I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, but I'm not really sure where I can ask and someone would actually be an expert in the topic.
Basically I am trying to research my Grandfathers role in WWII. He refused to talk about it when I was younger, and I probably could have gotten him to talk before he died, I just didn't think about it.
I found him on the online military records, but basically tells me nothing - He was a private, from st. louis, enlisted at the Jefferson Barracks in Missouri. etc.
My dad (who didn't get much info our of him either) said he was in the 91st division and did something of enough note to get a bronze star and a local article written about him. I believe he also got a purple heart, but none of the medals or article are around (my aunt found this out after he died...not sure how).
So I bought the book "91st division in WWII", but he's not mentioned anywhere in it (though I wasn't really expecting him to be) but he's not even listed in the honor roll.
So before I spend any money on the online ancestry sites. I was wondering if anyone here had some good recommendations to get more in depth info.
Again, I apologize if this is the wrong subreddit. I'm just not sure where to ask.
Edit: He got a bronze star, not silver.
Hmmm, if he got a Silver Star, he must've done something very right - they weren't given out to your average run-of-the-mill GI. There's a reasonably good database on the WWII recipients of the Silver Star here - you may be able to find his citation on the same website as well. If there's no citation, but you find your grandfather's name and the General Order number (looks like "G.O. No # (year)"), make sure to note it down - the Army is fairly good at keeping records.
The next thing to do after that would be to contact the National Personnel Records Centre of NARA and request his service history, which, depending on how good his unit was at record-keeping can be a comprehensive history of his service or just a list of the battles the unit took part in with some medical info mixed in. One way or another, it'll definitely be a start to your research.
Do provide NPRC with as much info as possible - they're quite understaffed, and the more detailed you can be, the faster your request will be processed. (Particularly of use: full name and any aliases/former names, service number, date and location of birth, rank, any awards and their serial numbers or G.O. numbers, dates and places of enlistement and discharge)
After NPRC, you should at least know his unit down to a Company level and that can help you piece together the rest of his service history if you're still curious after that.
I'd avoid online ancestry sites if I were you - they usually provide little added value, try the good folks over at r/Genealogy instead. Also this forum has been of use to me in the past.