Finding Your Father's War: A Practical Guide to Researching and Understanding Service in the World War II U.S. Army

by Jonathan Gawne

Leading military historian and researcher, Jonathan Gawne, explains and shares the techniques he uses to research archives, libraries, veteran associations and myriad other sources of information to track down the wartime career of an individual. The author describes this as "What I did, and what you can do to find out what 'he' did in the army."

The book gives an overview of the Army in World War II, from the basics up. Learn the difference between a corporal and a major, or a squad and a brigade. What can you tell from a serial number? What is the difference between the quartermaster corps and the transportation corps? What was the path most soldiers took from civilian life to trained soldier? What (and where) is the ETO, PTO and ATO? All the basic facts you need to understand Army service in WW2.

He goes on to explain how to find information from such sources as discharges, uniforms, paperwork, the National Personnel records center, National Archives, other facilities and what you can expect from veterans organizations (and how to find them). Places to look for information and what you can or cannot get from them.

Finally the book helps you to assemble the data you have collected and piece the story of your relatives' wartime service together. It also gives advice on preserving the memories - oral histories, photos, artifacts, documents, etc.

Detailed appendices give information on such things as insignia of ranks and branches, listing of common MOS's, a breakdown of each division by sub unit, with a brief history and a listing of their campaigns, a capsule history of each campaign and a bibliography of useful books on various campaigns and units. Color illustrations of campaign ribbons, decorations and insignia accompany the detailed text.

This book addresses an increasing need to record and understand the lives of the greatest generation and their service to the country.

Genres: World War II, History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction

352 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2006

About the author

I was born.

I lived a while and wrote some books which some people liked, and some people didn't.

One day I will die, and then possibly I will become famous.

Reviews

[John Nevola · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve come across more and more younger people recently who are genuinely curious about their father or grandfather’s service in the Second World War. This phenomenon seems to be triggered by the passing of these veterans and the typical display of a wartime portrait photo at a funeral or wake. Dying at a rate of over 1,000 per day, the list of survivors grows thin and the interest in their service heightens.

Finding Your Father’s War is an excellent resource for understanding the organization and complexities of the United States Army in World War II. In addition, it explains the paper trail and labyrinth of forms that followed every GI throughout the War. In essence, it is a road map to finding out information about a loved one not easily available and is more important since service records of more than 16,000,000 veterans, many from the Second World War, were destroyed in a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri on 12 July 1973.

But beyond serving as an excellent research guide, it is and interesting an informative work to be enjoyed by anyone curious about the administrivia of organizing and managing an army of this size. The glossy pages are museum quality with many in color. The description and rendering of the command patches, especially the division patches (complete with nickname and number of days in combat) is particularly interesting. And for those undertaking the task of finding out more about their loved one, it is an indispensable resource.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title is misleading as it only refers to World War II units of the US Army, ignoring the US Navy and Marine Corps. There is some brief descriptions of Army units and awards. The work also discusses some research sources for unit and individual service records. It is a fair starting point on army personnel research. Just don't expect to much.

[Glen Go · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm researching my uncle's Army service in WW II. This book is a great jumpstart to research. Sadly, my Uncle Tony survived landing at Omaha Beach on D-Day only to be KIA near St. Lo, about six weeks later. He was in Company G, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division. "29 -- Let's Go!"

[Troy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting.

[Curtis Dean Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lotsa detailed information

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the best book I have ever come across for researching WWII veterans. It breaks down the army to it's core. You can learn how to find earth shattering information from that one little photograph you found with grandpa's things. There is information about records, serial numbers, uniforms, medals and awards, unit histories and commands. I think this is a great source for the family historian trying to piece together a life. Sometimes WWII is more difficult to research as most service records were destroyed in a fire in 1973. This work by Jonathan Gawne helps you piece it all back together.

[Gil Burket · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not only great for researching records, but it makes a very handy reference for just basic information about the average WWII soldier. No matter how many years of study you put into this subject, it is easy to forget what certain acronyms mean, or where a particular unit was stationed. This book is packed with information and well worth keeping on your shelf.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute wealth of info for researching WWII vets. I am indebted to the author. Bought one for my dad!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this great book while doing research on my Great Uncle who was Kill in Action June 10, 1944 in Normandy.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great resource if you're researching family members who served in the Army during WWII.

[A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was written clearly and had some good information in it. It gave me a much better idea of what was going on during WWII and helped me understand the information that I had already gathered.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great tools to fill out the story of my father-in-law's army service in WWII.