Slow Week for Genealogy Research

It seems this time between Christmas and the New Year has been a slow one for my research, most of the work on my family has been sorting through papers and trying to get organized.  My dad has been giving me a lot of his old research papers and family photos to go through.

I did manage to send off two requests for military records, form SF 180, to the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO, requesting records for both of my grandfathers.  According to the paperwork, there is no charge for a copy of the records if sent to the next of kin, so I had my parents sign and request the paperwork.  Better to do it now while I can.  I submitted copies of my grandfather's obituaries as proof of death, hopefully that will work.  If not, will resubmit with death certificates, when I obtain them (one of my goals for 2011).

My maternal grandfather, William Lee Wright, served in the U.S. Army Air Corps  during World War II.  My paternal grandfather, Ord Wehrly LeMaster, served in the National Guard in the 1920s.  While I have some military records for Grandpa Wright, I do not have anything on Grandpa LeMaster, and I'm hoping that St. Louis has something in their files.  I understand there was a huge fire in 1973 that may have destroyed the records that I seek.