Military Roll of Valor Act
Analysis Prepared by
C. Douglas Sterner
3111 Thatcher Avenue
Pueblo, CO 81005
(719) 564-1755
"A nation reveals itself not only by the men it
produces but also by the men it honors, the men it
remembers."
President John F. Kennedy
October 26, 1963
OVERVIEW
In 1919 with American Doughboys returning from Europe following a swift victory against the
Central Powers in Europe, General John J. Pershing noted, "Time shall not diminish the glory
of their deeds."
In fact, though time has not diminished the deeds of those who served in World War I, or
other wars before or since, time HAS allowed the accounts of the valiant deeds of American men
and women in combat service during time of war to become lost. Descendents seeking to learn
the details of valorous actions performed by an uncle, cousin, grandparent, or even a parent,
usually finds those deeds scattered in history and difficult to find.
The following pages detail wide-spread problems with the preservation of military records
that make it difficult even for living veterans to obtain official records of their service, their
individual acts of valor, and the citations for their own awards. As a result of these problems, we
propose Congressional action calling for a three-step process to revamp the military records
system and bring it into line with Twenty-First Century technology:
PHASE 1. The integration of the multiple and varied official databases containing veterans'
records into a single, comprehensive, and historically accurate database, and the
use of technology to correct omissions.
PHASE 2. Transcription of the citations for ALL military awards into a readily accessible
electronic database.
PHASE 3. The gradual transition of warehoused individual military records for all branches
of service and in all wars and historical periods into a centralized digital database
of accessible information.
The fiscal impact of such a project will be found largely in the transcription of original
documents into a digital database, the bulk of which will be accomplished in Phase 2 of this
effort. While further study may be necessary to determine an accurate cost and time frame for
this, the most critical aspect of the project, we believe it can be accomplished in a two-year
period for a cost of SIX to TEN MILLION dollars.
The benefits of this project are multiple and varied. Not the least of these is the fact that the very
least that we can do as a nation is to maintain and make available a complete and accurate record
of the service, valor and sacrifice of those who serve in defense of freedom. Maintenance of
these records is also an important part of historical preservation. Ancillary to all of this is the fact
that a complete and accurate record of military service will also be a deterrent to fraud, and will
result in recovery of significant sums of VA payments that are based upon fraudulent paperwork.
Table Of Contents
PRECEDENTS FOR MILITARY RECORDS ................................................................... 1
The Revolutionary War through World War I ..........................................................................1
World War II .............................................................................................................................3
Korean War to Present ..............................................................................................................4
REPOSITORIES FOR MILITARY AWARDS .................................................................. 5
Individual Veteran's Records ....................................................................................................5
National Personnel Records Center ......................................................................................5
The NPRC Fire .....................................................................................................................6
Unit Records .............................................................................................................................6
National Archives and Records Administration ...................................................................6
Marine Corps Archives .........................................................................................................7
Navy Yard Index Card Files .................................................................................................7
Coast Guard History Office ..................................................................................................8
U.S. Air Force Award Citations ............................................................................................8
Other Existing Databases ..........................................................................................................8
American Battle Monuments Commission ...........................................................................8
NARA Database of War Casualties ......................................................................................9
Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office Database ..............................................................9
Other Official or Unofficial Databases .................................................................................9
Home Of Heroes Awards Database ....................................................................................10
PRESERVATION OF VALOR ACT .............................................................................. 12
Phase One - The Database ......................................................................................................12
Phase Two - Digitizing All Award Citations ..........................................................................15
Marine Corps Awards .........................................................................................................15
Navy Awards ......................................................................................................................17
Army Awards ......................................................................................................................17
Air Force Awards ................................................................................................................19
Phase One Summary ...........................................................................................................19
Phase Three - Transitioning To Digital Records ....................................................................19
APPENDIXES ................................................................................................................I
Currently Available Online Databases...................................................................................... i
BENEFITS AND VALUES OF A NATIONAL DATABASE ............................................... II
Exposing and Eliminating Fraud ............................................................................................. ii
Medals Fraud ....................................................................................................................... ii
License Plate Fraud ............................................................................................................. iv
Veterans Benefits Fraud ...................................................................................................... iv
Positive Values of such a Database ..........................................................................................v
Preserving and Honoring our Heroes ....................................................................................v
Lost Heroes ...........................................................................................................................x
FOUND--An American Hero ............................................................................................ xii
Precedents for Military Records
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR THROUGH WORLD WAR I
U.S. Military records can be found as far back as the American Revolutionary War.
Individual military units maintained unit rosters, muster rolls, payrolls, action reports, and the
accounts of outstanding actions by individual soldiers. General George Washington and other
general officers issued directions from their commands in what became known as "General Orders".
One such General Order (G.O.) was issued by General Washington from his headquarters in
Newburgh, NY, on August 7, 1782. In that G.O. General Washington provided for our military's first
individual decoration, the Badge for Military Merit. (This award was revived in 1932 as the Purple
Heart.)
Beyond setting forth the criteria for this award and the special privileges to be accorded those
upon whom it was bestowed, General Washington further noted:
 Before this favor can be conferred on any man, the particular fact or facts on which it
is to be grounded must be set forth to the commander-in-chief.
 The name and regiment of the person with the action so certified are to be entered in
the Book of Merit, which will be kept at the orderly office.
From 1776 to the beginning of the Civil War, slightly more than 688,000 men and women
served in military service through the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Indian campaigns,
and the war in Mexico. Battle deaths numbered fewer than 10,000, and beyond THREE awards of
Washington's "Badge for Military Merit" during the Revolutionary War, the only individual
recognition for soldiers was the "Certificate of Merit" which was established during the war with
Mexico. Only 539 Certificates of Merit were awarded.
Nearly 2.25 million men and women served in the Union Army1, Navy, and Marine Corps
during the War Between the States, commonly called the Civil War. In 1861, in order to "promote
the efficiency of the Navy", Congress established the Navy Medal of Honor. President Lincoln
authorized the Army Medal of Honor the following year. These comprised the sole individual
military medal granted by either the War Department (Army) or the Department of the Navy for
combat valor until 1917. Ultimately, a total of 1,522 Medals of Honor were awarded for heroism in
the Civil War. Each Medal of Honor was documented in a War Department General Order or in
orders published by the Navy Department, setting forth the recipients' name, unit, and an account of
the deeds that merited the award. This was a practice in keeping with George Washington's earliest
provisions.
By 1917, prior to America's entry into World War I, 3.2 Million men and women had served
in the military, netting 2,463 Medals of Honor, and as many as 2,000 Certificates of Merit (the
remainder beyond the earlier Mexico campaign coming during the Spanish American War, the
action in China in 1900, and the Philippine Insurrection.) Each of these nearly 5,000 individual
recognitions was detailed in a General Order, and compilations of these citations were regularly
1
More than ONE Million men and women also served in the Army or Navy of the Confederacy, which established its
own "Medal of Honor".
-1-
published by both the Navy and War Departments, as well as by veterans organizations and private
publishers.
The Roll Call of American veterans doubled during World War I, when more than 4.7
million men and women served in uniform. (Only about 2 million served in combat theaters.) Their
service from 1917 to 1918 was predated by two major actions effecting individual recognitions:
1. New criteria established that the Medal of Honor could ONLY be presented for the
highest degrees of heroism, above and beyond the call of duty. A total of 911 Medals
of Honor previously granted and subsequently determined to be frivolously awarded,
were revoked. Furthermore, due to a small pension granted to those who received the
Medal of Honor, Congress mandated a "Roll of Honor" be maintained containing the
names of all who received this highest award.
2. A Pyramid of Honor was established, which was a series of new medals in
descending order of precedence, designed to recognize the valorous actions of
individuals whose heroism did not rise to the level of the Medal of Honor.
