Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 2/27/2009

Question
Can you tell me where to write for medical records from Ft. Leonard, Missouri military hospital from 1944?  My father was a pilot in WW2 in the Pacific Theatre from March, 1942 - October, 1944.  His plane crashed and I'm told he spent about 6 months in the hospital at Ft. Leonard, Missouri before being discharged.  Also, how would I go about finding details on the crash if I don't have the exact date?  Thanks so much for any info.

Answer
Kathy,
That would have been the Army post Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, at the hospital called General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital.  It is still in operation today.
To get a copy of your father's military records you need to write to The National Personnel Records Center, Military Personnel Records (NPRC-MPR), in St. Louis, MO.  It is the repository of about 75 million military personnel.  The records contain the health and medical records of discharged and deceased veterans of all services during the 20th century.

You may write a letter requesting a copy of his records.  Requests must contain enough information to accurately identify his record.  You must include the veteran's complete name used while in service, service number or social security number, branch of service, and dates of service.  Date and place of birth may also be helpful, especially if the service number is unknown, also the place of discharge, last unit of assignment, and place of entry into the service, if known.
If you want to make it simpler, you can fill out an on-line request which lets you just fill-in the blanks, as best as you can.  You can find this form online at:

http://usmilitary.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=usmilitary&cdn=ca...

As a legitimate next-of-kin of a deceased veteran you  have rights to full access to his record.  It will give you details such as which unit he was assigned to and the extent of his injuries, etc.  Official records usually only state that he was in a plane crash, and will at least give you the exact date of the crash.  As to exactly how and why he crashed, you probably won't find that unless it was included in the citation which accompanied the award of a Purple Heart medal.  His records will at least give you the exact date of the crash.  Try this, and if you can't find what you're looking for follow-up with me and I'll suggest some other ways to find what you need.
Good luck,
Colonel H