I am looking into family and their military service and have found many interesting stories. One involves My grandfathers Brother and an unfortunate set of circumstances that lead to him being posted to France at the very end of the war as a US soldier but being killed in what appears to be an accidental shooting. I am wondering if any one can assist in finding out more? My Great Uncle William Frederick Dix was born in the US (Ohio) in 1925 but returned to England with my Grandfather and their parents in the early 1930's. On the out break of war he was originally called up as a Bevin Boy. He later took US Citizenship and signed up to the US Army in Dec 1945. He was a Private in the 11th Traffic Regiment Group of the US Army Transportation Corps and posted to Northern France in 1946. My grandfather tells of how his brother was shot and killed in Northern France by Friendly fire on the 23rd May 1946. He is buried in a US War grave in Lorriane, france. Little is known of the exact incident and I am interested in both the incident and any records of his unit at that time.
To find the information you are seeking you will want to request his "Individual Deceased Personnel File", IDPF for short. It should contain the details surrounding the death of your loved one and any Army investigation that may have been conducted at the time. Copies of letters between the Army and the soldier's next of kin should also be in this file. It is available to you under the Freedom Of Information Act ( FOIA ) from the US Army Human Resoures Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Here is a sample letter on how to request the IDPF: U.S. Army Human Resources Command ATTN: FOIA Office 1600 Spearhead Division Avenue Fort Knox, KY 40122 Dear Sirs, IAW with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), I should like to request a copy of the Individual Deceased Personnel File for my uncle, , who died in World War II. Below is his personal information: - NAME: - RANK: - ASN: - UNIT: - DATE OF DEATH: I realize that this will take some time, and I will be patient. Naturally, I am prepared to pay any costs necessary for the production and mailing of the file. They usually do not charge a fee for this file if you are a relative. Be sure to include all your contact information including your e-mail address. I believe their preferred method now is to send the IDPF in an e-mail instead of a hard copy. Their e-mail address is usarmy.knox.hrc.mbx.foia@mail.mil. Be aware that sometimes it may take as long as 6 months to a year to receive your file, I don't think that is usually the case but be patient. Unit records such as after action reports, journals, and histories can be requested from the National Archives through their website archives.gov. They do charge for producing these files but they will detail the costs before sending. Good luck in your search and just let me know if I can of further assistance.
Buk2112 Many thanks, I will try this. It'll be interesting to see what records there are just for interest and add to the family history. Thanks
Received an e-mail from the US Army to inform me they have located the records and are having them sent to them before sending them on to me in PDF form. got a 5-6 month wait but thats OK it is records from 1946 so I can wait.
Be sure to post what you find out, we all would enjoy reading about it. I am still waiting for a IDPF that I requested back in January, nearly 10 months ago. Yet another I received within a matter of a few weeks, so you never know how long it will take. Good luck.