Furthermore, this new Pyramid of Honor included meritorious medals to recognize
non-combat devotion to duty that were of a marked character. These included, in
order of precedence:
Medal of Honor
War Department (Army)
Navy Department
Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Medal2
Distinguished Service Medal
Navy Cross
Citation
Star
The citation Star was strictly an Army award, consisting of a 3/16" star
worn on the victory ribbon. It was granted to those who were
commended for gallantry in action by their commanders at Brigade or
higher level. In 1932 the Citation Star became the SILVER STAR
MEDAL, and remained solely an Army award (though it had been
presented by the Army to Sailors and Marines), until August of 1942.
Silver Star Medal
During World War I, official communications from the various commands were published in
General Orders. General Orders were also issued detailing awards of the Medal of Honor,
Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medals, Navy Cross, and included a narrative of
the individual actions that warranted commendation that ultimately was recognized by the Citation
Star. In fact, during the war itself, only about five Medals of Honor were awarded. The balance of
the 119 Medals Of Honor awarded for World War I heroism resulted from a review of the General
2
During World War II the Navy Distinguished Service Cross and the Navy Cross were reversed in precedence with the
Navy Cross taking second place in the Pyramid of Honor, after the Medal of Honor.
-2-
Orders for awards of the Distinguished Service Cross. Similarly, these same General Orders were
reviewed to determine which individual citations met the criteria of "gallantry in action" for award of
the citation star. (After 1932 these citation stars were converted, upon a recipient's request, to the
Silver Star Medal.) Furthermore, pre-World War I recipients of Certificates of Merit were authorized
to request conversion of their Certificates to the Distinguished Service Medal, and later to the
Distinguished Service Cross. This recognition of these heroes during and prior to World War I
would not have been possible without the detailed records of their actions contained within the
published General Orders, and republished both officially and privately for wide distribution.
The originals of these General Orders were remitted to the custody of the National Archives
and Records Administration (NARA) in Washington, D.C., to preserve them for posterity. To make
the records of individual valor more widely available, in 1927 the War Department published a
nearly 1,000-page compendium titled American Decorations, 1862 - 1927, which contained the
citations of all Army awards of the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, and Distinguished
Service Medal. (Five supplements were published between 1927 and 1941 to detail new or late
awards.) The published volume included the following information on each recipient of the above
awards:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Full Name
Service Number
Rank and Unit
Date and Place of Action
Place of Birth and Home of Record
A textual synopsis of the deed(s) for which the award was granted
Next of Kin in cases of a Posthumous Award
General Order Number authorizing the Award
Seven years prior to that Official compendium of the names and deeds, Harry R. Stringer, an
independent researcher and historian, compiled the same information in privately published books,
Heroes All (Army Awards), and The Navy Book of Distinguished Service. President Woodrow
Wilson acknowledged the importance of this compendium by personally writing the forward for
Stringer's books.
WORLD WAR II
In 1932 General Washington's Badge for Military Merit was revived as the Purple Heart
Medal, to be granted to those wounded or killed in action. In that same interim between the world
wars, aviators were authorized a new decoration in the Distinguished Flying Cross, which was
basically on par with the other Distinguished Service Medals. By the time World War II began, the
list of American military decorations had increased, and continued to increase throughout the war.
During World War II additional awards were established: the Air Medal to recognize distinguished
service among primarily enlisted men (though it was also awarded to officers), and the Bronze Star
as the ground forces' counterpart to the Air Medal. Also during World War II the Legion of Merit
was established.
The sheer number of men and women in service during World War II, a force numbering 16
million, placed unprecedented burdens on those who recorded the deeds recognized by these awards.
-3-
Furthermore, the expanding inventory of awards added to the problem of accurately recording all
awards in a centralized compendium. Consider the following comparison of the number of World
War II awards in contrast to the total number for all previous wars, and it becomes obvious that
maintaining a centralized database of all awards was a nearly impossible task for a nation
preoccupied with saving the world:
1862 - 1941 1942 - 1945
Medal of Honor
2,608
464
Distinguished Service Cross
6,503
5,065
Navy Cross
2173
3,959
Silver Star
20,000*
80,000*
Killed in Action3
278,153
291,557
Wounded in Action
502,390
291,557
*The number of Silver Star awards is a estimate based primarily
upon my data entry to date.
In addition to the above medals, tens of thousands of Distinguished Flying Crosses, Air
Medals, Bronze Stars, Navy Marine Corps Medals, and other decorations were awarded. Despite the
sheer number of individuals in service, and the exponentially larger number of individual awards,
EACH and EVERY award was documented in a General Order issued by the various commands.
These G.O.s are maintained today at NARA, and comprise a record of all World War II veterans
who received virtually ANY individual medal, including distinctive badges such as the Combat
Infantryman's Badge.
This sheer number of awards, and the pressing matters at home to produce the necessary
material for support of the war, precluded a compendium of award recipients such as was generated
for the World War I recipients. Even so, throughout the war, the Navy's official "All Hands"
monthly publication listed hundreds of recipients of the Medal of Honor, Navy Cross, Distinguished
Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Navy Marine Corps Medal, Air Medal, Bronze Star,
and others, with a synopsis of the individual citations. To my knowledge, no similarly extensive
compendium for Army/Air Force Awards was thus published, though Army publications did
highlight various award recipients in official periodical publications.
KOREAN WAR TO PRESENT
The total number of post-World War II awards combined (which includes the Cold War,
Korean War, Vietnam, Gulf War, Somalia, Panama, the Global War on Terrorism, and other smaller
actions), do not rise to the sum of the World War II awards. Nonetheless, since World War II our
nation has been even more remiss in properly compiling the names and deeds of those who receive
even our highest awards other than the Medal of Honor. Initially during the Korean War "All Hands"
3
Those Killed in Action or Wounded in Action would be those men and women awarded the Purple Heart.
-4-
did not follow its World War II precedent of listing award recipients and their actions each month.
"All Hands" did renew the precedent mid-war, but did NOT resume it again thereafter.
The end result is, while it is difficult to find the citation for a Distinguished Service Cross
awarded in World War II (most of these were destroyed in the 1973 fire discussed later), it is nearly
impossible to find a DSC citation for an award issued in the Korean or Vietnam War. And a Silver
Star citation from any war in history is a rarity.
Despite the difficulty of obtaining an individual citation from the National Personnel Records
Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, which is the repository for the INDIVIDUAL records of nearly all
veterans from WWI to present, those citations do exist. Every award to date has been issued under a
General Order or Special Order issued by the various commands. These G.O.s are indexed by
command, date, and G.O. number, but NOT by recipient name. Therefore, the problem in obtaining
an individual citation from NARA when no record can be found at NPRC, is identifying the specific
G.O. (out of tens of thousands) that contains the account being sought.
Repositories for Military Awards
INDIVIDUAL VETERAN'S RECORDS
National Personnel Records Center
While in active duty service, every member of the military has and carries from assignment
to assignment, a personal folder (201 File) containing a complete record of that member's military
service including education, awards, deployments, etc. Upon release from duty, that file is
warehoused at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri. NPRC maintains the
records of nearly all veterans of all branches of service since World War I.4 One must keep in mind
that the records housed here are INDIVIDUAL records (though some unit records are also kept
here.)
It is to NPRC that veterans, family members, descendents of veterans, historians,
Congressional Offices, media, and others turn when seeking information on an individual veteran.
Publicly releasable information is provided by NPRC upon request, either by the veteran or their
next of kin through either a written or online request, and to independent third parties who submit a
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Generally, requests for information on an individual
veteran who was discharged after 1960 meets with a successful response. Sadly, aging veterans of
service in World War II or Korea, as well as family members of a deceased veteran of those wars, is
informed that "no record exists for that veteran". In fact, more than one out of every two requests for
records on a WWII or Korean War veteran will result in this response--RECORD DOESN'T EXIST.
