Can anybody tell me if it is possible to obtain copies of the personnel records of United States citizens killed in action in WW2? I know that access to the records of Canadian Airmen who were killed is possible at their National Archives in Ottawa. Is there a similar availability for U.S airmen? I am interested in a number of aircrew who joined the RCAF but were taken into the USAAF when the U.S joined the War. They appear to have been nominally attached to a ‘unit’ called the number 12 Replacement depot. Anyone heard of this?
And finally, if the records are available can you access them on line and if not, anyone know a good research service in Washington??
By: Alan Clark - 12th February 2014 at 00:54
I think I’ve come across that unit before, though I can’t remember where. As for personnel files, a large quantity were lost to fire damage at the US Army records centre in the 1970s, those which survived are now with the US National Archives and are accessible at one of their sites on the edge of Washington. They seem to vary on content from a couple of pages to a file as detailed as some of the RCAF & RAAF ones.
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February 11, 2014 at 11:25 pm