Robert Chandler's Military Service

[drmccoy]

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I found Bob's enlistment record

http://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-...987835,4549799,991002,8565331,5188385,8565346

 

[4Macie]

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I found Bob's enlistment record

http://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=11&tf=F&q=Chandler&bc=&sort=24996 desc&rpp=10&pg=4&rid=8565331&rlst=5136538,4652469,8564216,1000879,987835,4549799,991002,8565331,5188385,8565346

I don't know what a lot of this means, but I see the one year enlistment and the married status; single no dependents.
It's interesting none-the-less. Thank you kindly for your dedication.

 

[captkrisma]

I don't know what a lot of this means, but I see the one year enlistment and the married status; single no dependents.
It's interesting none-the-less. Thank you kindly for your dedication.

I can actually decipher a lot of this for you. He was a PFC when he enlisted, so he likely volunteered rather than be drafted, enlisted when he was 19, and was bussed from Alabama to his basic training location in New Jersey.

Source: I'm in Army.

Maybe we could get Chris to show Bob's DD 214 (the end of enlistment paperwork) if it survived the fire. The AAD shows when Bob joined, but it says nothing about when he got out, or the awards he earned while in service. A DD 214 would show this.

 

[Grand Number of Pounds]

So Bob went into the Army on July 18, 1946, had completed a year of college at the time and was a sheet metal worker before he enlisted.

That's about all I can understand from the form, besides what we already know about Bob and what captkrisma said.

 

[Reldnahcnotsewnaitsirhc]

Submitting a simple FOIA request would net you Bob's 2-1 form at the least.

People do them all the time to verify or bust people who are suspected of stealing valor.

 

[captkrisma]

Also: Army requirements for ASVAB scores are 31, but we can take people in with 20s if they're already skilled in a tradecraft like welding or truck driving, and even then it requires a waiver and a ton of paperwork. Contrary to others' beliefs, the reserves has a higher minimum score of 50, because there are far fewer jobs in the reserves.

We allow homosexuals and bi-sexuals in the service as well...if someone and their partner want to get married, and the state doesn't allow it, commanders are obligated to give that soldier 10 days of free leave to go to a state and get married.

Chris' autism would disqualify him outright for all military service...actually a lot of things he's done would disqualify him. Even if he didn't have autism, his criminal charges (depending on what he got hit with) and weight would bar him.

 

[EI 873]

So Bob went into the Army on July 18, 1946, had completed a year of college at the time and was a sheet \M/ETAL worker before he enlisted.

That's about all I can understand from the form, besides what we already know about Bob and what captkrisma said.

The "one year of college" thing confuses me. I thought he went to school after the military service thing. In the same conversation, he also claims to have been drafted rather than having volunteered. Paperwork screw-up?

 

[4Macie]

The "one year of college" thing confuses me. I thought he went to school after the military service thing. In the same conversation, he also claims to have been drafted rather than having volunteered. Paperwork screw-up?

I would say it's a "Bob forgot because he's old" kinda thing, or he lied... but who lies about being Drafted vs Simply Enlisting?

 

[Power Word]

I don't want to wade through this thread, but would you be able to file for disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, or would one still have to wait the 62 years after discharge?
I've never even tried any of this, and wonder if it would be easier for a family member to do any of this. I ask because I'm interested in my grandfather's WWII service record.

 

[Konstantinos]

So Bob had already been in college and had a fairly technical job when he joined the army.

I still don't understand how it is that Chris is such a massive failure while his Dad was incredibly productive and hard-working.

 

[Tiresome]

So Bob had already been in college and had a fairly technical job when he joined the army.

I still don't understand how it is that Chris is such a massive failure while his Dad was incredibly productive and hard-working.

Maybe because societal changes, a stronger economy and social programs make it easier for a kid born in 1982 to be coddled than one born in 1927.

 

[Dr.Research]

I doubt Bob's military time had any real impact on Chris. He obviously told Chris about some of his service and maybe a story or two, hell maybe when Bob watched TV coverage of politics and military crap he would bring up his past service in a kind of "In my day..." sort of way. Overall it was probably just like having a grandpa in the war more than a father.