4
The records of personnel listed as MIA (Missing in Action) are warehoused by the Casualty and Memorial Affairs
Operation Center in Alexandria, VA. Records of individuals currently on active duty status are maintained by the HR
departments of the various services, or in the case of National Guard members, by their individual State Departments.
-5-
The NPRC Fire
On July 12, 1973, a fire destroyed 8 to 10 million records, largely those of World War II and
Korean War service in either the U.S. Army or U.S. Air Force. (Navy and Marine Corps records are
housed in a separate building, and were untouched.) Lost in that fire were:
 80% of the records for members of the Army who were discharged from November 1,
1912 to January 1, 1960.
 75% of the records for U.S. Air Force Personnel discharged between September 25,
1947 and January 1, 1964, with last names after Hubbard, James E.5
As regards these lost records, NPRC has noted, "No duplicate copies of the records that were
destroyed in the fire were maintained, nor was a microfilm copy ever produced. There were
no indexes created prior to the fire. In addition, millions of documents had been lent to the
Department of Veterans Affairs before the fire occurred. Therefore, a complete listing of the
records that were lost is not available."
UNIT RECORDS
National Archives and Records Administration
Unit records, that is, the historical data pertaining to the service and campaigns of specific
military Divisions, Ships, Regiments, Air Forces, etc., are generally a part of American History that
is preserved at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Washington, D.C.
This includes the un-indexed General Orders for virtually ALL awards to members of each
individual unit. The citation for the Silver Star awarded to "Private John Doe" of the 36th Infantry
Division in World War II may have, in fact, been destroyed in the St. Louis fire. But the General
Order authorizing that Silver Star, along with the narrative of why it was awarded, exists in the
volumes of General Orders issued by the 36th Infantry Division now maintained by NARA.
For the veteran, or family member of a veteran, who is willing to pay a private researcher a
fee, that "lost" citation can be found. (Fees range from an uncommon low of $50 per hour to $250
per hour. Though no official index of the names contained in the various G.O.s exists, private
researchers have generated various indexes to help them find individual citations for their clients.)
Each of those General Orders usually includes not only the award recipients' name and an
account of the actions that merited the award, but also their Service Number, rank, unit, date and
place of action, if they were wounded or killed in action, and frequently their home state. Quite
simply, the official indexing of those General Orders would restore the most BASIC information on
at least half of the 8 to 10 million veterans whose records were lost in the 1973 fire.
Furthermore, there are literally THOUSANDS of awards that were in process for World War
II returning veterans when the war ended, that were subsequently approved or even upgraded that
never made it into the individual veteran's files at NPRC. As we will demonstrate later, this has
resulted in a number of recipients of our highest awards (including the Navy Cross and
Distinguished Service Cross) never even knowing that they received so high and rare a medal. We
believe there are many families of heroes who were killed in action that have never been notified
that their loved one received some of these high recognitions for their valor. An indexing of these
5
Airmen of World War II were members of the U.S. Army Air Force, thus they are included in the 80% of ALL Army
World War II records destroyed in the fire.
-6-
General Orders, when cross-referenced with the NPRC personal files, would uncover these lost and
forgotten heroes and properly preserve a record of those awards.
For the most part, indexing of these General Orders would affect primarily the reconstruction
of the records for U.S. Army and World War II U.S. Army Air Force veterans. Navy, Marine Corps,
and Air Force records are generally found in other repositories.
Marine Corps Archives
The United States Marine Corps has admirably catalogued and archived the history of its
heroes in a manner to be emulated by other services. Marine Corps archives at the Personnel
Management Division MMMA-4 at Quantico, Virginia, maintains a largely complete electronic
database of all Marine Corps personnel in history, biographies of prominent Marines, and copies of
the citations for nearly ALL awards to U.S. Marines in history. Frankly, transcription of all Marine
Corps records to obtain a complete, comprehensive, and accurate electronic "Roll of Honor" would
be a rather simple and economical matter.
Navy Yard Index Card Files
The Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., maintains 52 drawers of index cards containing the
citations for what comprises nearly all awards (down to letters of commendation) to members of
both the Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps. Below is a sample from one such card, many of which are
printed on two sides to contain the full text of an award:
In all, there exists an estimated 325,000 individual cards containing the text for citations for
awards to members of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps from World War II to present. These
original records record the information frequently most sought by family members and/or even the
veteran themselves, and often contain text not found in the NPRC files. Since most veterans or
family members are not even aware that this card file exists, if a Navy Cross Citation is NOT in the
individual's NPRC file, the family member gives up their quest as a lost cause. (I am personally
aware of many WWII recipients of the Navy Cross who no long have their original citations and
would dearly love to be able to reconstruct it from these card files.) The same could be said for
recipients of the so-called lesser awards: Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Navy Marine
Corps Medal, etc. Furthermore, the small and over-burdened staff at the Navy Yard, is usually
unable to respond to requests for copies of individual cards.
-7-
Coast Guard History Office
Despite its smaller size, the U.S. Coast Guard also has a
distinguished record of valor in combat. One member of the
Coast Guard received a Medal of Honor in World War II, 55
members of the Coast Guard have received the Navy Cross, and
many have also received Silver Stars. (To date I have identified
nearly 100 Coast Guard Silver Star recipients, including a dozen
from the Vietnam War.)
Due its smaller size, following World War II the U.S.
Coast Guard published a book containing the names and citations
of the majority of its World War II recipients of major awards,
including recipients of the Bronze Star. To my knowledge that
compendium has never been repeated to include Coast Guard
award recipients from Vietnam or any other actions. There does
exist, however, an index card file at the Coast Guard History
Office in Washington, D.C., similar to the one at the Navy Yard.
U.S. Air Force Award Citations
Prior to establishment of the U.S. Air Force as a separate branch of military in 1947, airmen
of World War II and prior engagements were awarded the Army Medal of Honor, Army
Distinguished Service Cross, Army Distinguished Service Medal, etc. The majority of these records
are among those lost in the 1973, but like other Army awards, the citations exist in the published
General Orders of the various Air Force Commands, most of which can be found among the other
un-indexed documents at NARA.
The vast majority of U.S. Air Force awards in history (1947 to present) are preserved, unindexed, in microfilm files of the General Orders issued by various commands maintained at
Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. Conversion of these citations into a digital database is largely
little more than a data-entry process, thereby generating a complete and accurate "Roll of Honor" of
all U.S. Air Force medal recipients in history.
OTHER EXISTING DATABASES
A number of other official and unofficial databases have been generated over the years in
widely scattered repositories. These existing databases usually have only a limited amount of
information, but when merged into a larger, centralized database, can provide secondary source
collaborative information, or raise flags that require further research.
American Battle Monuments Commission
The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) maintains an electronic database of
those soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines killed in action and interred in ABMC cemeteries, or who
are listed as Missing in Action on the ABMC "Wall of the Missing". The ABMC database generally
includes each veteran's name, unit, date of death, and a list of major awards for valor. (The data in
-8-
this file is based upon the information available at the time of interment however, and there are
literally HUNDREDS of deceased or MIA heroes listed therein who received DSCs or Navy Crosses
that are NOT reflected in the ABMC Database.
NARA Database of War Casualties
The National Archives and Records Administration maintains a database of those military
members killed or missing in action. The NARA database usually includes the dead or missing
veteran's name, branch of service, service number, and home of record (city and state).6
Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office Database
In December 1991, Congress enacted Public Law 102-190, commonly referred to as the
McCain Bill. The statute required the Secretary of Defense to make available to the public--in a
"library like setting"--all information relating to the treatment, location, and/or condition (T-L-C) of
United States personnel who are unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War. The Federal Research
Division (FRD) created the POW/MIA Database, the online index to those documents. The
microfilmed documents themselves are available at the Library of Congress or borrowed through
local libraries. Management is overseen by the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO),
and is available through the Library of Congress.
