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Found some old pictures of my Grandfathers during WWII

Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:49 am

Both of my Grandfathers were pilots during WWII and I came across these photos of them. I was wondering if there was a way to find out about their service records.

My Grandfather on my dad's side was in the Navy. He was stationed in Pensacola and flew sub hunter missions in the Gulf in Avengers. The photo of him says ACAD Pilot Training 1944. Anyone know what ACAD refers to? Any way to find out what unit he was assigned to and possibly any photos of the aircraft he might have flown?

Bobbie Carroll
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My Grandfather on my mother's side was in the Air Corps. This picture of him was while he was in flight training in AT-6's. Unfortunately on one of his flight's he went up with an ear infection and once he got to altitude in the unpressurized cockpit, his eardrum burst. Because of that he was dropped from pilot training, but from what I remember he remained at that base as a ground instructor. Unfortunately I don't have any information of what air field he did his training at.

Robert G. Lemons
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Thu Oct 30, 2008 11:49 am

Nice photos. Look into any geneology site and they will have information on getting military records. If you are a surviving relative you should be able to get thier records. I just can't come up with the acronyms and abreviations needed. I do know that the Army records center had a fire around 1973 and tens of thousands of records were destroyed. (They no longer have any records for my father's Army service for example.) Navy records shouldn't be much of a problem.

Thu Oct 30, 2008 6:04 pm

Love the photos, thanks for sharing.

ACAD = Aviation Cadet.

Regards
Steve

Thu Oct 30, 2008 6:12 pm

Actually got a reply to a request for my father's records. You want the:

National Personnel Records Center. They are part of the National Archives and Records Administration.

http://www.nara.gov/regional/stlouis.html

There will be a fee for copying records. It may increase based on how many pages there are.

My father's records btw were destroyed in the fire in July 1973. The only thing I can get from the government is a copy of his final pay voucher. I actually have this DD 214 or the equivalent from 1945 plus a certificate or two. I was hoping for more detail on his different bases but oh well.
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