March 12, 2010I guess this is probably not news, considering it happened close to 40 years ago, but there was a fire at the National Personnel Records Center that wiped out all Army records for a pretty significant period of American history - 1912-1959. Last I checked there were a lot of military operations during that period!
RE: Veteran's Name: HOSCHETTE, VERNON P.
SSN/SN: 37274XXX
Request Number: 1-7351509XXX
Dear Sir or Madam:
The Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) needed to answer your inquiry is not in our files. If the OMPF were here on July 12, 1973, it would have been in the area that suffered the most damage in the fire on that date and may have been destroyed. The fire destroyed the major portion of records of Army military personnel for the period 1912 through 1959, and recrods of Air Force personnel with surnames Hubbard through Z for the period 1947 through 1963.
An alternate record that is available fore the veteran named in your request is a Final Pay Voucher. This particular document is an archival document belonging to the National Archives and is available to you for a fee. To help you decide if you would like to purchase the final pay voucher pertaining to the veteran named in your request, we are enclosing information about the document and a sample copy of an actual final pay voucher.
If you are interested in purchasing the final pay voucher, please complete the attached 'Order for Archival Record Reproduction Services' form. Please return this form with your payment within 30 days. Once payment is received, a photocopy of the final pay voucher will be mailed to you. If payment is not received within this period, we will assume that you do not wish to purchase the document and your request will be closed automatically without further action.
If you have questions or comments regarding this response, you may contact us at 314-801-0800 or by mail at the address shown in the letterhead above. If you contact us, please reference the Request Number listed above. If you are a veteran, or a deceased veteran's next of kin, please consider submitting your future requests online by visiting us at http://vetrecs.archives.gov/.
Sincerely,
ARVON CLEMONS
Archives Technician (5C)
An article about the fire can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Personnel_Records_Center_fire
It's been a long while since I worked this case, by chance I Googled my name out of boredom and came upon this.
ReplyDeleteI felt that I should inform you that if you wish to see the record yourself in person, you can. I don't remember what was in the record (as this was months ago) , but there may be some documents of interest other than the stated Pay Voucher.
Just call and ask to make an appointment and they can make arrangements to have Vernon's record available for you to see for yourself.
Good luck with your grandfather!
My father helped write a book about the 757th Tank Battalion. He was one of the officers in the unit. I don't know exactly where the book is at the moment but I will try and update you with the publishing information. I have a picture of the battalion with all the men in it as well as one with Patton in it.
ReplyDeleteMy grandfather was in the 757th and I have had a very difficult time trying to get any info, as you can imagine. Any way you can scan that photo?
DeleteI would absolutely love the opportunity to discuss this with you. Please contact me through Blogspot and we'll chat!
ReplyDelete