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Hi, My grandfather, Berton Arthur Barrett was a Major in WWII. He is my namesake. I've recently been thinking about him and I would like to know more about everything he did during his time in the US Army. As far as I and my family know, he was a civil engineer somewhere in the Philippines area. When he was captured in the Philippines by Japanese forces, he was forced to walk the Bataan Death March. He marched and survived, only to be placed in Japanese prisoner of war camp Zentsuji. He died of what we suspect was intussusception, an intestinal disorder. I've done quite a bit of research on the subject and what we suspected caused it, malnutrition, may not have been the cause, but a major contributing factor. Coincidentally he died on November 11th, 1944 at 1930 hrs - the day that would later become veteran's day. I have his official burial flag that they draped over his coffin during his burial with full military honors at XXXXXX cemetery in XXXXX, NY - his hometown. The flag is in immaculate condition. It only has 48 stars on it. We found it high up, tucked away in a corner of my mother's mother, my grandmother, the recipient of the flag during the ceremony. The flag was neatly tucked in a brown paper bag with the words: "THIS FLAG WAD USED AT THE FUNERAL OF MAJ. BERTON ARTHUR BARRETT W.W. II BURIED AT XXXXXX CEMETRY 1949. IT IS TO BE GIVEN TO BERTON ARTHUR XXXXXX - HIS GRANDSON & NAMESAKE -Marcia XXXXXXX XXXXXXX" written on the brown paper bag with a ball point pen. I received the flag after my grandmother died some time ago, and kept it in the original brown paper bag bag in my closet. My mother snuck it out and had a custom flag case made with her words from the bad inscribed on a metal plate on the front of the case. I've kept it as a treasured possession and since then have been gathering what very little information I can find about him. I requested information from the US national archives (http://www.archives.gov) I did get a response back, but it was disappointing. On July 12, 1973, fire destroyed a significant portion of the national archives containing what I believe were the only records of the solders. They said they would recover what they could, but at a cost of $190 at the time. I believe I made this request around 1998. My family isn't rich by any means. We're quite poor. $190 was a significant expense at the time, so I was unable to pay the fee and request the restored copy of what they had. I have no idea how badly damaged it is. It could be singed, water damaged, misplaced, or burned to a crisp. I am currently disabled, and putting myself though college in an attempt to become a productive member of society and get my life restarted. But disability means my income is next to nothing. The good news is that it looks like the fee has been more than cut in half. I looked into it again, and it seems simple enough to request the information. I would like information on where he was stationed throughout his tour of duty, what he did and what accomplishments he achieved. What did he do as a Major, what medals and honors he received, etc. I would like to know it all. I carry his name, and I am proud of what our military forces did for our country, as well as numerous other countries during WWII. According to the National Archives, it looks like "A routine OMPF of 6 pages or more: $70 flat fee (most OMPFs fall in this category)" will get me pretty much everything I want - "date and type of enlistment/appointment; duty stations and assignments; training, qualifications, performance; awards and decorations received; disciplinary actions; insurance; emergency data; administrative remarks; date and type of separation/discharge/retirement (including DD Form 214, Report of Separation, or equivalent); and other personnel actions." however it does not contain participation in battles and their military engagements. I would like to know this too. But now I am running into problems. They would like his service number, social security number, date and place of birth, and because his records were damaged in the fire, they also need place of discharge, last unit of assignment, and place of entry into the service (if known). I can provide only a little of what they want. I'm also interested in his replacement medals he may have received during his tour of duty, but because this was before 1953, they will not replace them. They will only list them in his OMFP. When I was researching information about him about 8 years ago, I could find next to nothing about him. Recently I've started back up and found a little more. I found a website that game me the camp he was held at and the exact time and date of his death, as well as what he died from. Our family knew it was an intestinal disorder, and the site confirmed it. Sadly, it was a treatable disorder that he was denied treatment for. The majority of my family was captured as well in the Philippines. My Grandmother, Mother, Aunt and Uncle. They were transferred to Santo Thomas concentration camp operated by the Japanese to house American and British troops. They lived off what little the Japanese provided and what else they could scrape up to eat, which I am sure you don't want the details of. My mother told me a story that her mother used to sleep on the cold ground and make my mother sleep on her back so she could keep warm. My mother was only six years old at the time. She shared many stories with me, but her favorite is when an American bomber pilot flew low and slow over the camp on February 3rd, 1945 and dropped something. It was his flyer's goggles with a note inside that simple read “Roll out the barrel, Christmas is coming.We’ll be with you Sunday or Monday !” They referenced Christmas too hope to confuse the Japanese, since they wouldn't know what it meant. But the prisoners who read it first knew exactly what it meant. American forces liberated the camp in February 23, 1945. My mother says she has a vivid memory of swinging on the main barrel of one of the tanks that helped liberate the camp. Before my grandfather left for service, my mother refused to say goodbye to him because she thought he wouldn't leave if she didn't say goodbye. That was the last time she saw him alive. Obviously because I have his flag, he was buried with full military honors. The flag only has 48 stars on it. Obviously this would mean a lot to me and my mother. My mother is getting old, and I would like to provide her with this information before, well, you know. So my main question is: Has anyone else gone though the process of obtaining an OMPF from the government? Do you have any suggestions or tips that could aid me? The national archives site says it could take up to six months to even respond to the request, so I would like to make sure I have everything I can possibly have to help expedite it. Thanks for reading this long rambling post. If you think you really can help, send me a PM and I will send you more personal information to help you in your search.
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Sep 11, 2014 13:12
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| # ¿ May 11, 2024 18:10 |
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