To Do List

• Received replies from the National Archives' Modern Military Records.
  
  • The first reply was in reponse to my inquiry regarding the troopship index cards.  Didn't give me the information I was looking for.
    
  • The second reply was in response to my inquiry regarding the 111th's Operational Reports.  They want $505.00 for a copy of the full file — 2,000 pages of the entire unit's operational reports.  I will see if I can InterLibrary Loan them here, research them myself, and make copies of the pages I need.  (The entire series is about 2½ miles of paper!)
    

• Confirmed date for UTGenWeb conference — 18 Nov 2000.
  
  
• Received an e-mail from Bob McCall giving exact dates and times of departure / arrival of the USS Custer (the ship that brought the 111th Infantry home to the U.S.)  I'm not yet certain if Charley came home with the rest of the outfit -- since the 111th was aboard the USS Custer from 04 Nov 1945 until 21 Nov 1945, but Charley's Enlisted Record states that his travel period home was from 06 Dec 1945 to 24 Dec 1945.
  

• Mailed a USPS letter to the Judge Advocate General's Office to request a search for Charley's court martial records, if they exist.
  

• Received a reply from the National Archives' Still Picture Branch that they do have two (2) photographs of the USS Custer (APA-40) in their files.  They sent me photocopies of the photographs.  Both show her underway in Papua {New Guinea?} on 18 Sep 1943, one showing her starboard portrait, and the other showing her starboard 45-degree angle.
  

• Received a reply from the National Archives that they will use the Department of Defense's new PDF version of the SF-180 Form.
  
  
• Received replies from BYU and WSU Law Libraries — BYU did have the microfilm I was looking for.  The librarian looked on the index to see if Charley's court martial was listed, but did not find it.  He said that this series was only of court martials that had been appealed.  WSU's series is the post-1950 series.
  
  
• Sent off an attempt to contact the JAG Office regarding obtaining a copy of Charley's court martial.

• Searched for records of a possible court martial of Charley for going AWOL.  One of the records in his Pension Claim File had a mention of the soldier having had gone through a court martial (I don't know if it was pertaining to his personal instance, or whether it was a "rubber stamp" phrase.)  The UofU law library didn't have any Adjutant General's rulings before about 1950, and the BYU law library did have it on their catalog, but the microfiche was not to be found.
  

• Mailed off SF-180 forms to National Personnel Records Center for a copy of Charley's DD-214 (Report of Separation), and to the Medals Section (NPRMA-M) <www.nara.gov/regional/mprawr.html> for replacement of his medals.
  

• Received a packet from Bob McCall containing a lapel pin of the 111th's Distinctive Unit Insignia (photo forthcoming), a source for photos of the USS Custer (online at www.uss-seaweed.com), a copy of "My Buddies in the Service — Co. F 111th Inf" which includes Charley's signature and mailing address (see note at right), the "Uniqueness of the 111th Infantry Regiment (Associators)", and "The 111th Infantry Regiment in World War II".
  
  
• Received a reply from the VA to my request to obtain a copy of Charley's pension application claim file.  They have set an appointment for me to review it tomorrow afternoon.
  
  
• Had a chance to go in today and look over Charley's pension claim file.  It is approximately 1-inch thick, and includes several interesting pieces of information.  They will send me a copy of the entire file in about two weeks.
  
  
• Updated Charley's Military Service Timeline.

• Received an e-mail from Bob McCall stating that he would USPS mail me a form to apply for my grandfather's DD-214 (Report of Separation), and that he had just heard from an old buddy of his who was in the rifle platoons of Company F.  I checked the DOD's Defenselink site, (http://web1.whs.osd.mil), and located the form — the same one that I had requested a few changes be made on it (see below).  To my surprize, the enhancements had already been made!  I sent the Pentagon official who replied to my original request a very thankful e-mail, and forwarded the URL for the page to the NARA help desk and the FamilySearch.org website.
  

• Resent my request to the NARA's Still Picture unit (stillpix@nara.gov) if they had photos of the USS Custer, and the cost of obtaining digital images or photo copies, after I had received a "unknown DNS server" from my original request.  I received a reply asking for my mailing address — if any information was found — I sent back my home mailing address.
  
