Posted on Mar 18, 2019
Have you ever tried to reconnect with buddies from your past, past tours of duty? Were you successful? How?
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I have written many blog postings about my tour of duty in Vietnam and compiled them into a journal that I make available for free on Smashwords. Basically, I have included almost everything I remember of that time and still I get requests for more. A recent request from a young woman whose father, Sgt Levi Carl Warner Jr from corpus Christi Texas, now deceased, who served there during the same time as I ('67 to '68) asking for anything I could tell her to help her write a book about him. She says that he served with Charlie Company, 9th Infantry Division. Obviously, she doesn't know that she's missing some unit identification there. I have responded to her message to let her know that I'm reaching out, here on RP and other social media groups targeting Vietnam Veterans. Even if you don't know this person, there are many who would appreciate suggestions about connecting with buddies from prior tours of duty. I would like to tell her, and others on similar missions, how to research their old units or the units in which loved ones served. How to reconnect with old buddies or rediscover their past, or the past of loved ones. Any suggestions will be gratefully accepted and passed on...
WWII World War Two
Korean War
Vietnam War
War on Terror
Edited 7 y ago
Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 14
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Be prepared for bad news, several I chased down were by way of the obituaries. A few corresponded by email about old times, then stopped after a while.
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CPT Jack Durish I am still in touch with a fellow from BCT at San Luis Obispo and the 101st Signal BN in Korea - 1954, he lives in Glendora, CA. Truth be told, the 55 mile drive and return is at bit daunting at my age. His wife says he does not drive very well.
I am really OK w/ driving. There are no dents in my car and I always demonstrate my capability when a son is visiting!’
As the ‘toast’ goes: “Heres to us and them like us, and most of them are dead” !
I am really OK w/ driving. There are no dents in my car and I always demonstrate my capability when a son is visiting!’
As the ‘toast’ goes: “Heres to us and them like us, and most of them are dead” !
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SSG Donald H "Don" Bates
Where were you located in Korea in 54? I was at Chunchon 1954-May 1955 Chunchon Area Command and 351st THTG
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CPT Jack Durish I'd like to learn more about how you used Smashwords? Can you provide a link or a private message on you use it? I've stayed connected with First Active Commander from Belgium from 1977 to 1980 in Belgium. I've had no contact with anyone from my days at Fort Ord, CA (first duty station of my military career from Nov 1975 to June 1977 or BCT.
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Any tips would be helpful, trying to go back to Korea 1953-1955, guess there are not many of us old guys left.
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See if there is a 9th Division association and put they can out a request for the friends of her father. It would help if she knew the battalion that her father served with. Also check the website: http://www.togetherweserved.com
Join Me on Together We Served!
Together We Served has reconnected more U.S. Military Veterans than any other organization. If you served, this website is for you
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There was something I'd always wondered, whether the staff at NPRC in St. Louis might ever be able to help with stuff like that...clearly, they couldn't just give you info where somebody you knew when you were in might be, for obvious privacy reasons...however, the thought obviously crossed my mind that, perhaps, they might be able to at least just forward a letter, if they might have an address on file...as would be apparent, there might not be any provision for asking for such help, and, also, I myself have never asked for any such help, it was merely something I'd wondered about occasionally, that was all, honest...probably, they'd have to say it's not what they're there for, of course, however, I just figured I'd offer the thought, at any rate, if only for all of you to at least just mull over, if nothing else, you know? Probably the answer would most likely be no, I'd expect, as I'd said...just a notion on my part, at any rate...they'd obviously have to find material on a friend, to be able to look up if there was a good address to use to forward such a letter, which, of course, might well not even be permissible, to begin with...then, too, there might be other vet groups one could ask to see if they'd have a given friend on file to forward a letter, though I have no idea if such a thing would even be feasible and/or allowable, once again, of course....
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SSG Donald H "Don" Bates
there was a fire, lots of records were lost. I was able to provide info to get my files back but many lost forever.
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Capt Daniel Goodman
We went through that with getting stuff on my uncle, as well as my wife's Dad...a good deal of it can be obtained from Army, directly...call over there, and ask to speak with the director's office, we've spoken with them several times, or ask your three Congress offices to ask the director's staff to call you back...we've sent them numerous emails, they've been quite helpful, they've managed to ask Army directly to dig stuff for us for both of them in the past, I assure you, it's reasonably doable, you might need to wait awhile, though you should be able to ask them to ask Army to do a FOIA search through the Army stuff, as I'd said, directly, to get your stuff off of their microfiche and/or digitized files, trust me, as I'd said, we've done it, they know the right ones to be able to ask to handle getting your stuff, both personnel and/or med/dental, you just need to ask explicitly for both, there's also the eVetRecs Java applet site, you just need to sign and date the printout, save it with the reference/request number/code, or you'll have to start all over again, you can also call the Natl Archives, NARA, directly, and ask them to get you a call back from the NPRC director's office, aside from asking the Congressional staffs for all three of your offices, I assure you, it's relatively easy, honest, time-consuming, perhaps, admittedly, however, most definitely doable, honest, if you wanna yak more about it, just lemme know, I'll try to suggest more, OK? The fire, as you may have seen, and the Wikipedia page on the fire mentions, only affected the Army stuff, of course, none of the other services had their stuff damaged, I just wasn't sure if you'd been aware of that aspect....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
I'd meant for you to call the NPRC director, of course, not Army directly...though if you asked your Congress offices, I'm quite sure their staffs could also send something to Army for you, as well as to NPRC, I'd expect, as well....
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I've been looking for years for old Army buddies, but only found one that had pasted away two years before I located him in the obituary. I tried to contact his daughter that I had a picture of in 1974, in which she would be 45yrs old now, but had no luck to contact her, I wanted to tell her about her father with the 82nd ABN, and how he was a good soldier.
Have been and still trying to locate my best buddy from basic, jump school and with the the 82 ABN, and still had no luck, we last saw each other in 1972, A-co 2nd 508th Inf 82nd ABN.
His name is, Benny P. Baxley from Alabama.
Have been and still trying to locate my best buddy from basic, jump school and with the the 82 ABN, and still had no luck, we last saw each other in 1972, A-co 2nd 508th Inf 82nd ABN.
His name is, Benny P. Baxley from Alabama.
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