We often get requests from relatives of WWII Aleutian Veterans regarding information about the veteran's service, where they might have served, what was it like, and how can they find out more information about the vet's time spent in the military. I've assembled a few pieces of information here that you may find to be of some help in your endeavors to learn about your vet's service in the Aleutians:

From our Aleutians Web Site you can:

1) Post a message on our Aleutian's Message Board. There is a menu link at the top of the Aleutian's Home Page for the Message Board. Click HERE to go directly to the Message Board. There may even be a message posted there already that might be of some help.

2) Go to the WWII Vets Database pages for Shemya or Attu. These are the only two working databases at this time available on our web site. Click HERE to go to the Shemya WWII Veterans database, or click HERE to go to the Attu WWII Veteran's database.

3) To learn about WWII in the Aleutians, as experienced by the WWII veterans who served there, you can check our Bibliography page. While they are all good books, a quick read that encompasses the war in the Aleutians would be Brian Garfield's "The Thousand Mile War." Don't pass on the other books, however, as they call contain unique perspectives of life in the Aleutians during those times.

4) And finally, you can send me an e-mail requesting information, which I'll share with our veterans to see if anyone can be of additional help to you. E-Mail George

FROM EXTERNAL SOURCES YOU CAN:

1) DD Form 214: An important document you may be able to obtain would be the veteran's DD Form 214, a record of their military service. This is a modernized post WWII record of an individual's assignments/training while serving in the military.

2) WD AGO Form 55: There may have been an earlier version of the DD Form 214 having a different form number...we're in the process of looking into this now. We think it might have been called a "W.D., A.G.O. Form 55, dated 1 Dec 1936." This is an Army enlistment record used "in the old days."

3) Separation Qualification Record WD AGO Form 100, dated 1 Jul 1945, which superseded WD AGO Form 100 dated 15 July 1944. These are records of job assignments and special training received in the Army and is furnished to the soldier when he leaves the service. The soldier could present this form to past, present, or perspective employers as a credible document of training and skills.

4) Getting Records of Military Personnel:

Visit this web site for the entire text by clicking HERE. I've posted an extract from that web site below:

"Have you lost or need to replace an individual's service record? Know what information you are entitled to and how to go about receiving it.

An individual's complete service record is available to the former service member or, if deceased, to his/her next of kin (parents, spouse, or children). Limited information (such as dates of service, awards, and training) is available to anyone. Not available to the general public is information which would invade an individual's privacy; for example, medical records, Social Security number, or present address.

The St. Louis Center receives many requests for service records each week, so a request will be processed with greater speed and accuracy if the requester uses a Standard Form 180, "Request Pertaining to Military Records". If requesting the records of a relative, a requester should mention the relationship to the former member (brother, uncle, or other). There is no charge for this service to former service members or their next of kin. For others, a nominal fee is charged for research and reproduction costs.

You may submit more than one request per envelope or fax, but submit a separate request (either SF 180 or letter) for each individual whose records are being requested.

Send by Mail:
National Personnel Records Center
Military Personnel Records
9700 Page Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63132-5100

Send by Fax: 314-801-9195.

The Center will respond in writing by U.S. Mail.
You may also check out the this official NARA web page for more information about form SF 180.

5) Visit the National Archives (NARA) Web Site at

http://www.archives.gov/veterans/index.html

Here you will find links to and information about how to obtain information pertaining to almost any service person, including those of earlier conflicts our nation has been engaged in.

Jim Lillard contributed this PDF File version of the SF 180 Form you can use to obtain records. By filling out and submitting this form, it took Jim almost 7 months to obrtain copies of his records. There was no charge other than that for postage mailing the form to NARA. Here's the link to the SF 180 FORM.

6) Another Army/Air Force resource for you was contributed by Jim Lux, one of our Shemya web site contributors. Try this site: http://www.armyairforces.com/

7) Apply for the WWII Alaska Service Certificate:

All of us at HLSWILLIWAW.COM, along with our support staff and contributors, hope this information will be of some help to you with your research and record finding activities.

George