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  1. #1

    Don't know where else to start.

    Hi,

    I'm really sorry if I'm not entirely sure where to put this, but this is the closest place I could find that relates to my issue.

    I'm the daughter of a Marine (who has since passed). I will start there.

    My dad meant the world to me, and what meant the world to my dad was the Corps. Long after he was discharged, he was still a Marine. He ran his household like one and I had it drilled into me at a very young age how important the Corps was to our life as a family. My dad shared some stories of his time in Vietnam, but they were hazy, vague stories, because he didn't like to touch on the subject that much.

    My dad passed away in 2005. I am desperately trying to retrace his story in some attempt to understand him more deeply, and his love for the Marines, as I consider making the same plunge into service that he did.

    My question specifically is how I can go about finding a yearbook from the Vietnam era. I know that my dad graduated from Parris Island, and I know he was in Camp Lejeune. I also know that he was deployed to Da Nang, so it's likely he served from 1965-1969. It's also likely that he was part of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines - but of this I am not totally sure. I am trying to track down a man that I *heard* saved his, and several other peoples' lives. But the easiest place to begin is to find a yearbook with my dad's picture and name in it.

    Does anybody have numbers, websites, or access to any copies of the USMC yearbooks?


  2. #2
    With out more specific information it impossible to help you at this time.I suggest that you get a copy of his service record.Start at the below link.

    http://www.archives.gov/veterans/mil...rvice-records/


  3. #3
    Thanks for the link. I have a problem with filling that out, though: I don't know what his service number was. Is there any way to find that out?


  4. #4
    Marine Platinum Member Zulu 36's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by UnderINK View Post
    Thanks for the link. I have a problem with filling that out, though: I don't know what his service number was. Is there any way to find that out?
    You can get by without it if you have a social security number and the rest of his data. I've obtained service records on people who served pre-1972/73 without the service number.

    Do you have ANY of his old records, such as his DD-214 (Record of Separation from service). That document will have his service number on it. Even copies of old transfer orders will have his service number if they are dated before 1972/73.

    Just put "unknown" in the block for the SN if you can't find it. That way the archive people know you didn't just forget to include it.

    Good luck. Keep us posted on how you do.


  5. #5
    Mongoose
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zulu 36 View Post
    You can get by without it if you have a social security number and the rest of his data. I've obtained service records on people who served pre-1972/73 without the service number.

    Do you have ANY of his old records, such as his DD-214 (Record of Separation from service). That document will have his service number on it. Even copies of old transfer orders will have his service number if they are dated before 1972/73.

    Just put "unknown" in the block for the SN if you can't find it. That way the archive people know you didn't just forget to include it.

    Good luck. Keep us posted on how you do.
    Chris, if they have his DD-214, it should show his last major command on it.


  6. #6
    Marine Platinum Member Zulu 36's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mongoose View Post
    Chris, if they have his DD-214, it should show his last major command on it.

    That's true, Billy, but getting the service record gives them the whole ball of wax, particularly if he belonged to a stateside unit after Vietnam. Or even more than one, like I did.


  7. #7
    Marine Free Member Apache's Avatar
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    Fair winds to you on your quest.

    Don't hesitate to let us know your outcome.


  8. #8
    Thanks for all of the responses.

    As I said to somebody in a private correspondence, we once-upon-a-time had all of his military records, but after his death in 2005 they were stolen (along with his urn and all of the things I legally inherited) by a disowned member of the family. I remember once looking at both his separation record and his service number, but I never thought (as a kid, obviously) to copy them for any reason.

    His name is unfortunately EXTREMELY common, "Robert Wilson" with no middle name. The only things I know about his service in Vietnam is that he was a sharpshooter and a tunnel rat. He was extremely short (5'6" or less during his service). And he served with a man named Randall, "Randy", who, supposedly, jumped on a grenade and messed up his face to the point of needing several reconstruction surgeries (I don't actually know for sure whether or not this man died, or whether the rumors that he retired to North Carolina are true). I know he graduated from Parris Island and that he was in Camp Lejeune before deployment.

    I will try writing "Unknown" in the service number spot and see if I can still obtain his records that way. I will keep you updated if that works.


  9. #9
    Another profile that needs a lot of work.


  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Old Marine View Post
    Another profile that needs a lot of work.
    Considering every members profile is viewable to anyone who clicks on a member's name and the hundreds of "bots" viewing the forums.I see nothing wrong with this member's profile at the present time.


  11. #11
    Sorry for the thread bump. I didn't find everything I needed to find yet, but I did find his obituary and got an exact lock on his date and rank and wanted to post it here so it's kept. I also found some pictures of him, but unfortunately not until he'd already left the service - so I don't think anyone would recognise him out of uniform.

    Anyway, to keep this here and keep updating this gradually until I get enough information, I've found out that:


    He served as a corporal in the U.S. Marie Corps during the 1963-1967 Vietnam era.




    Again, sorry for the bump. I'll post here again when I have more definitive information. Still working on getting his records.


  12. #12
    Marine Free Member Bruce59's Avatar
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    UnderINK, when your dad died did he have a military funeral? can't have any type
    of Military funeral without DD214. Check the news papers in the town were the
    funeral was. each step will bring you a little closer.


  13. #13
    Marine Free Member m14ed's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by UnderINK View Post
    Sorry for the bump.............................

    I also found some pictures of him, .............
    (but unfortunately not until he'd already left the service) - ..........

    I don't think anyone would recognise him out of uniform.

    He served as a corporal in the U.S. Marie Corps during the 1963-1967 Vietnam era.
    Good luck on your quest younglady...
    . You may be surprised to find that your dads pictures of him NOT in UNIFORM
    are still more than likely to very much help in his recognition.....................................
    . Even after taking more than 40 years to find friends from Vietnam Service Theater, - Facial Recognition came almost immediately .( When it came to friends and brothers) its more than the uniform....

    Post it......

    . Give it a shot,, it may be the only bullet you have in your rifle that works.............

    Post it,,, US old farts may still be able to see


    (So i shoulda said Cartridge, Sue Me )


  14. #14
    He chose not to have any funeral at all, Bruce59. We had a very quiet home eulogy. He didn't even want a coffin. He was cremated immediately.

    He was given a folded flag that was stolen from me by my oldest brother. I don't know who, if anybody, contacted the military about his death to receive it though.


  15. #15
    m14ed, these are the pictures I found of him after he left the service. One I believe was in his twenties and the other in his thirties. I saw pictures of him in the service and he didn't look much different. In the offchance anybody DOES recognise him, that would be amazing. If not, no harm. Thank you!

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