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.

 

 

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)

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