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Tracking down Grandfather's record w/o Social

Discussion in 'Military Service Records & Genealogical Research' started by titancompu, Jun 1, 2009.

  1. titancompu

    titancompu Member

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    I'm trying to track down my Grandfather's information as a Christmas gift for my dad. So far, the internet has proven helpful, especially the stickied thread at the top of this forum. With it, I've been able to find his service number, birthplace, enlistment location and a few other useful facts. That information led me to try to fill out the link at archives.gov to get the actual service record. When I got there, I started checking the required information and saw that I was missing the social security number. Is there any place I can locate this? I know it's got to be guarded because of the identity theft worries, but I don't think they'll fulfill the request without it. I'd ask my dad, but because of his brain surgery, he doesn't remember much of anything about his dad minus the fact that he was really proud of his service and was a good foster father. The foster family won't answer questions because of a fallout they had, so I'm left with the internet. Here's what I've found so far:

    Name: James Franklin Canoy
    Army Serial Number: 37417061
    Place of Enlistment: JEFFERSON BARRACKS MISSOURI

    All of this came from

    NARA - AAD - Display Full Records - Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Enlistment Records)

    ^^ That link. From his gravestone, I see that he was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. His gravestone also says SFC, which I'm going to assume is Sgt. First Class.

    With that information, is there any way I can find out Unit Information, Medals, etc? I'm going to try to make a shadowbox if I can. Any advice will be GREATLY appreciated.

    Edit. Looked for the Social Security Number in the SSDI. No results.
     
    titancompu, Jun 1, 2009
    #1
  2. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    Try contacting NARA directly by phone. It may take some wait time before you get a response, but I believe you can get the medals, etc. with just his service number. I got a set of my father's medals, and I didin't know his SS number.

    Here is the link to NARA. The phone number is way down on the bottom left.

    National Personnel Records Center

    Good luck, and let us know how you make out. (You can also print out Form SF-180 which is used to request records)

    Do you know when he died and where he lived? I checked and found a couple of James Canoys that might fit the bill. I didn't use his middle name.
     
    LRusso216, Jun 1, 2009
    #2
  3. titancompu

    titancompu Member

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    I've got a living in Missouri and a dying in Vernon Parish Louisiana (Hicks to be specific). I have a passenger manifest I found of he and my grandma leaving Frankfurt Germany to come back to America, so I know he was stationed there. Ideally, I'd like to get the medal info and the unit info, so I'm going to try calling the provided number. Thanks Lou!
     
    titancompu, Jun 2, 2009
    #3
  4. Skipper

    Skipper Kommodore

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    let us know about the results. We will cross our fingers for you.
     
    Skipper, Jun 2, 2009
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  5. titancompu

    titancompu Member

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    Called the number, and they said they'd try to work with me with my dad signing a 180. I"ll be trying that. :) Thanks for the wishes and info guys. I'll keep yall informed.
     
    titancompu, Jun 2, 2009
    #5

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