First off I am sorry if this is the incorrect subreddit, please let me know if there is another place I should post this.
I am referencing [this reddit post] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/3k4ff7/raskhistorians_guide_on_finding_family_military/?st=jyivu7gf&sh=42439a0a) that was created 3 years ago in regards to military service records.
This is for my grandfather and I have been in contact with a 3rd party, [Golden Arrow Research] (https://www.goldenarrowresearch.com/historical-research.php), who will charge around $200 to pull any and all records relating to my grandfather during his service in WWII.
This is for a present for my family for the upcoming Veteran's Day, though would it be just as effective to take a trip to D.C. and just do everything myself or is there a degree of professionalism involved with pulling records, things that are easily missed, etc.? Essentially, would it be too difficult for an average person to compile a complete military service record of an individual in a matter of days? If you have any tips and pointers, or have experience doing this I would really appreciate it.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, any and all advice is greatly appreciated.
Using the National Archives is absolutely something you can do yourself. They are used to dealing with people like you who just want to pull family records. It's not difficult. You might spend some time before you go familiarizing yourself with the catalog, but there will be someone there who can help you fill out the call slip to get what you need.
The one thing about the National Archives is that they pull records at specific times each day, not just whenever someone asks. So you'll want to be sure to arrive in time to get your slips filled out before the first call time. I don't know off hand what time that is, but you could always call and ask.
You'll also want to be sure that the records you're looking for are there. Since this is for your grandfather, I'm assuming that the records you are looking for are not that old. They may be held at the National Personnel Records Center in Missouri.