In March 1992, the U.S. – Russia Joint Commission on POWs and MIAs (USRJC) was
established by direction of the President of the United States and the Russian Federation to serve as a
forum through which both nations seek to determine the fate of their missing servicemen. This has
provided a long-needed database of Korean War (and even WWII) servicemen and women who are
listed as (unaccounted for) Prisoners of War or Missing in Action.
Other Official or Unofficial Databases
Technology has spurred a growth of other both official and unofficial databases containing
information on U.S. military veterans, many of them available online. Extensive casualty databases
exist for the Korean and Vietnam wars, and often contain detailed information including unit, Home
of Record, date of loss, nature of loss (Killed in Action, Died of Wounds, MIA, etc.) Dedication of
the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C. was followed up by an online database of World
War II veterans (www.wwiimemorial.com) into which veterans or family members of veterans may
upload a name, photo, and information about a veteran.
While unofficial online (and other) databases such as this can provide a wealth of historical
information, because the data is input by individuals often based upon "hearsay" knowledge, these
databases are also fraught with error. I can point to hundreds of records of WWII veterans in that
online database where it is noted that a veteran earned a Silver Star, when in fact I know that the
individual received a higher award (Navy Cross or DSC). Many of these errors can also be found in
the ABMC records which have been integrated into the WWII Memorial online database.
Obviously, through poor official record keeping, announcement of the higher award was
never transmitted to the family (or ABMC) and, in some cases, even to a living veteran.
Furthermore, not infrequently have I notified the WWII Registry that an entry posted for a veteran
6
It is not at all uncommon to find the Home of Record data in the ABMC database DIFFERENT from the Home of
Record information in the NARA database.
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included the notation that the veteran received the Medal of Honor or other high military award,
when in fact that was untrue.
A similar and admiral project is the Veterans Living History Project conducted by the
Library of Congress. Under this program, High School and College students are encouraged to
interview veterans of wars past, submitting these interviews along with copies of any historical
documents (photos, citations, news clippings, etc.), which are catalogued, preserved, and made
available by the Library of Congress.
While this is an admirable project, because no expedient means of verifying award
information is currently available, interviewers must accept as fact the information provided in the
veteran's interview. The following are three actual Library of Congress records:
 Donald Comes http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cocoon/vhp/bib/28651
 Ronald Keith Cook http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cocoon/vhp/bib/34096
 Timothy Rene Dickinson http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cocoon/vhp/bib/34222
In each of the above examples, the Library of Congress records that these three veterans were
awarded the MEDAL OF HONOR. In fact, NONE of the three individuals number among the fewer
than 3,500 recipients in history, or the current 110 living recipients of our Nation's highest award for
military valor. A similar random sampling of interviews in which the veteran claimed to have
received the Navy Cross or Distinguished Service Cross, ONE in every THREE was a false report of
this second-highest military honor. For posterity's sake, however, since the Library of Congress lists
these three men as Medal of Honor recipients, future generations will erroneously believe that this
constitutes an official report of said award.
Home Of Heroes Awards Database
One of the most used and cited databases of veterans awards today is the database developed
by Doug Sterner of Pueblo, Colorado. That electronic database includes the names of virtually every
recipient of the top two levels of military awards (Medal of Honor, Marine Corps Brevet Medal,
Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, and Air Force Cross), and includes the digitized text of
more than 80% of the citations for those awards. Currently that database is being expanded to
include the Distinguished Service Medals and Silver Star, the third levels of military awards. (To
date, the database includes the names of some 80,000 Silver Star recipients, estimated to be close to
75% of the recipients in history.)
That database is used by multiple official and unofficial channels, and is generally
recognized as the most complete and accurate database in existence of the recipients of major awards
for valor. The F.B.I. uses that database to investigate and prosecute imposters who wear or claim
medals they did not earn, and it was the impetus for the "Stolen Valor Act of 2005" that was signed
into law by President Bush on December 20, 2006. It is also used by multiple military posts for
memorials as well as by Veterans Affairs investigators. Arlington National Cemetery has used the
database to confirm awards for engraving on headstones, and recognizes the validity of that database
as an authority on the top levels of military awards. It is also used by private individuals to verify
awards to family members and to fellow veterans. The information contained within the electronic
database has also be converted into html format, making these indexes and the citations readily
available online at www.HomeOfHeroes.com.
- 10 -
The Home of Heroes database serves two functions that have a direct bearing upon any effort
to call for a National, electronic database of military awards:
1. This extensive database demonstrates that it is feasible to create a large, more
complete record of the service and valor of our military heroes. If Mr. Sterner, on his
own initiative with basically NO funding and limited access to official military
records and General Orders can compile and make available the names and citations
of nearly all recipients of the top three levels of awards, it is reasonable to assume
that the United States government, with proper funding, oversight, and a legislative
mandate, can perform the necessary work to complete such a database.
2. The Home Of Heroes database became possible only because its creator followed the
practice recommended herein for generation of a National database. Mr. Sterner's
work has been largely to integrate the work of many who have preceded him into a
centralized database including:
 Obtaining original citations from NPRC and from Marine Corps Awards and
Decorations, as well as copies of original General Orders from NARA.
 Digitizing the extensive work of the late Colonel Albert Gleim who also spent thousands
of hours combing through General Orders at NARA to index awards.
 Digitizing World War I records from the official War Department publications previously
referenced, from published volumes of command General Orders, and the compilations
aforementioned that were published by Harry S. Stringer.
 Digitizing the index of U.S. Marine Corps award recipients compiled and published by
former Official USMC historian Jame Blakeney in 1955. (That work contains the names
of all Marines who received virtually any award down to the Navy Marine Corps Medal
through the end of the Korean War.)
 Cross-referencing information with a number of both official and unofficial databases
now available online.7 Official publications, such as the Navy's Bureau of Navigation
Bulletin and subsequent All Hands periodical provide extensive information, often a
synopsis of the action, and a photo of the recipient.
 Using Internet technology and communications to obtain family records. The Home Of
Heroes website currently receives some 12 million hits each month. As a result of this
wide exposure, individual recipients of awards for valor, family members, and
descendents, frequently submit citations, photos, news clippings, and other material on
award recipients.8
7
Unofficial databases and compendiums such as the online WWII Registry or the LOCs Living History Project are NOT
used to verify awards. They are used as secondary sources to confirm information already in the database, or to fill in
gaps such as Home Of Record, Service Number, unit assignment, etc. Casualty databases available online can also
provide considerable personal information, as well as confirm KIA/POW/MIA status.
8
As with unofficial databases, material submitted by individuals is used ONLY to confirm existing information or fill in
missing information. Individuals not already listed in the existing database are NOT added solely upon submission of a
citation, though information provided by a recipient or third party is used to do an FOIA to verify an award.
- 11 -
Preservation of Valor Act
The problem of accessing veterans records impacts millions of Americans every year,
including veterans themselves, family members researching the service of a loved one, media when
writing stories on local veterans or when publishing obituaries, Congressional Offices providing case
work for constituents, Veterans Affairs Service Officers and medical institutions, historians writing
narratives of American military history, individual State Departments of Motor Vehicles (when
issuing special license plates), and even F.B.I. and V.A. investigators who are investigating cases of
fraud. The needed records are often available through NPRC, excepting the 8 to 10 million records
destroyed in the 1973 fire, but the process is often time-consuming, incomplete, or results in a
"Record Not Found" response. In the case of DMV requests for license plates, it would be
impractical to request records on individual veterans (cases cited in the appendix of this work will
illustrate the ease and prevalence of fraud perpetrated upon DMVs).
The National Personnel Records Center has done a feasibility study on the concept of
digitizing ALL military records and found it impractical. What we are requesting herein is NOT the
digitization of ALL records (medical records, incident reports, unit day and after-action reports),
ONLY the digitization of the primary, publicly releasable information on each and every one of our
Nation's more than 40 million veterans of military service.
