|
Kind of surprised nobody's chimed in yet. It sucks, but the National Archives really is your best bet. Calling on the phone is likely to get you better help than working through email; if you're close enough then going in person may help a little more. But sadly, because of the fire, they're going to need as much info as you can get to piece it back together. You're right that the basic file should have the things you're looking for. As far as battles/engagements, once you know what units he was assigned to you can piece that together with reasonable accuracy; if he received any specific decorations for them that can be used for confirmation (it may not have happened, though; that campaign was a complete loving mess). It's completely unsurprising that he could've died the way it seems he did...there's a book called Knights of Bushido that goes into serious detail of how prisoners were treated by the Japanese. It's pieced together from testimony of the post-war tribunals; a fair amount of information about the Philippines and Bataan, as well as Nanking, and more. It's unlikely you'll learn anything specific to him and it can be pretty tough to read, so go for it at your own risk. The treatment you describe was par for the course...it gets even worse from there. You might be able to get some help or advice from veterans groups like the VFW. If nothing else, you should find a few sympathetic ears. Once you do get more information, getting replacement medals shouldn't be hard, at least for most of them. WWII-specific awards might be tough, since I'm sure they're no longer manufactured. But for "normal" service medals, they almost never change and are probably still sold and worn today.
|
#
¿
Sep 17, 2014 07:46
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 12, 2024 03:27 |
|