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USN Service Records
- Thread starter ehoney
- Start date
I have this exact problem, as my own great uncle was a WWII Naval Aviator. Unfortunately, you may have difficulty- there was a large fire at the records building in the 1970s, and many prior service records were lost forever.
National Archives has service records: https://www.archives.gov/veterans/
ehoney
Not in Kansas anymore
That looks like a handy website, but I think I'm too far away on the family tree from my great uncle to be considered next of kin.
http://content.mocavo-cdn.com/assets/444257/141-thumb_709.jpg
Here's an admission record to Annapolis from the 20's with my great uncle's name towards the top (Edward Oslin Manees). I just want to know what was true about his time in the Navy vs. the tall tales that have been passed down by my family.
707guy
"You can't make this shit up..."
Not sure if he's 100% correct, but there is a retired SEAL who goes after SEAL posers and he has said that there were no Navy records involved in the record building fire.
Other than basic information about promotions, a history of assignments and possibly a record of unit or personal awards, I doubt that there will be much in a service record to prove or disprove sea stories or family lore. There won't be anything of an operational nature in the service record.
What - specifically - are you looking for?
Don Shipley also uses the UDT/BUDS list, which would be a much smaller clump of data.
The SEALs are unique in having a list of all folks who have completed BUD/S training and members of all the predecessor units going back to WWII. It is an 'unofficial' list in that it is not maintained by the Navy but by former SEAL's, obviously they keep it up to date with info provided by active duty folks though and it is accurate. Apparently the list is maintained/accessible by just a few folks and is understandably closely held by them.
As for the records fire there were a few Navy and Marine records affected but it is unknown how many or who (just a few though). It is noted in the Wikipedia summary.
GroundPounder
Well-Known Member
Have you checked with the museum in Pensacola? My grandfather was a Naval Aviator, and we were able to obtain copies of a lot of his training records and flight information from them. My mother got this from them in the past year or so, I will check with her to find out what she had to go through if you would like. I don't think it was very hard, they asked when they were there and got a DVD with all the docs within a few weeks. Wish I could sit down and talk with him again.
TURNER, EWARD BENNETT
Synopsis:
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Eward Bennett Turner, Lieutenant, U.S. Navy (Reserve), for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Fighter Plane in Fighting Squadron FOURTEEN (VF-14), embarked from the U.S.S. WASP (CV-18), in action on 18 October 1944, while deployed in he Pacific War Area. His outstanding courage and determined skill were at all times inspiring and in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Born: February 15, 1917 at Cherokee, South Carolina
Home Town: Green Cove Springs, Florida
I'm not endorsing any particular site, but I had some unexpected "good success" with a certain well-known ancestry/genealogy search site that had uploaded scads of Navy records. I think there's a small fee to join any of these sites for a 30-day trial period. Also found the ship's manifest from when my grandfather immigrated from Ireland in the 1890s…cool beans.
ATJs prior to 1947 are already at NARA (archives.gov).
Any tips on finding them? I've been poking around the site and can't seem to locate any.
I also have a great uncle that was a naval aviator in WWII. He was actually an ace and I've been highly interested for years in finding some documents on him. Google has yielded me a little bit, but not enough.
Edit: nvm. I thought you meant they were online. I will try contacting them, and having a copy shipped. Thanks!
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exNavyOffRec
Well-Known Member
I have heard this from other sources as well, I think the Army had the records that were affected the most, my father in law's records were lost in that fire
I'm curious about that as well. My Grandfather served in WWII, but I'm guessing I would have to have my parents look up the records if they actually are intact?