We do believe that the problem is so expansive, and that the mitigating factors so broad, that
this issue should be considered in light of a Congressional hearing to investigate the interests and
concerns of multiple agencies, and obtain the insights and recommendations of those who are
already involved in the issues to be impacted by development of a National Database.
Based upon my own limited experiences as an instructor in computer technology, and as a
historian who has culled multiple paper records and digitized tens of thousands of documents, I offer
the following as a potential 3-phase program to remedy many of the problems alliterated herein, as
well as in the appendix of actual cases.
PHASE ONE - THE DATABASE
Development of the physical structure of a National Database should not be a complex
process. Such a National "Roll of Honor" will be designed primarily to:
1. Record military service denoting branch, term, rank or rating, MOS (Military
Occupational Specialty, eg: infantry, medic, etc.), and nature of service
2. Identify individual veterans including such personal information as Service Number
(in cases of individuals after 1968 this means their Social Security Number and the
that information would need to be input into the database for identification, but must
be redacted from any publicly accessible forms), Date and Place of Birth, Home of
Record, Date of Death place of burial (when known)
3. Military Education, Special Training, Badges Earned (e.g.: marksmanship, Ranger
Tab, etc.)
- 12 -
4. Assignments and Geographical Locations, including information on any overseas
deployments and/or combat zone assignments.
5. Authorized Individual Awards and Authorized Unit Citations
6. Identification of special status such as Killed in Action, Missing In Action, Wounded
in Action, or Prisoner of War (including dates and status or resolution)
7. Related service (some individuals have served in non-consecutive periods or in
multiple branches of service)
8. Nature of Discharge
All of the above personal data (other than Social Security Number) is currently publicly
available by filing an FOIA request with NPRC, therefore transcription of this data into a publicly
available electronic database would not conflict with any privacy issues not already addressed under
the current system. The immediate availability of this information, however, would:
 Immediately verify all awards a veteran is authorized to wear, or that a Congressman
might be wishing to belatedly present
 Provide an intake officer in a V.A. clinic or other veterans' related facility the ability to
immediately verify if someone was in fact a veteran, if that veteran ever served in a
combat assignment, and if that veteran were wounded in action or suffered as a Prisoner
of War
 Provide the Department of Motor Vehicles in any state, immediate verification if an
applicant is in fact qualified for a Purple Heart License Place, Valor Plate, or other
distinctive vehicle license plate
 Provide individual states, and even individual cities and counties, an accurate and
complete listing of all residents who may have been killed in action in any specific or in
all wars, or who may have been a Prisoner of War or wounded in action. (This can be
most helpful information in the continued design and development of many local
veterans' memorials.) Furthermore, it would provide communities with a readily
assessable listing of hometown heroes who received awards for valor. (For an example of
this see: www.homeofheroes.com/hometownheroes online.)
 Provide individuals doing family genealogical research immediate information on family
military history, decorations earned by ancestors, as well as necessary information (in
cases where a Service Number is published) to enable them to more speedily request
additional records from NPRC
 Provide media outlets readily accessible information for stories on local veterans or for
obituaries. (One newspaper editor in Florida recently emailed me that whenever he
receives an obituary for a veteran in which a Medal of Honor, DSC or Navy Cross is
claimed, before publishing he first checks the Home Of Heroes database.)
 Provide F.B.I. and V.A. investigators immediate verifications of authorized awards in
cases where fraud is suspected.
Furthermore, since this above referenced information along with the text for award citations
comprises the bulk of information being sought by the 20,000 requests for records received EACH
WEEK by NPRC, making this information readily available in an electronic database would vastly
reduce the workload and expense already incurred at NPRC. By completing this with the
recommended related database table containing all award citations, we will have properly preserved
the most important information on those who have served our nation in uniform.
- 13 -
On the surface, entering the even the limited amount of data referenced above for 40+ million
veterans may seem a monumental task. The fact is, much of this information already exists in digital
format that can be quickly and easily parsed out and imported into a database. For this reason my
recommendation upon development of the database program itself, and before actually beginning
data entry, would be to bring the scattered data from multiple existing sources into this centralized
database. This could include (but not be limited to):



Importing the pertinent and available data (name, SN, unit, date of death, etc.) from such
existing databases as the NARA casualty database, the Korean and Vietnam War
databases (this would include various KIA databases as well as existing databases that
cite all those wounded), ABMC burial databases, etc. The existing U.S. Marine Corps
awards database would provide an almost complete set of records on USMC personnel.
Importing any existing data already in digital form, maintained by NPRC. It is my
understanding that when NPRC responds to records requests, the standard form (NA
Form 13164) the archive technicians type up for most of the 20,000 weekly requests in a
Microsoft WORD document are saved before printing. Since that form contains nearly all
the data needed for the National database, it would not be difficult to write a computer
program to parse out the data from those saved document and then import it into the new
centralized database program.
Import data from other reputable, though unofficial databases. By encouraging the
submission of electronic data from military history museums, unit historians, and others,
existing records that are scattered can be compiled into this new, central database. The
Home Of Heroes database alone can provide nearly all the information for virtually 90%
of the top two levels of awards, and the names and Service Numbers of as much as 80%
of the recipients of the Silver Star.
Once existing data is compiled from various sources, the next obvious step will be to crosscheck all records to identify duplicate data. By pulling this information together from multiple
sources, there will obviously be double and triple entries. Computer technology allows for quick
(hours/not days or weeks) parsing of data and cross-referencing to find duplicates. In many of these
cases of duplication, however, one record may have information not found in another, so again the
use of multiple sources become not only secondary verifications, but a means of filling in missing
gaps in information.
While it must be acknowledged that by pulling together existing data from multiple sources,
some of them unofficial, there will no doubt be errors, once the process of generating the database is
initiated, information from these initial sources will be verified by official documents. For example,
unit histories sometimes contain erroneous reports of awards. But having that information already in
the working database provides a starting point and, if subsequently an award (or other information)
is not verified by the transcription process, these can be further investigated and deleted if the report
is in error. The advantage is, by starting with existing data, a large amount of the needed information
on the 40 million veterans ultimately reflected in the database would be input quickly and thereafter
only require proof reading and correcting, not complete data entry.
- 14 -
PHASE TWO - DIGITIZING ALL AWARD CITATIONS
The process of digitizing all award citations may well be the single largest and most
expensive aspect of this project. Basically however, it is little more than a data entry process.
Because the Marine Corps has already completed much of this work, the U.S.M.C. records on file at
Quantico would be the most logical place to begin. (It is also during the initial process that the
learning process will reveal unanticipated problems requiring adjustments to the program, therefore
by beginning with the easiest aspect they will be more readily dealt with.)
Marine Corps Awards
Working in cooperation with the staff at Quantico, where copies of nearly ALL U.S.M.C.
citations are maintained in volumes of binders, a staff of data entry personnel could digitize the text
of virtually all Marine Corps awards in a matter of weeks. The following is an estimate of the
number of Marine Corps awards that would need to be digitized:
Award
Medal of Honor
Number
Notes:
302 All information on every one of these awards including the personal
information on the individual recipients and full text of their award
Brevet Medal
Navy Cross
DSC
DSM
Silver Star
Legion of Merit
20 citation is already in digital format in the Home Of Heroes database.
This reduces the task for these highest awards to one of simple proof-
2167 reading.
417
500
15,000
2,500
Most of the personal information and citations for DSMs through the Korean War are
already digitized by the HOH database. The majority of more recent DSM awards do
NOT have a textual citation, only a listing.
The names, SN, date, and in most cases the unit for 10,600 of these recipients is already
digitized in the HOH database. The total number of awards cited here is estimated.
Blakeney lists slightly more than 1,100 LOM awards to Marines through the end of the
Korean War. The total number estimated here is a guess based on that number.
