My grandfather served in WWII. I know he enlisted prior to Pearl Harbor and served until 1946. Late in his life, I heard a few stories about the war, but never any locations or specifics. After his death, I've tried to find where Grandpa actually was and put together his story.
Unfortunately, in the 1970s, a large fire destroyed many Army personnel records - including my grandfather's.
Are there any other avenues for an amateur researcher like me to piece together a WWII story? (I have his service number, if that's helpful.)
I'd hate to see his story lost forever.
Many thanks.
Hello there! As your question is related to looking for identification/information regarding military personnel, our Guide on Military Identification may be of use to you. It provides a number of different resources, including how to request service records from a number of national agencies around the world, as well as graphical aids to assist in deciphering rank, unit, and other forms of badges or insignia. While the users here may still be able to lend you more assistance, hopefully this will provide a good place to start!