Chesno Disappointment

If you'll remember, not long ago I wrote a blog about my grandfather's birthday and how I totally skipped by it. Well, that event inspired me to write the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO. They are the repository of military records and I wanted my grandpa's.

I filled out the paperwork, and sent it along last month. I didn't expect a response in anything less than six months, but last Saturday when I was doing bee hives the mailman brought me a letter from our folks at the NPRC.

Turns out that in 1973 there was a fire at the repository and many records were affected. It turns out that my grandfather's were included in the burn. They were able to reconstruct a very few details such as his entry and discharge dates, where he was discharged (not 30 mins from my house), and most interesting to me, two medals he was awarded and that he was discharged as a PFC.

I find that incredibly interesting because he told me he was promoted and busted down several times during the war and wasn't on a career fast track or anything. He did tell me also that he was a sergeant in the Army--which is my current rank. Sergeant is two ranks higher than PFC. Wonder what he did to get busted down two ranks . . . Guess I'll never know.