Distinguished
Flying Cross
12,000
Blakeney lists 7,500 DFCs through the end of the Korean War.
Navy Marine
Corps Medal
5000 10,000
Blakeney lists 1,500 through the end of the Korean War, but increases in the number of
awards proportionally thereafter may make this higher.
Bronze Star
?
Air Medal
?
Purple Heart
?
While there will be a significant number of Bronze Star and Air Medal awards, the majority
of Bronze Stars (other than those awarded for Valor) and Air Medals are awarded under a
"cookie-cutter" citation that will be identical except for the name and dates. The majority of
the citations therefore can be input with a macro that would digitize the citation in fractions
of a second.
The vast majority of these are NOT awarded with a written citation. Therefore they would
require only a brief notation in an existing record, or input of the basic personal data
referenced above.
There are other additional awards (Soldiers Medal, Letters of Commendation, etc.), but the
above comprises the bulk of what would be necessary to compile citations for all awards to Marines
in history. Additional awards, such as campaign ribbons and Unit Citations (which are based on
dates and locations of service) can be added by parsing out data based on the selected criteria, and
inputting said campaign ribbons and Unit Citations in seconds by running a macro. For instance,
- 15 -
EVERY Marine who served at any time during the period January 1, 1961 to August 14, 1974, is
authorized the National Defense Medal. Rather than wasting time and financial resources entering
that data, the database administrators could quickly parse out those Marines who served during the
qualifying period and have the designed macro automatically add the NDSM to that individual's list
of authorized decorations. This can be especially useful in adding unit citations, many of which are
NOT even reflected in individual records on file at NPRC.
Without further, more detailed investigation, it will be difficult to estimate exactly
what the cost and time elements would be for accomplishing this. The following
information is strictly an estimate, based upon my own experience and limited
understanding of what is available and what is involved. I have attempted to OVER
estimate, though I can not at this time affirm that the scenario presented is accurate,
or even in the ball park.
Assuming that Marine Corps records involve 100,000 citations excluding the Purple
Heart--many of the lesser ones will be a single line of data entry, so it evens out in
the long run:
Entering the basic data on the recipient (name, SN, unit, date of action,
home of record) and the full text of an average citation can be accomplished
in about 5 minutes of data entry. Based upon that assumption, a data-entry
clerk should be able to process 10 to 12 citations an hour, or 80 - 100
citations per day, perhaps up to 500 per week.
Going with a lower rate of 400 citations per week per person, a team of 20 data
entry personnel will process 8,000 citations per week. Based upon the estimated
100,000 citations then, it would take a team of 20 a total of 12.5 weeks, or three
months, to input the data for all Marine Corps awards in American History.
These figures would then reflect a total of 10,000 hours of data entry to digitize
ALL Marine Corps citations at Quantico, which at a pay rate of $10 per hour means
total cost for data entry would be $100,000. Such awards as the Purple Heart,
Campaign Ribbons, and Unit Citations would be added for perhaps as many as two
million Marines in a matter of hours through the use of a macro.
While I would like to believe that I am not that "far off the mark" in the above analysis, if
one assumes that the job would be TEN TIMES larger than I have estimated, is a million dollars too
much to allocate to at last have a readily available database preserving the history and valor of more
than 4 Million United States Marines in history?
Upon completing the data entry for all Marine Corps awards, the overall process should be
reviewed to identify and implement lessons learned from the first part of the data entry process.
Meanwhile, perhaps in as little as a month or less, the data entry team could compile and input the
data for all U.S. Coast Guard awards in history. Obviously, citations for U.S. Navy and U.S. Army
awards will be more time consuming.
- 16 -
Navy Awards
Among the 325,000 index cards at the Navy Yard, which contains the vast majority of
citations for Navy Department awards, are duplicate cards for most of the Marine Corps awards
already transcribed from records at Quantico. Much of that information will have already been
transcribed earlier, reducing the number of Navy Citations that will require transcription from these
cards. The cards WILL however, serve as secondary sources that may contain additional information
such as award Board Serial that may not be reflected in some of the "extracts" for Marine Corps
awards previously digitized.
Assuming that the Navy awards are triple those previously transcribed, and considering that
there is an additional card file at the Navy Yard for the majority of Department of the Navy (Sailors,
Marines, Coast Guardsmen), completing these records would be a one-year project at a cost of a half
million dollars.
Army Awards
The basis for transcription into digital format of
U.S. Army awards will basically come from the original
General Orders for those awards, similar to the page seen at
right. Each G.O. may be several pages long and contain
citations for numerous awards. Many of these documents
are in much better shape than the one shown here, but
among the thousands of such pages, many have darkened or
worn with time, which illustrates the importance of
converting the information in these historic documents into
digital format while such a program is still possible.
The Home Of Heroes database already contains the
names, detailed personal information, and full-text citations
for ALL 2,355 recipient of the highest military award, the
Medal of Honor. That same database also contains the
names of 13,455 recipients of the second highest military
decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross. (That is
estimated to be 99.99% of all DSC recipients.) That
database also has the personal information and full-text
citations for nearly 10,000 of those awards, meaning that if
this database is utilized, all that needs to be accomplished
to have the two top levels of Army awards completed
would be the proofing and cross-checking of the actual
G.O.s with the data already input.
The Home Of Heroes database also contains the names of close to 80,000 recipients of the
Silver Star (estimated at 70% to 80% of all recipients) but only about 12,000 of the citations. The
remainder, and citations for other awards, will comprise a large amount of the necessary data input.
While the task seems monumental in terms of the sheer number of Army awards (generally
quadruple the number of awards to members of the Navy and Marine Corps combined), many of the
lesser awards such as Bronze Stars and Air Medals involve a "cookie-cutter" citation or "form
- 17 -
citation" that can quickly be input with a macro. Thus, for the vast number of the more than 3
million estimated awards, data entry will consist primarily of entering the Name, Service Number,
and date(s) of action. Below is an example of how many of these awards are presented in G.O.s,
illustrating that the data entry is not that extensive. This particular page includes the citations for a
total of 8 awards, all of which combined could be input in 5 to 10 minutes times.
- 18 -
Air Force Awards
The records for airmen from World War I through the end of World War II will largely be
transcribed in the process of digitizing the data contained in the Army General Orders. A similar
process must be initiated to transcribe U.S. Air Force General Orders from the Korean War to
present, but due the briefer time frame and the smaller number of Air Force personnel, is can
reasonably be expected that the process will be neither lengthy or costly.
Phase One Summary
It is my belief that, by following the 3-ste procedure outlined in the previous pages:
1. Design and establish the database software and hardware
1. Import existing data from multiple and scattered existing databases and indexes
2. Transcribe the text of the citations for all military awards
That within two years, at a cost of FIVE to TEN million dollars, the personal data on nearly half of
our nation's 40 million veterans can be input into a digital database that would also include the text
of the citations for EVERY authorized award to EVERY branch of military in EVERY war and
conflict in our nation's history. At the higher-end cost of TEN MILLION DOLLARS, that translates
to fifty cents per veteran to insure that an accurate record of their service, their sacrifice, and their
valor is preserved to posterity--a small price to pay.
PHASE THREE - TRANSITIONING TO DIGITAL RECORDS
As aforementioned, every week the archive technicians at the National Personnel Records
Center process 20,000 records in response to FOIA, Congressional, and other requests for
information. In these requests, the archive technicians have to request a file from storage, then
peruse that file for the pertinent information, often making photo copies of the very citations this
program is designed to digitize and make readily available.
Often, though not always, the technician then types the basic information on the veteran on a
form similar to NA FORM 13164 seen on the following page. It is notable that the information on
this form (and similar NPRC documents), input into a document for printing thousands of times each
week, contains virtually ALL of the desired information necessary for a comprehensive National
database of our veterans of military service.