 

[drmccoy]

Bob's service number indicates he was drafted specifically for duty in the signal corps. The 40 million series was created in 1942 for draftees who were conscripted for specific duty: in Bob's case perhaps something to do with sheet metal or metal working, I bet. But he would have been considered a "WWII Era" draftee, even though the war was technically over. I believe would have qualified for the GI Bill as well. Basically the Army wanted him for a specific purpose and that purpose had something to do with the signal corps. I bet it had something to do with laying telephone line in Korea, judging from his occupation.

 

[Grand Number of Pounds]

Bob has said before when he got out of the army he went to college on the GI Bill.

And Bob said he was in North Korea with the Signal Corps before the Korean War broke out.

 

[drmccoy]

Bob has said before when he got out of the army he went to college on the GI Bill.

And Bob said he was in North Korea with the Signal Corps before the Korean War broke out.

Well, he didn't see the Korean War, which started in 1950. He was out by Summer of 1947 if his NARA records are accurate. He may have been in North Korea but it would have been working with the Soviet Occupation Army or something. There is very little on the occupation and practically nothing on individual units from what I'm finding.

Scratch that, he wouldn't have in North Korea as Stalin established the puppet Government before that. There's a good chance he was at the border doing things, however.

My speculation on Bob's medals:

-Army Occupation medal with "Korea" clasp
-WWII Victory medal (yep, it would have been authorized based on his intake date)

... and that's probably it. About right for a special service draftee that served for a year.

At this point we've dug more information on the old feller than Chris will ever know.

 

[Grand Number of Pounds]

At this point we've dug more information on the old feller than Chris will ever know.

It's sad that random weens on the internet care more about Bob's military service than his own son.

Chris did say once that his dad was a WWII veteran, so he probably confused something Bob told him.

 

[drmccoy]

It's sad that random weens on the internet care more about Bob's military service than his own son.

Chris did say once that his dad was a WWII veteran, so he probably confused something Bob told him.

In Chris's mindset he probably confused "served right after WWII" with "Served in WWII". Honestly Bob served at a really strange time. I'm actually going to give Chris a pass on that because it would be confusing to a normal son or grandson who only casually knew about his relative's service.

The 1946-1949 Occupation of Korea is little-known, hardly written about and often folded into either WWII or the Korean conflict and, hence, it gets overlooked in the circles of military history. For Koreans it was a time of political violence, insurgent war and American attempts at nation building. That's what Bob did, nation building, so I can see why he took such a liking to the UN and the Korean community around Virginia.

I don't want to wade through this thread, but would you be able to file for disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, or would one still have to wait the 62 years after discharge?
I've never even tried any of this, and wonder if it would be easier for a family member to do any of this. I ask because I'm interested in my grandfather's WWII service record.

You can request his records: the current cut-off is 1952, so Bob's are in the clear. If I have the time I might just do it.

Ninja Edit: This is not because I'm as cool as Skyraider or ween-y. This is something the military collecting community often does in order to trace a uniform or piece of gear. It's fun, challenging and helps preserve the memory of a soldier who may very well have been forgotten otherwise. I feel Bob is in danger of this.

 

[captkrisma]

Not only that, but there are a lot of other Korean War veterans. There's a reason it's called "The Forgotten War".

 

[Stud2Stud]

That's what Bob did, nation building [...]

So. While Bob spend his youth actually help building up a real nation, his son would spend the better part of his life creating a totalitarian nightmare of a fictive city?

Words fail me.

Edit:

Spoiler

I'm just joking.

 

[drmccoy]

Not only that, but there are a lot of other Korean War veterans. There's a reason it's called "The Forgotten War".

If Korean War vets are forgotten (and they are, make no mistake) the occupation guys are positively ignored. If you know somebody who served in the early Cold War period, talk to them! They deserve the recognition. Honestly, and this, I suppose sounds ween-y, I would call Bob if he was still alive and ask him about his time in Korea.

He'd probably enjoy talking about it. I know I would enjoy hearing about it.