Is it allowed/possible to request military record of a parent?

LongRoadBob

LongRoadBob

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My father learned to fly in the Naval Air Force (I believe it was called at the time).
He was not in WWII but this was some time after, not sure at this point the actual dates but it was some time between 1947 (maybe...guessing) and 1953 or so.

He passed away in 2008, and he never really talked about his tIme in the Navy, his training there, or anything involving it.

I would really like to know more about his time there, and was wondering what the rules are on requesting service records of someone. Of course, I'm family, I don't know if it makes a difference.
I just have no idea how to go about finding out, and if allowed, requesting information?

I know there are a number of ex military pilots here, so thought I'd ask here first.
 
You can access his DD 214 (basically a top level summary of career achievements, schooling, duty assignments, etc) from the National Archives. Link: https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records


Eligibility for access to family memeber's record from their site:
  • Next of kin of a deceased, former member of the military. The next of kin can be any of the following:
    • Surviving spouse that has not remarried
    • Father
    • Mother
    • Son
    • Daughter
    • Sister
    • Brother



Good luck with your search, I hope that helps!
 
Blue Doughnut said:
You can access his DD 214 (basically a top level summary of career achievements, schooling, duty assignments, etc) from the National Archives. Link: https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records


Eligibility for access to family memeber's record from their site:
  • Next of kin of a deceased, former member of the military. The next of kin can be any of the following:
    • Surviving spouse that has not remarried
    • Father
    • Mother
    • Son
    • Daughter
    • Sister
    • Brother



Good luck with your search, I hope that helps!
Click to expand...


Thanks so much!!
 
You can give it a shot, but a large number of the service records of WWII era vets were lost in a massive fire at a records storage facility. Not sure of the actual dates lost, but it cut a wide swath.
 
Like BD said you can access them from the national archives if he got out greater than 62 years ago. Not sure it'll have his flight training folder or his flight logs though. Archived stuff is usually the DD-214 which is just basic service events like promotions, duty stations etc. Basically anything that gets sent through admin section will be sent to higher (HR) and archived.
 
Last edited:
Chip Sylverne said:
You can give it a shot, but a large number of the service records of WWII era vets were lost in a massive fire at a records storage facility. Not sure of the actual dates lost, but it cut a wide swath.
Click to expand...

Wow..and this was in 1973. I just saw that following Blue Doughnuts link, some types were 80% lost and others 75% lost (if I recall it was army 80 and another branch 75).

I had to rush off, so just followed the link but was starting to expect a database I could search, but now looking like even though public records, have to apply for the info? Problem is I don't know exact dates but suspect it was in the public records sector.

Also, I always heard "Naval Air Force" but does that exist, or was it folded into the Air Force? Not sure if I should request his records from the Navy or Air Force.
 
If he was a Navy pilot he was in the Navy. No such service as the Naval Air Force; same as today.
 
LongRoadBob said:
Wow..and this was in 1973. I just saw that following Blue Doughnuts link, some types were 80% lost and others 75% lost (if I recall it was army 80 and another branch 75).

I had to rush off, so just followed the link but was starting to expect a database I could search, but now looking like even though public records, have to apply for the info? Problem is I don't know exact dates but suspect it was in the public records sector.

Also, I always heard "Naval Air Force" but does that exist, or was it folded into the Air Force? Not sure if I should request his records from the Navy or Air Force.
Click to expand...

It really is a heartbreaker. After my Dad passed, we found some old 1945 photos of him in his Class A's with a bunch of serious decorations we never knew he had, including a Bronze Star with a V device and presidential unit citation. He never talked about them, or what he did in the war. Only said that the real heroes were the guys who never came back. The only thing he would talk about were the funny stories of the capers he and his buddies got away with. Once, my grandfather let slip that Dad landed at Omaha Beach, 2nd wave. After shooting him a dark look, all Dad would say was "it was all over before I got there", which, of course, was ********. Never said another word about it. All lost to history after the fire.

The greatest generation, humble heroes.
 
My Dad died when I was two (sixty three years ago) so I know very little about his service record. Except that he was critically wounded during the Leyte Landings. I thought I could use the link to get more information about him and his record, but I would need his SS#, his dates of service etc. I don't have that and My Mom died about 10 years ago so I have no idea how to get that info. I guess I get to keep wondering.
 
I had an uncle that was awarded the silver star in WWII while in Italy. Unfortunately, my cousin took all his military awards plus items my uncle liberated from the Germans and traded them for drugs. My mom tried to replace all his medals and ribbons, but because of the fire there is absolutely no record of my uncle ever being in the military.
 
DD-214s are real spotty, too; just not all that accurate, depending on luck. Some are spot on, others miss a lot. . .I beleive Coast Guard put a lot of effort into reconstructing prior member's records that were lost.
 
I remember some of the stories my Grandfather used to tell about the war but only bits and pieces. I'm reading through Rick Atkinson's trilogy now and I'm able to put a lot of those stories into context. I wish I could chat with him now because I'd be a lot more interested than I was back then. His unit was fairly well documented so I think I could find a lot through research but I've never tried.
 
Try the local, to your dads residence, American Legion Post they may have/give you some local leads. Where I live here in IL. most of us GI's went to the local veterans office and gave them a copy of our DD-214. I actually went to two different counties and left a copy just for safe keeping.
 
My grandfather never really spoke about his time in the Navy except once, about a year before he died. He started talking about getting chased by a Japanese ship and having to dump all sorts of stuff overboard to lighten up the ship. He stopped at that point and simply said, "Those were bad times." And never said anything about it again.
 
Contact your local military retired affairs office, with every thing you know about your service member. they can get info to help you.
 
Spotter626 said:
Try the local, to your dads residence, American Legion Post they may have/give you some local leads. Where I live here in IL. most of us GI's went to the local veterans office and gave them a copy of our DD-214. I actually went to two different counties and left a copy just for safe keeping.
Click to expand...
You get a DD-214 for every enlistment you complete. the last should have all important info of all.
The public can get the "public view" portion of your service jack, but only the service person or their spouse can get the whole thing. my public view portion is only 13 pages for all 22 years and 5 enlistments.
 
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