  I am currently also involved in arranging a "Meet-and-Greet" conference, in November, for the UTGenWeb Project's volunteer County Coordinators here in Salt Lake City, so my research time will currently be divided between the two projects, unless any news develops from my leads that are out there.
  

• Had the Kearns Branch of the Salt Lake County Library locate the listing for the USS Custer in the "Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships". They did locate the entry for the ship, but it included no photos of it.
  
  
• Contacted the Veterans Affairs Hotline (1-800-827-1000), and spoke to a Radine regarding the reply letter I received yesterday.  She will order the file from Seattle, WA, and call me when it arrives.
  

• Received a reply from the VA Regional Office regarding the claim file for Charley's pension.
  
  
• Inquired of the NARA's Still Picture unit (stillpix@nara.gov) if they had photos of the USS Custer, and the cost of obtaining digital images or photo copies.
  
  
• Received details of the negative of the USS Custer held by www.atlanticfleetsales.com, and cost for a copy of the photo.  I will order a copy of this photo if I can (a) verify that Charley sailed on that ship, and (b) unable to find a less expensive copy (ie: from the NARA Still Image unit).
  

• Received a reply from Bob McCall, the contact for the 111th Infantry.  He confirmed that Charley was indeed part of Company F, and that he sailed home on the USS Custer.  (The USS Custer is not listed in the index of "Troopships of World War II", but I will search the "Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships" tomorrow for it.
  
  
• Requested details of the negative of the USS Custer held by www.atlanticfleetsales.com, and cost for a copy of the photo.
  

• Received a portrait of my grandfather in his military uniform from my Aunt Charlene.
  

• Received reply from the Modern Military Reference Desk of the NARA -- they give the impression that they will do the research FOR me.  I sent them Charley's information, his ERRS, and my mailing address.  Hopefully, they will include all source citing information that I had requested, so that I can obtain the original records myself if needed.
  

• Mailed via USPS another letter to the Idaho Adjutant General (with the correct address) for more information on Charley's service.
  

• Received correct address for the Idaho Adjutant General's Office from Jan Evans, TAG assistant.
  

• Still need to locate descriptions of Tolao, ARD-30, and Moczkowaski.
  
  Will hold off on researching ships, until I have a better idea of exactly which ship(s) Charley was tranported in.
  
  
• Checked "Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships" at the Kearns Branch of the Salt Lake County Library for the histories of the Tolao, Young America, Fallon, USS Arlington, and Cape Mendocino troop transport ships.
  
  
• Checked "Troopships of World War II" at the Salt Lake Library for the histories of the Tolao, Young America, Fallon, USS Arlington, and Cape Mendocino troop transport ships.
  
  
• Copied the entire index of ship names from the "Troopships of World War II" book for future reference.  (NOTE: This is not a listing of every ship that transported ships, but merely an exact copy of the index of this book -- so that I don't have to obtain this book to see if a ship is mentioned in it.)
  
  
• Located additional ship arrivals to Washington or Oregon ports in the Deseret News on 25-27 Dec 1945:
  

  Issue	Ships Arriving
  25 Dec 1945	Seattle: None
  26 Dec 1945	Tacoma: USS Arlington from Yokohama, Japan
  27 Dec 1945	Portland: Cape Mendocino from Jinsen, Korea

  
  
• Letter to the Idaho Military Human Resources Officer requesting the correct mailing address for the Idaho Adjutant General's Office.
  
  
• Located a one-file version of the SF-180 file (http://web1.whs.osd.mil/forms/sf0180.pdf), and requested a PDF copy of the file that would allow for the addition of text-input fields.  Received a reply from the Pentagon -- they think it's a good idea, and will try to get it done! (They did update the form!  See above.)
  

• Received returned letter to Idaho Adjutant General with "No such P.O. Box Number" reason given.  (Will need to locate correct address, re-write the letter, and include Charley's ERRS with it.)
  
  
• Mailed USPS letter to Preston Cemetery contact to find out if VFW post paid for Charley's headstone, or more info on his burial.
  
  
• Mailed USPS letter to Preston VFW Post 10323, to see if they have any additional info on Charley's Records.
  

