Hi guys , wheres the best search list for purple heart for a guy WW2 US navy ??? jackie pershing looper , 1920 - 1986 LST646 = landing craft I was told he recieved purple heart but I dont know , not a relative , Im researching 3 brothers from california cheers Paris
Your best bet is to request his personnel file from the NARA, or hire a researcher. I found a record of him being transferred to LST-646, but that was May 1945 while it was being refurbished. From June 1945 thru the end of the War, LST-646 does not appear to have seen any action. It's possible, since he joined LST-646 so late in the War, that he may have served on another ship prior to that, but I did not find any record of such. His personnel file would probably provide the info you are seeking assuming it exists.
On 21 Apr 1945, LSM-157 picked up 30 Navy EMs (including F1c Jack P Looper) in Hawaii for transport to "Navy 926", Guam. They were transferred off LSM-157 on 11 May 1945. F1c Jack P. Looper was received aboard LC(FF)-423 on 11 May 1945, and transferred to LST-646 on 15 May 1945. He was received aboard LST-646 on 16 May 1945, and remained aboard unit 17 Jan 1946.
Hi , I was talking to his newphew (71yr) on the phone (nz / california) , about 4 weeks ago . hes a V.V and mentioned Jack had purple heart but I dont know ,I have seen LST646 number before and found a pic of the vessle and it appears to be tied in with Iwo Jima but that doesnt mean he was there. I think alot of these boats went to scrap as early as 1947
Yes, the LST-646 was at Iwo Jima, but that was before May 1945 when the above documents show his transfer to that ship. What we don't know is where he was prior to 21 Apr 1945. The records database in which I found the above documents is not comprehensive or without error. The fact that I cannot find his name or Serial Number 8813201 prior to 21 Apr 45 does not tell us anything for certain. He may very well have been wounded sometime between Dec 1941 and Apr 1945 while serving on another ship. Here is a link to the National Archives page for requesting WWII personnel records. It mentions a fire in 1973, but you can ignore that. The fire did not affect Navy records. His personnel file should have the info that you need. You will need to be patient, because if you request it directly from the NARA it can take a very long time (in some cases a year or more). That is why some just hire a researcher and they get the same records in a few weeks.
I hope you will let us know what you find out. If you decide to go with a researcher, Golden Arrow has been used by several members here, myself included. The NARA also provides a list of researchers, but you do have to make sure that they specialize in WWII service records. I hope you were able to download the documents I posted. It's nice to see documents where the family member is listed by name. If you have any questions about how to read them, just post your questions here. We're always happy to help out. There were a few Muster Rolls for LST-646 that I didn't post because they only document that he was on that ship on a particular day. However, if you are interested, I will post them for you.
