Gems of Information in a Military Dscharge.

Not a week goes by where someone doesn’t stop in my office asking where they can get military information about their father, uncle, aunt, grandfather, etc. You get the idea. The obvious thing to do, if they are alive, is to ask them. Many older veterans have never talked about their experiences and younger ones are trying to forget. This is very common if they were in combat situations.

If the veteran’s not available, talk with his widow, children or other relatives. The family might even have a box of newspaper clippings, photographs, letters home, discharge papers or medals tucked away in a closet or basement somewhere. Photos can reveal what unit a person was assigned to, what their job was and even where the photo was taken. If there are notes on the back of the photos, all the better.

The crown in this collection would be a discharge. Early discharges had a variety of numbers and letters associated with them. These numbers are on the lower left hand corner. The DD Form 214 has been issued by all military services since January 1, 1950. Before 1950, a variety of designations were used by the military services. If the designation is NG, then the veteran was in the National Guard.

What can a keen observer learn from a discharge? Many things you knew and surprising things you had no idea about. 

Obvious items on most discharges are name, birthdate, place of birth, and social security number. Many are surprised where a veteran was born. “Grandma said grandpa was from Kentucky. I didn’t know he was born in Missouri.” In rural community years ago, many babies were born at home. But a week or two might pass before the birth was recorded with the county. That is why there might be a disparity between actual and recorded birth dates.

The type of discharge a veteran was granted says a lot about their military service. Honorable is the word you want to see. It is often listed in a box titled Character of Service. Some other types of discharges are General, Under Honorable Conditions, Medical and Dishonorable. Some of these can be upgraded but it rarely happens. Depending on the branch, time period and issuing authority, the type of discharge could be anywhere on the form.

The date and place the veteran enlisted or was drafted and when and where they were discharged from the military are listed. What rank they were when discharge and when they obtained that rank. E-3, ADEJ-3, SP-4 are examples of rank. If you don’t understand rank, you can Google and there are sights that will explain ranks for all the services. Being an old Air Force vet, the US Navy ranks are the most mysterious to me. 

If they were assigned oversea, it should tell where they went, how long they were there and when they came back.  WW II discharges often have detailed information as to battles a vet was involved in: North Africa, uam, Philippines, Normandy, Battle of the Bulge, Sicily, etc.

The discharge also lists the schools and training they had. I went to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss. for Electronic Intercept Training, as an example. I knew vacuum tubes inside and out, learned to read schematics and could wire a circuit board before the end of class.

A small important section of a discharge is the awards and decorations. Many times I have had people debate what medals their relatives were awarded. “I’m sure he received a purple heart. Or maybe it was a silver star. I know it was pretty fancy” In reality the vet was awarded a good conduct medal and a marksmanship medal. Never saw combat.

Some discharges will describe physical characteristics: height, weight, color of eyes and skin. You might be surprised grandpa Miller was only 5 foot 4 inches tall with blue eyes.

If you didn’t find a discharge in that musty pile of papers, there are a few place you can look. The Recorders office in your county is a good placed to start. The Department of Defense sent copies of WW I and WW II discharges to the county of residence. Many vets dropped off their discharges to be copied and recorded in those same offices. The Indiana Archives in Indianapolis has thousands of records. Phone 1 317 591-5222 and ask for military records. You can submit a request online at www.archives.com and follow the prompts. It usually take three to four weeks to get copies. Happy hunting.

FYI:

Veterans Now Able to Enroll for VA Healthcare by Telephone:  Effective immediately, VA has amended its enrollment regulations to allow veterans to complete enrollment applications for enrollment in VA health care by telephone without the need for a paper signature. By adding this telephone application option to VA’s regulations with this amendment, VA will now offer three ways to enroll for VA health care services. This option provides veterans a convenient third enrollment option in addition to the paper VA Form 10-10 EZ and the online health care application. To apply, call 1-877-222-VETS (8387), Mon-Fri between 8 am and 8 pm, EST.

A US Navy LST 325 Finds A Home In Evansville, Indiana

   My wife and I spent Memorial Day in Evansville placing flowers on her parents and relatives graves and visiting with cousins. Pat also gave me a guided tour of the city she grew up in. She showed me where she use to drag race the boys in her dad's 56 Ford on Slaughter Ave, now a 4 lane highway, and the circuit of drive-in-restaurants she use to cruise on Friday nights to visit and meet friends. Saturday was date night.

Our tour guide explained how trucks and jeeps were tied down

on the upper deck during transport to their destination.

Though I enjoying reminiscing about days gone by, there was one exhibit on the Ohio River that I really wanted to see. A fully operational and seaworthy WW II LST. For landlubbers not familiar with Navy lingo, an LST (landing ship tank) is a ship that was built to transport troops, equipment and supplies to war zones.

The ships were built like floating shoe boxes. They were 328 foot long, 50 feet wide and had a flat bottom so they could beach themselves to unload troops, tanks, trucks, equipment and supplies.

LST 325 with Pittsburgh in the background. (jpdirottphotography)

Now why was an LST in Evansville, Indiana? Eville was one of 5 US shipyards employing hundreds of workers that turned out an LST every four months. Of the 1,051 built, 670 were built stateside. Evansville turned out 171, the most of any of the US shipyards. The remainder were built in Canada and England. My father-in-law, Leonard Preston, was one of those ship builders during WW II and proud of it. My mother-in-law made ammunition for troops.

The ship on display, LST 325, is docked less than a mile from where the original ship yards were located. The irony is that the 325 was built in Pennsylvania and last used by the Greek Navy. To understand the story behind the 325 go to www.lstmemorial.org.

Waiting to offload equipment and troops.

We arrived early for the noon tour and had a great view of downtown Evansville from the pier. Our first stop was the main deck where trucks and equipment were tied down like peas in a pod. Tanks were loaded through clam shell doors at the bow of the ship and parked in the lower deck. Troops would sleep in bunks, below deck or in their vehicles. LSTs were notorious for rocking side to side and up and down at sea. Flat bottoms do not make for a smooth ride.

Our group clambered down steep stairs and through narrow passageways trying not to smack our heads on the unforgiving metal door frames. The bowels of the LST was wide open and ready to receive tanks and other heavy equipment. A special ventilation system was designed to suck exhaust gases out of the lower deck when all the tanks were running and ready to offload.

Troops and equipment hit the beaches during the battle of the Phillipeans.

A small galley and mess area was on the upper deck along with the bridge (the bridge of a ship is the room or platform from which the ship can be commanded). The LST had to defend itself and was equipped with 1  twin 40 mm gun, six 20 mm guns, 3  Lewis guns, two 4 in (100 mm) smoke mortars.

LST 325 is fully operational and will often stop at river ports so that the public can explore this important WW II vessel. For more information about LSTs and their specs go to:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_Ship,_Tank.