With little additional cost or inconvenience to the technicians at NPRC, it seems only
practical to alter this form in what would be a minor fashion, so that when the data is typed up for
the requesting client, a single "Print" button would also transfer the data in the various fields into an
already established electronic database. Such a simple procedure would result in the digitization of
the NPRC file records of as many as ONE MILLION veterans every year. If such a process was put
in place simultaneously with the two-year project to digitize award citations, it is reasonable to
assume that within a two year time frame this additional data (and that data accumulated in
following years) will cost effectively further aid in ultimately developing a complete and accurate
database of our Nation's veterans. It will also insure that those heroes of the current, and future
generations, will never be faced with the same problem of incomplete or difficult to obtain records
that veterans of previous generations have dealt with.
- 19 -
The ultimate fact of the matter is, upon completion of these three phases of the project, a
database of perhaps only three-fourths, or 30 million of the 40 million veterans records will have
been converted into a digital database. The preceding steps will insure that a record has been
established for every man or woman who received any military award (down to those lowest on the
Pyramid of Honor), every man or woman wounded or killed in action, and every man or woman
- 20 -
who suffered as a Prisoner of war. That leaves millions of additional soldiers, sailors, airmen and
Marines who served, many in peace time but also many in time of war, who may not have been
highly recognized, decorated, or otherwise stood out, but who answered the call of duty. No person
who ever took the oath to defend the Constitution and served in our military should ever be
forgotten.
For this reason, a FOURTH Phase will be necessary to complete the project: the index of
veterans in the database MUST be compared to the vast holdings of NPRC to identify those veterans
not yet listed. While this may involve as many as 10 million veterans, we owe it to all veterans to
insure than no one is "left behind".
I believe for the sake of need and the rapid determination of paper records, it is critical to
begin the process NOW and place immediate attention on what we CAN DO NOW, the first three
phases. I believe that in the years following the first three phases of this project, in cooperation with
the staff at NPRC, it will not be difficult to identify and input the necessary data on the remaining
veterans not already in the database. Consider, for instance, that a large number of the records NPRC
technicians currently spend hours finding, copying, and mailing out, once transcribed into this
National Database, can be processed with the click of a button. There will still be numerous requests
for more detailed records (medical records, incident reports, etc.) but such a database would
effectively expedite the process of most records requests, enabling NPRC staff considerably more
time to focus on identifying and inputting the data on the remaining veterans that might otherwise
become "lost to history".
- 21 -
Appendixes
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ONLINE DATABASES
The following are samples of various official and un-official databases of information currently available
online. Development of a National Veterans Database need NOT "re-invent the wheel". Rather, the wise
approach is to make use of the information already available and, though scattered piecemeal among many
different agencies and individuals, bring it all together in one centralized database, then correct, affirm, and
supplement that information.
World War II Database: www.wwiimemorial.com This unofficial database also includes NARA casualty
reports and ABMC burial records. The database allows veterans, family members, and others to input a
tribute. While much of that third-party data is suspect or may contain errors, this is a great source of
information.
Korean War Casualty Database: http://www.koreanwar.org/html/korean_war_databases.html This database
provides searchable information on all those KIA or MIA during the Korean War, including Name, Service
Number, Branch, Rank, Service Number, Home Of Record, Date of Loss, and frequently high awards. Similar
databases exist online for the 58,000 Vietnam War casualties at sites like www.thevirtualwall.org.
Korean War Army Casualties: http://www.kmike.com/CasualtyLists/CasualtyLists.htm This electronic
database contains the name, service number, unit, Home Of Record, and disposition of 108,000 members of
the U.S. Army killed, missing, or wounded in the Korean War. I have personally parsed this down into an
Access database in a matter of hours, illustrating that in that short a span of time an index of more than
100,000 veterans of the Korean War can be generated if one takes advantage of existing technology.
The American Battle Monuments Commission (www.abmc.gov) has an online database of the 125,000
veterans buried in ABMC cemeteries, and the 94,000 servicemen and woman listed as Missing In Action.
This single source immediately provides much of the needed information on nearly a quarter of a million of
our 40 million veterans. There are no doubt, various other digital records already on file for veterans buried in
National and State Veterans cemeteries that could be invaluable in quickly establishing a Veterans' Database.
The Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) has available online, a searchable database
of all Korean to Present servicemen and women who were Prisoners of war at: http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/.
The POW Network (www.pownetwork.org) has a detailed database of all Vietnam War Prisoners of War.
The Military.com website (http://www.military.com/Locator/) maintains an online database purportedly
containing records for 20 MILLION veterans including name, rank/rating/grade, branch, and Home of
Record.
www.HomeOfHeroes.com lists the names of more than 100,000 recipients of the highest awards for valor for
all branches and in all wars, including personal information and citations for more than 30,000 of those
awards.
These are just a small sampling of existing digital databases. There are hundreds of additional
databases including veterans from the Civil War to present. While not suitable as a PRIMARY data
source, importing and then verifying data from these can save considerable time and money in
development of a National, centralized Veterans' Database.
-i-
Benefits and Values of a National Database
EXPOSING AND ELIMINATING FRAUD
Perhaps the single, most-obvious service a National Veterans Database would serve would be
to reduce fraud. Quite frankly, such a database will serve many far more important, and POSITIVE
purposes which we will also examine herein from some actual case files, many of which were
resolved by the existing Home Of Heroes database. But, since the value of the database in reducing
fraud is most obvious, we will deal with some examples in conjunction with that matter first.
Medals Fraud
The multiple cases recently highlighted in media that spurred passage of the Stolen Valor Act
of 2005 by Congress last year were possible primarily because of the existence of unofficial
databases of the REAL recipients of such awards as the Navy Cross and Distinguished Service
Cross. One of the first major cases was that of Richard Thibodeau of Atlanta, Georgia, who was
honored at a Memorial Day Marine Corps League dinner. Mr. Thibodeau's photo while wearing the
Navy Cross, and a very realistic-looking Navy Cross citation were printed in the program.
Following that program one man who attended attempted to look Mr. Thibodeau up in the
online Home Of Heroes Navy Cross database and, not finding him listed, advised that we had missed
a recipient. Thanks to the digital database, I was able to input the text from Mr. Thibodeau's citation
and found it word-for-word save for the date and recipient's name, plagiarized from the valid Navy
Cross citation of someone other than Thibodeau. Mr. Thibodeau subsequently admitted that he had
never even served in the military.
Twenty-first Century technology, and specifically the versatility of computers, has made the
forging of such documents as the above Navy Cross citation for Richard Thibodeau an easy process.
Over the last twelve months the Home Of Heroes database was instrumental in exposing dozens of
bogus heroes, many of whom had manufactured official-looking paperwork to bolster their claims.
The POW Network, perhaps the leading organization in our nation in regard to ferreting out
- ii -
fraudulent claims to veterans, Prisoner of War, or other distinctive military status, encounters
multiple such cases virtually every week. The sheer number of 2006 "stolen valor" cases that were
highlighted in multiple newspaper and television news stories are what ultimately prompted
Congress to pass the Stolen Valor Act.
While such cases of medals fraud appear to be at historic highs, I do not personally believe
that is the case. Such fraudulent display of unearned medals has been common among veterans of all
generations. It is the availability on the Internet of the multiple and varied unofficial databases that
has placed such claims in the spotlight that often reveals that they are lies. One can be virtually
assured that in current times, anyone claiming for any period of time that they were a former POW
will eventually be checked out at the POW Network. Because many of the recent cases of stolen
valor involved Marines, thereby giving the Home Of Heroes database high visibility, one can rest
assured that virtually any Marine who shows up for an event wearing a Navy Cross will be looked
up in that database, and reported if no record is found.