• Received permission for use of the insignia graphic for the 111th Infantry from the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
  

• Added a map of Western US with places of Charley's military service.
  
  
• Created this page for updates of my research findings.
  
  
• Robert McCall (contact for the 111th Infantry) should be forwarding the information I sent him, to the commander of the unit at the time Charley was a member.  He should be USPS mailing it to him this week sometime.
  
  
• E-mail to NARA for assistance in locating the "Adjutant General's [Record Group 407] Historical Data Cards".  (see 20 Sep 2000)
  

• Verified that Charley's discharge papers were NOT registered with Box Elder county clerk's office.  (on-site research of discharge books)
  
  
• Verified that Charley's discharge papers were NOT registered with Franklin county, ID clerk's office.  (on-site research of discharge books)
  
  
• Unable to locate headstones for Joseph Marion and Belle Alice Bennett Perkins (and 2 of their children) in the Weston Cemetery in Weston, Idaho.

• At Marriott Library (at the U of U), located obituary in the Preston Citizen newspaper for Charley.  Mentions that he was working in Malad until he earned enough money to move his family there.
  
  
• At Marriott Library, located a Malad newspaper's (The Idaho Enterprise) "Local News" article mentioning grandma visiting Charley for a few days before he died.  The article mentioned that she was from Logan(?).
  
  

  "{Mrs.} Charles Mitchel [sic] of Logan | {...} few days last week with | {... hus}band who is employed at | {...Ame}rican Food meat market."
  (text partially blocked by previous page overlapping.)

  
  
• Could not locate any discharge articles for Charley in the Logan Herald.
  
  
• According to postings in the Deseret News, only three troop transport ships arrived in Seattle, Washington (nearest port to Fort Lewis, WA.) on the day Charley arrived in the U.S. (24 Dec 1945):
  
  
  • Tolao  (from Adak, Alaska)
    
  • Young America  (from Okinawa, Japan)
    
  • Fallon  (from Leyte, Phillipines)
    
  
  
  
• Received a packet from Sherry O'Conner at the Institute of Heraldry, including documents of approval for the insignia, shield, and crest of the 111th Infantry Regiment.  Also included detailed color photocopies of the designs, and a history of the unit.
  
  
• Received a copy of the history of the unit from Jim Controvich's personal library.
  

• Made a better photocopy of Charley's Deceased Membership Record (page 1, page 2).
  
  
• Located in the Salt Lake Library a 1947 book "Troopships of World War II" that lists every troop transport ship used by the U.S.  It includes a photo of every ship mentioned, says who owned the ship before the war, and it's ownership afterwards, but only gives a narrative of the voyages.
  
  
• Heard of a microfilm of index cards at the National Archives ("Adjutant General's [Record Group 407] Historical Data Cards") that gives each WWII unit's ships used, but cannot locate it.  I have e-mailed the person who posted the message, but have not yet (25 Sep 2000) heard from her.

• USPS letter to the Library and Printer Archives Branch of the NARA to request any information on the 111th Infantry, or Charley's military records.
  
  
• USPS letter to the Washington National Records Center to request any information on the 111th Infantry, or Charley's military records.
  
  
• USPS letter to the Archives II Textual Reference Branch of the NARA to request copies of the 111th Infantry's Unit Operational Records for the 09 Aug 1944 - 09 Jan 1946 period.
  
  
• USPS letter to the National Personnel Records Center to request copies of the 111th Infantry's Morning Reports for the 09 Aug 1944 - 09 Jan 1946 period.

• Received reply to e-mail from Fort Lewis -- they do not maintain discharged personnel records from that long ago.

• Returned via USPS the original information request form (SF-180 front back) to the National Personnel Records Center, along with a copy of Charley's Enlistment Report and Record of Service (ERRS), to help them track down alternate sources for his military records.
  
  
• USPS letter to the VA Regional Office, Utah to request a full copy of the Pension Claim file for Charley  (Claim #06137468).
  
  
• Reply e-mail to the Utah Adjutant General's contact, giving him Charley's ERRS to help in search for his records.
  

• E-mailed the Deputy Adjutant for Installation Operations (DAIO) for Fort Lewis, WA, to see if they have any information on Charley's discharge.