Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Bill’s Discharge Record

Before he was discharged in November 1945, Bill’s supervising sergeant advised him to lodge his discharge record at his local county court house once he returned to the States. He told him the record would be better protected in the court house than if kept at home. Bill acted on the advice a couple of years later, in 1947.  Most veterans either didn’t see the need to take this precaution or were not made aware of the option. The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St Louis, Missouri stores all WWII Army veteran records including discharges. At time of separation, veterans were told that even if their personal copy was lost, they needed only to write to the records center to get a replacement copy.

In 1973 there was a disastrous fire at the NPRC. The records for eighty percent of Army personnel from November, 1912  until January, 1960 were destroyed, including most discharges.

Bill’s discharge record was in fact one of those lost. Fortunately, he was able to get access to his personal copy by making a request through the Preble County courthouse in Ohio.

Below is Bill’s Honorable Discharge. It’s a two page document. Click on the images to get full size views.

 

William Clark Discharge Med Res_Page_2 William Clark Discharge Med Res_Page_1

 

There’s a lot of interesting information in some of the fields, like the campaigns he fought in and the decorations he was awarded (See fields 32 and 33).

A few of the fields in the document are difficult to read. They are numbered from left to right horizontally across the page. I’ve put together a key to make it easier to understand. For example, field “22. Date of Induction” is a little fuzzy. Incidentally, it is left blank. Being a volunteer, Bill was not inducted (i.e. never drafted).

Field
Number
Content

1

Last Name, First Name, Middle Initial

2

Army Serial Number

3

Grade

4

Arm Of Service

5

Component

6

Organization

7

Date Of Separation

8

Place Of Separation

9

Permanent Address For Mailing Purposes

10

Date Of Birth

11

Place Of Birth

12

Address From Which Employment Will Be Sought

13

Color Eyes

14

Color Hair

15

Height

16

Weight

17

Number Of  Dependents

18

Race: White/Negro/Other (specify)

19

Marital Status: Single/Married/Other (specify)

20

US Citizen: Yes/No

21

Civilian Occupation and Number

22

Date of Induction

23

Date of Enlistment

24

Date of Entry Into Active Service

25

Place of Entry Into Service

26

Selective Service Data: Registered Yes/No

27

Selective Service Data: Local S. S. Board and Number

28

Selective Service Data: County and State

29

Selective Service Data: Home Address At Time Of Entry Into Service

30

Military Occupational Specialty and Number

31

Military Qualification And Date (i.e. infantry, aviation, and marksmanship badges, etc.)

32

Battles and Campaigns

33

Decorations And Citations

34

Wounds Received In Action

35

Latest Immunization Dates: Smallpox; Typhoid; Tetanus; Other (Specify)

36

Service Outside Of Continental US And Return: Date Of Departure; Destination; Date Of Arrival

37

Total Length Of Service: Continental Service Years, Months, Days / Foreign Service Years, Months, Days

38

Highest Grade Held

39

Prior Service

40

Reason and Authority For Separation

41

Service Schools Attended

42

Education (Years): Grammar; High School; College

43

Longevity For Pay Purposes: Years; Months; Days

44

Mustering Out Pay: Total $; This Payment $

45

Soldier Deposits

46

Travel Pay

47

Total Amount, Name of Disbursing Officer

48

Kind of Insurance: Nat. Serv.; U.S. Govt.; None

49

How Paid

50

Effective Date of Allotment Discontinuance

51

Date of Next Payment Due (One Month After 50)

52

Premium Due Each Month $

53

Intention of Veteran to: Continue; Continue Only $; Discontinue

54

Right Thumb Print

55

Remarks (This space for completion of above items or entry of other items specified in W. D. Directives)

56

Signature of Person Being Separated

57

Personnel Officer (Type Name, Grade And Organization – Signature)

© Copyright Jeffrey Clark 2009 - 2010 All Rights Reserved.

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