late to salute an old soldier.

Good Luck.

[UB355]

Start checking google using unit/campaign information. I delt with an older gentleman some time ago. He was in WWII on a supply ship. I was able to find his ship's information and pictures of a number of his buddies.

[Dave S]

Military records are stored in St. Louis. There was a big fire in the 60's which wiped out a lot of records but you might try them. Or check with your congressperson. They might be able to find out the basics for you. From there you might be able to chase down other members of his unit as there are a lot of groups that get together every few years.

By the way, my dad doesnt like to talk about the war either. He went to a memorial service for World War II vets yesterday in my small rural home town. As he left the service he was stunned by the number of teenagers and adults who stopped him and thanked him for his service during the war. (I heard the same thing was happening at the new World War II Memorial) It had never happened before and he was practically in tears last night relating the story. Unbeknownst to those thanking him he has three purple hearts and spend much of 1944 and 1945 in an Army hospital recovering from his wounds.

[wmichgrad]

Try this:

http://www.archives.gov/research_room/obtain_copies/veterans_service_records.html

[SAMWolf]

If you know what unit he was with. Check out any Unit Association or unit history websites. They often have a contact to get more info or can lead you in the proper direction.

[Constitution Day]

BTTT.

[Nowhere Man]

BUMP for later reading

[Servant of the 9]

PING!!

So9

[microgood]

Another place you can check is www.wwiimemorial.com and click on the registry link at the bottom left. Then you can search by name. Many of these listings are sent by family members but many were also submitted by other groups, including the National Archives and many veterans organizations, as well as military cemetaries.

[Criminal Number 18F]

The place to start is with NARA. (National Archives and Records Administration) which holds the records of ex-servicemen.

Yeah, there was a humongous fire in 1973 but it didn't destroy anybody's records utterly (it is a common dodge by Vietnam phonies... the records damaged in the fire contained no Vietnam era vets, but were those of certain earlier soldiers and airmen). Let me clarify: even if Mr Lebovitz's personnel records were trashed in the fire, there are still pay records, medical records, unit histories, morning reports, general and special orders, and thousands of other pages of paperwork that the services generate about a guy.

This page tells you how to get records. If you are not the next of kin (and as a grandchild you are not) you need to get an acceptable NOK to initiate the query or sign SF 180 (that being, for instance, your mom or a surviving aunt or uncle). A more distant relative (or a stranger) can get records including units of assignment and awards and decorations though... that part of one's military record is a public record.

http://www.archives.gov/research_room/vetrecs/

Unit associations can also be a great help, but many of them are dwindling now as the survivors finally encounter their mortality. If he was in a unit that still exists (like the 1st Infantry Division, the 29th, or the 101st Airborne) the association may be a little livelier). Your best bet is to get the records.

[mountaineer]

I'll second what Dave S said about the records center in St. Louis - it's a good first place to look. I just wrote a newspaper article ( posted here, 49-51) about a trip my husband and I took to follow in the footsteps of our World War I relatives, and I was pleasantly surprised to find a day-by-day account of my grandfather's regiment's activities just by googling it, e.g., 314th field artillery.