The uncle I never knew. A Projectkin Members' Corner post for May 2024. Monthly posts from members celebrate their contributions to family history storytelling — in all its forms. Learn more at Projectkin.org/members-corner
Thanks for pointing me to this touching piece about your uncle, Victoria. It's telling that your father searched for the answers – what a loss for him. Thanks for putting together this jigsaw to give insights into your uncle's life.
Thanks for reading, Wendy! Andrew Jr had a lot in common with your Gordon— especially as photographers, I think. And these lingering losses were so common to our generation, looking back for missing members. The comments on your post were striking that way.
This is really an intimate & touching account, shining a light on this unknown & uncelebrated soldier. It constitutes a touching tribute to the many who go unnoticed by history. Thank you, Victoria
Thank you for saying this, Clyde-- yes, he was completely unknown even to me. And he seems emblematic in some way, doesn't he? Of lost youth or a senseless death-- but I am also glad that I have the photo album that makes him into more of an individual too. He can be both.
Great article and so moving! These stories are so hard to write but I'm grateful you and others are writing them even with the not so nice details. More people need to understand that WWII was not just about music and romance and the glory of the Greatest Generation as we have been taught. But also filled with pain and death that impacts us down the generations.
It sounds like you do not have the IDPF and the Air Force Accident Report. I strongly encourage you to get them - see my last comments to you from the other article. You can email if you have any questions - jennifer@ancestralsouls.com
Also - NPRC won't do the research required to reconstruct service history. They will send the final payroll as you mentioned in the article. But to get other details like Morning Reports, Payrolls, and Rosters, you have to go there or hire a researcher like myself. Since he was in service so short a time, there won't be many reports and they will be about his training locations and maybe little other detail. The IDPF may be very short since it was an accident. The Air Force Accident Report will have more and photos - likely NOT of the body but only the plane and crash site. I've not seen photos of remains in those reports - just the site, what was left of the plane(s), etc.
The only other possibility is AFHRA or NARA College Park to see who has any unit records for his training base. There could be a write-up in those files but honestly, the IDPF and Accident Report will tell you the same things.
Yes, this is so helpful, Jennifer. From your last advice I wondered if I might already have the Accident Report in my grandfather's files. I was surprised there was so much detail there. But I've just requested that now from the AFHRA, or I hope I have. I'll see what I get back. I've never done any in person research in military records (I'm a literary historian by training) so going to do that actually sounds fun, though it may not yield much new info. As I write in this piece, I already know so much, luckily. Thanks again for your expertise!
Thanks for pointing me to this touching piece about your uncle, Victoria. It's telling that your father searched for the answers – what a loss for him. Thanks for putting together this jigsaw to give insights into your uncle's life.
Thanks for reading, Wendy! Andrew Jr had a lot in common with your Gordon— especially as photographers, I think. And these lingering losses were so common to our generation, looking back for missing members. The comments on your post were striking that way.
So poignant that your father tried to find out more about his brother’s death decades after he died.
Yes. And amazing that there actually was more information to find. I just got the Air Force accident report, based on a reader’s research tip.
This is really an intimate & touching account, shining a light on this unknown & uncelebrated soldier. It constitutes a touching tribute to the many who go unnoticed by history. Thank you, Victoria
Thank you for saying this, Clyde-- yes, he was completely unknown even to me. And he seems emblematic in some way, doesn't he? Of lost youth or a senseless death-- but I am also glad that I have the photo album that makes him into more of an individual too. He can be both.
I can’t imagine what it must be like, as a parent, to get a telegram like that. My goodness.
This series on Andrew Junior is so moving.
Thank you. I had to include that telegram. It’s not the same paraphrased.
I loved the photos. What a handsome young man.
Hi Victoria,
Great article and so moving! These stories are so hard to write but I'm grateful you and others are writing them even with the not so nice details. More people need to understand that WWII was not just about music and romance and the glory of the Greatest Generation as we have been taught. But also filled with pain and death that impacts us down the generations.
It sounds like you do not have the IDPF and the Air Force Accident Report. I strongly encourage you to get them - see my last comments to you from the other article. You can email if you have any questions - jennifer@ancestralsouls.com
Also - NPRC won't do the research required to reconstruct service history. They will send the final payroll as you mentioned in the article. But to get other details like Morning Reports, Payrolls, and Rosters, you have to go there or hire a researcher like myself. Since he was in service so short a time, there won't be many reports and they will be about his training locations and maybe little other detail. The IDPF may be very short since it was an accident. The Air Force Accident Report will have more and photos - likely NOT of the body but only the plane and crash site. I've not seen photos of remains in those reports - just the site, what was left of the plane(s), etc.
The only other possibility is AFHRA or NARA College Park to see who has any unit records for his training base. There could be a write-up in those files but honestly, the IDPF and Accident Report will tell you the same things.
Wow, Jennifer, thank you for your generosity with this advice not only for Victoria, but also for all who lost loved ones in this way. 🥺
You're welcome!
Yes, this is so helpful, Jennifer. From your last advice I wondered if I might already have the Accident Report in my grandfather's files. I was surprised there was so much detail there. But I've just requested that now from the AFHRA, or I hope I have. I'll see what I get back. I've never done any in person research in military records (I'm a literary historian by training) so going to do that actually sounds fun, though it may not yield much new info. As I write in this piece, I already know so much, luckily. Thanks again for your expertise!
You're welcome! Let me know if you have any questions.
I got the Air Force accident report emailed to me today! Thanks so much for that tip, Jennifer. I have to read it carefully now —
Fantastic!!