Looking for Uncle Sam

Hello! What an amazing site!

My Uncle Sam served in Patch's 7th (?) during the war, and I'm trying to find a good history of where all he was stationed. Family lore has him in the Battle of the Bulge, and his dog tag is stamped: "Brooks, Samuel D. 35759208 T43 44 A - P". I found some sharpshooter pins, too. He and all the rest of my family have passed away, and he had no children, so I guess I could get in touch with NARA and see if they will give me his service record?

Any advice would be much appreciated, thank you! He would never talk about the war, unlike Daddy, and I'd like to get an idea of what he experienced.

 

Welcome to the forums! The people here always have great advice; I myself have benefitted from their expertise on numerous occasions.

I would definitely recommend requesting his file from NARA, first and foremost. I'm sure you know about the 1973 fire, but you have to try. Fill out an SF-180 and send it in; you never know.

It's great that you have his dog tags, although what's stamped on them isn't really much of a help in determining his unit, etc. A quick rundown in case you need one:

35759208 would be his Army Service Number. The 3 at the beginning indicates that he was a draftee into the Army of the United States, and the 5 as the second digit indicates that he enlisted from the Fifth Corps Area of the US, which means either Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana or Kentucky.

T43 means he had a tetanus inoculation in 1943.

A is his blood type.

P is his religion code--Protestant.

If there is no next of kin info listed, then that is likely the shortened form of dog tag, which came into use in July, 1943. While not a 100% guarantee, it's possibly a clue that he enlisted after that date (but still within 1943, given his tetanus inoculation date). OR, maybe he got a replacement dog tag, well after he enlisted. Who knows? Request his record and maybe you can find out!

Cheers, and again, welcome.

 

Thank you adambhoy! No next of kin listed, but Uncle Sam was married when he enlisted. This place is just awesome! He enlisted in Clarksburg, West Virginia, August of 1943. Thanks again for your help!

 

First, welcome to the Forum, bevsteenstra.

Family lore can be sometimes be very helpful, but it can also be misleading. "Patch's 7th" would refer to the US Seventh Army. Lt. General Alexander Patch was the commander of the Seventh Army from March 1944 through the end of the War.

"The Battle of the Bulge" is the popularized name for the German counteroffensive began 16 Dec 1944 and took place in the Ardennes forest region of Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. The Seventh Army was located further south in the Lorraine region of France. As the Allies shifted their forces to counter the German attack in the Ardennes, the Seventh Army had to spread it's forces over a much larger front. About two weeks after the onset of the BotB, the Germans launched another attack, Operation Nordwind, against the thinly spread Seventh Army.

Map: The Last German Offensive, 31 Dec 1944 - 25 Jan 1945

It seems that "BotB" is often used instead of Operation Nordwind. It may be as simple as the phrase "The Battle of the Bulge" is easier to remember and is better known by the general public.

 

Hello Lou, thank, I do have that basic enlistment information, but no I do not have his unit or any other information, and any paperwork that he might have kept is long missing. Looks like I'm going to have to go through NARA, and I don't know a) if they'll give me specific information, b) if information was destroyed in the St. Louis fire like Daddy's was and c) if information is available, how detailed it would be. Thank you so much for finding what you did!

 

Thank you TD, I'm studying up on Patch now! Appreciate your help in explaining the nuances of the Battle of the Bulge. Other family lore has Uncle Sam in forces that liberated concentration camps - not so sure about that.

 

As information, the picture I have posted is of my Daddy, Dwight Ward Brooks, USAAF, stationed Eye, England 1944 through duration in Europe. Top turret gunner on a B-17!

 

If you could locate a copy of his separation paper it could answer a lot of questions. Of course his personnel file would contain a copy plus a lot more information. Read through this thread and get some ideas how to get his separation paper in case the fire took another causality. http://www.ww2f.com/topic/13562-requesting-copies-of-military-personnel-records/

What is his date of death and where would he be buried?

 

Hello Buten, Uncle Sam died 18 November 1979 and he is buried at Pocatalico, West Virginia, Floral Hills Garden of Memories. Since he died without wife or children, I feel special for him and put extra flowers on his grave when I visit. Thank you, I will follow the link!

 

I don't think you need to worry about whether or not they will give you specific information. At this point, most WWII personnel records are considered "archival" by the NARA, which means they are available to anyone who requests it and who will pay the per page duplication fee. It will be more a matter of whether there is anything they can give you, as you indicated was the case with your father's records.

If you "strike out" with the NARA, there is still hope. You could try hiring a researcher. They will go through other records which were not affected by the 1973 fire which can be very helpful determining not only what unit(s) he was in, but also the movements of his unit throughout the War. Several members here have gone that route, including Lou and myself.

As far as your goal of wanting to know what he experienced, you won't likely find that in his personnel records. They will only tell you the where and when of his War experience. What I would recommend is read the memoirs and autobiographies of WWII veterans of the regiment or division with which he served.

 

Thanks I, am working on NARA now and will see how it goes...how much do private researchers charge - ballpark figure? Thanks again!