I need information!! Please Help??? URGENT!!!!

Hey I need some help. Like most people my age I have grandparents and older relatives that fought in World War two which believe or not began almost 70 years ago.
Anyways, I was looking for specific information about my uncle James "Jimmy" Madden who was in 142nd infantry, 62nd or 60th division of the Army (I'm not sure about the exact division my grandma has his discharge so I'd have to recheck) he was drafted in 1942 just after Pearl Harbor and was in the occupation force in Morocco and perhaps a couple other countries. He didn't see much combat until 1943 and 1944 when he was part of the invasion forces of both Sicily and Anzio Beach (Italy) respectively. He later saw combat in the battle of Central Germany and the Rhineland. During his participation in the war he recieved the Bronze Star as well as campaign ribbons for Europe and and a Victory Ribbon and a few other awards I can't remember off-hand. The odds that anyone who reads this actually knew and/or served my uncle are slim to nil but I was wondering if someone can point me in the right directon. Unfortunately my uncle Jimmy passed away in 1987 and all I have is a few scattered memories from when I was a child. Like many veterans he never cared to speak much of the horrors he saw. Only once did he ever mention being in combat, when he was drunk at a bar a few years after to his brother (my other uncle) who came to Germany just as he was leaving for home in July 1945. After his death from lung cancer the doctors performed an autopsy. They found a couple bullets and entry wounds scars in his lower back which were no more recent than 50 years. This is odd because theres no mention of him being wounded in his discharge and since he was drafted right out of high school they def. didn't happen before.

Anyways does anyone know of an Army or government department or commission that keeps track of war records like these?? He recieved a couple medals so there has to be at least some record of his service somewhere. Thats about all the info I have. Are there any vets or historians reading this that can point me in the right direction. The longer I wait the harder it is to track this information down and 1,100 WW2 veterans leave us every day... I'm not doing this in any disrespect of his privacy I just simply want to be able to better understand my late uncle and the hardships he endured. Can anyone please help me?

 

J, you’re right about one thing, the prospect of finding an 80 year old who served with your uncle, AND, surfs the net, is so close to nil it might as well be nil.

Re the 142nd, visit Pat’s site at

http://www.milhist.net/

There is also a forum for the 142nd at

http://pub6.ezboard.com/ftexasmilitaryforcesmuseum36thinfantrydivision.showMessage?topicID=571.topic

Good luck

No.9

 

Well, first there is no 60th or 62nd Infantry Division in the US Army at that time. The 142nd Infantry Regiment is part of the 36th Infantry Division (Texas National Guard).
That division did fight in Morrocco, Italy and, Southern France and Germany.
If you are positive about his regiment affiliation with the 142nd post a reply here and I will give you the contact information for the 36th Infantry Division association. They have yearly reuninions and put out a quarterly newsletter and journal (my father was in the division's signal company). Maybe you can get more information on your uncle's service etc from them.

 

everything your grandad did in the army will still be on record . one of my grandads was in the navy during the war and as i work in portsmouth dockyard i thought i would find out about his time in the navy , where he went and all the ships he was on . i managed to do this but only after i got a letter off my nan (my grandads wife ) would they send me all his details on his navy career during the war . well worth doin and very interesting........im sure it would be the same in america youll just need to prove your a relative if its the same as england