Obtaining Grandfather's WWII military records. Do I contact National Archives or whom?

Check with the local VFW and American Legions, if he was a member they would have to have a copy of his discharge and possibly some records for membership purposes. Also I have veterans try their state's ARNG Judge Advocate Generals Offices. The fire in 1973 didn't destroy all records we have sucessfully recovered partially burned pages from those records.

There is only one dumb question,the one you don't ask! There are two possibilities, If your fathers records are not in his home, or bank, then first check the county recorder's office, if his WD separation form and any other documents concerning his active duty were registered with the recorder's office, they can issue a certified copy of all records registered with them! If he did not register his documenta, then the National Archives is the place to submit an SF-180. Some records were destroyed by a fire in 1973. Good luck,if any other family members served, encourage them to register their documents at their county recorders office.

Normally you would fill out an sf-180 but check if it got damaged from the fire in 1973 because I have had issues with that for my grandfather who was army air corp. army air corp was the majority that got destroyed.

National Archives should have it. I know in doing some research for a project, they had stuff back to the Civil War.

If you go to this site: http://www.archives.gov/veterans/
Then select "Request DD214", if you meet the requirements you can get a copy of his DD 214.
Directly below that, you can request a complete set of his medals, again if you meet the requirements to get them, and they will mail them directly to you.
Alternatively, you can complete the paper work for a family member that is qualified to receive them, let that individual sign it and then send it in - same result, just takes a little longer. It does work as I requested my own medals and my father's.

I found my grandmother's WAC DD-214 at the county VA office where she lived. I didn't even know she'd served until AFTER I'd enlisted in the Air Force. My grandfather's and my father's DD-214's were stored in the same office. Now my DD-214 is also on file at that same office.

If you know the state he enlisted in and then returned to after discharge, perhaps the state capital Veterans Affairs/Services may have his AGO-53 (discharge type prior to Korean War when they started issuing DD-214's) on file when he applied for the war bonus.

I've used the Social Security Death Index to look for a social security number if you lack the Death Certificate - The county he died in, their Vital Statistics would have his Death Certificate, sometimes the old death certificates had the service dates when he went in and when he got out on the back.

The website findagrave dot com may have additional information relating to his military service if friends visited and left a memorial behind.

Ancestry dot com may have some limited military information on their site, i.e., grave marker applications which will give you service dates, BIRLS page (veteran personal identification info), etc.. They may have an obituary that relates to him as well that would be filled with lots of useful info. Use their trial period, but cancel before the end of the trial period or they'll bill your credit card direct without your knowledge.

Once you determine the unit he was serving in in Germany, then you can expand your research using advanced searches on .mil or .edu websites a lot of times. You may even find a reunion site for the unit he was in, they have lots of historical documents available.

Using a SF-180 or Vetrecs online application ask for the undeleted AGO-53 discharge and his military personnel files.

Hope this helps.

I am inthe same boat as you lisa. I have been trying to track down records for my wife's grandpa for a year but everything was in that damn fire. Good luck on your search and most importantly have fun with it.

Private Wilson, you have posted a long nagging question that I have concerning my Grandfather. I know he was a naval tail gunner in WWI; and a naval recruiter in WWII.

PV2 (Join to see), do you know any of the units your grandfather served with in WWII. If you are interested in the military history your grandfather participated it, units records would provide from scant to a wealth of information. Many of the major formations such as Divisions and Regiments have museums and historical societies.
One starting point is where he was when he signed up. You mentioned that he trained at Fort Sill [was it Camp Sill].
Many of the units that fought are now National Guard divisions or retired colors. Since as LTC Stephen C. mentioned your grandfather has the Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign medal. Since he does not have either jump wings or a Combat Infantryman Badge he most likely did not serve in an Infantry Battalion or Regiment or Airborne Division.
When he joined would also shed some light, if he came in during 1942 he could have served in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and participated in either the Salerno or Anzio beach assaults.
Since he has an Army of occupation medal he probably served in occupied Germany after the war.
I suspect he participated in the French campaign - either Operation Overload at Normandy or Operation Dragoon in southern France. Since he served in Germany he probably saw one or more of the Nazi extermination or forces labor camps like Buchenwald, Dachau, Flossenburg, Ravensbruck, Sachsenhausen in Germany or possibly Mauthausen in Austria.
Did he leave any letters or notes sent home [through the censors] while he as in the Army? Envelopes and letters could shed a a lot of information.