Ten years ago cases of medals fraud involving the Medal of Honor were epidemic. The
Internet has provided extensive information on all 3,463 Medal of Honor recipients in history, and
the 110 recipients still living. That readily available information has made it virtually impossible for
an imposter to long escape discovery when wearing a Medal of Honor. As a result, we have seen
those who would engage in stolen valor move down the Pyramid of Honor to the second level of
awards, for which until recently there was no readily available database of recipients (in part because
they number five times the number of Medal of Honor awards.)
As the indexes of the TRUE recipients of the DSC, Navy Cross, and AFC becomes more and
more readily available--and it is the fact that this availability of information on the second tier of
awards is what has contributed to the increase in exposure of the fakes, one can expect to see the
fake heroes move further down the order of precedence, claiming unearned Silver Stars.
Perhaps even more poignant is the cases involving fraudulent claims to the Purple Heart,
awarded to those wounded or killed in action. Since the beginning of World War II (exclusive of the
fact that the Purple Heart can be awarded retroactively to veterans of service prior to the 1932
establishment of that award), United States military forces have suffered nearly 400,000 combat
deaths, and nearly one million non-mortal woundings. To date, despite scattered efforts by unofficial
organizations, no complete database of Purple Heart recipients exists. Quite frankly, however,
despite the high number of Purple Heart awards, the various existing official casualty databases
would make a Purple Heart "Roll of Honor" one of the easiest to generate.
Individuals such as Theodore Bantis, seen at right wearing the Navy Cross,
three Silver Stars, and EIGHT Purple Hearts are often exposed because, as in this
case, they wear too much. (No Marine in history has earned 8 Purple Hearts, that
is a record shared by 5 Army men.) Bantis' extreme medal fraud was exposed last
summer, due in large part to his wearing the Navy Cross and not being listed in
the Home Of Heroes database. But there are thousands of imposters who wear
one, two, or three Purple Hearts and escape exposure in all too many cases. A
Purple Heart index would effectively deal with much of that. Wearing even ONE
unearned Purple Heart is too much, the men and women who legitimately earned
the Purple Heart paid for that award with blinded eyes, missing limbs, and often
with their lives. (Bantis, it was ultimately discovered, never even served in the military.)
- iii -
License Plate Fraud
In most states it has now become popular to offer distinctive license plates at the various
Departments of Motor Vehicles. Such plates as Purple Heart plates (for those veterans wounded),
Honorably Discharged Veteran plates, or even VALOR plates for recipients of major awards, have
become increasingly popular. In most states, a veteran's DD-214 is required as proof of the status
claimed for a given license plate.
In Florida Raymond Gauthier, seen at right wearing a Green Beret,
Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Purple Heart and other awards,
drove to events in his private vehicle sporting POW plates. He was hailed as
a hero, highly decorated and a patriot who had suffered greatly in captivity
as a Prisoner of War.
Exposed last year, upon entering a guilty plea in the Collier County
court early in 2007, Gauthier was sentenced to publish an apology. In part
that apology acknowledged: "I never made the sacrifice to justify the honor
of these awards. My highest grade earned was Private (E2) and while I did
serve an overseas tour in Korea, I was never in combat which I fraudulently
stated on an official document where I claimed to have been a prisoner of war in Vietnam, a country,
and military operational area, where I never served as a civilian or member of any Nation's Armed
Forces. By my deception and for my own selfish purposes, I undertook to impersonate the acts of
valor of others."
Gauthier's use of forged paperwork to obtain an unwarranted POW license plate from the
Florida DMV is not unique. Also last year, Marengo (Illinois) Alderman Werner "Jack" Genot was
exposed after decades of being the "face of the Marine Corps League" in his community. Genot had
never served in the Marine Corps or in combat, nor had he ever been captured and held prisoner. An
Illinois Newspaper reported, "Secretary of State Jesse White wants Marengo Alderman Werner
"Jack" Genot to be the last person in Illinois to acquire military license plates falsely. Angered by
Genot's confession that he acquired Purple Heart and ex-POW license plates with forged discharge
papers, White announced Wednesday that he would submit legislation to the General Assembly next
month to make the act a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a $1,000 fine."
Illinois DID subsequently pass legislation similar to the Federal Stolen Valor Act so
individuals like Jack Genot could be prosecuted when exposed. But the key is in finding those who
use forged documents to get unauthorized license plates (or other benefits). Like Gauthier and
Genot, there are literally thousands of such cases still out there that will go un-addressed until there
is a convenient and prompt manner to verify such awards.
An online national database, readily assessable from any State, County or for that matter any
other computer, would provide DMV clerks immediate and verifiable access to determine if an
individual was an Honorably Discharged Veteran, Purple Heart Recipient, former POW, or recipient
of a Valor Award.
Veterans Benefits Fraud
The Home Of Heroes database is frequently consulted by law enforcement including FBI,
local police, and Veterans Administration investigators in the course of V.A. fraud investigations. In
personal conversations with those who deal primarily with issues of unearned Veterans Benefits, it
- iv -
has become quite evident that millions of dollars in services and payments are tendered every year to
individuals undeserving.
As incredible as it sounds, there have been multiple cases uncovered of individuals receiving
monthly Veterans Administration payments for PTSD and other combat-related service, that have
never even been in the military. Their benefits and any related V.A. services are based upon
fraudulent paperwork that has slipped through the cracks of an ancient and ineffective records
management program.
Similarly, while the vast majority of veterans claims are valid and just, millions of dollars are
paid out every year for combat-related PTSD claims to individuals who served in the military, but
who never served in a combat theater. In many of these cases, payments continue and no
investigation is launched for the individual involved is in fact a veteran, and the cases are all too
often too difficult to reverse.
Meanwhile, while thousands (and any interested person who will take the time to visit with a
good and dedicated VA investigator will quickly learn that these cases number in the thousands) of
individuals receive month checks and free medical services unwarranted, the thinly-stretched V.A.
budget has resulted in many deserving, often combat-wounded veterans, being placed on long
waiting lists for help.
While cases involving medical treatment and disability benefits are far more complex to
assess than the previous cases of fraud, a National Veterans database containing the basic, public
information, would tell a V.A. intake worker, Congressional staffer, or Veterans Service Officer
virtually immediately:
1. IF the individual seeking help is truly a veteran of military service
2. IF the individual seeking help ever served in a combat theater
3. IF the individual seeking help was ever wounded in action
4. IF the individual seeking help was ever a Prisoner of War
5. IF the individual seeking help was Honorably Discharged
While this information alone does not and should not determine the services available to a
veteran seeking help, knowing this basic information could serve as a "red flag" to expedite the
process and get that veteran the help they need.
POSITIVE VALUES OF SUCH A DATABASE
Preserving and Honoring our Heroes
Much information regarding the individual service and sacrifice of our veterans if not lost, is
certainly scattered and well hidden. My own research in developing my unofficial database has
uncovered hundreds of "lost" heroes, often families who did not even know a loved one who gave
his life in service had earned one of our highest military awards. It is also true the REAL heroes talk
little of their own deeds. The family of Iwo Jima hero John Bradley did not even know until after his
death that the valiant Corpsman most known as one of the Flag Raisers, had also earned the Navy
Cross in a separate action at Iwo Jima. Even for those families who are aware of such high honors,
time has often lost the details of an individual veteran's valor. The following series of emails
between January and the very day I completed this report are self explanatory:
-v-
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 3:27 PM
I have been trying to get my father a marker in Arlington National Cemetery. He won the Navy Cross, but for some reason
is not on the list and the woman I spoke with said we had to send them a copy of his certificate. He died in 1985 and we
have no record of that. Can you help in any way?
Thank you for any help you can give.
Jan Girando (Daughter)
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 4:56 PM
To: 'Girando Jan'
I do not have your father’s citation, but I do have the following synopsis:
“For extraordinary heroism and distinguished service as Pilot of a scout Dive Bomber airplane in Bombing Squadron
THIRTEEN (VB-13), embarked from the U.S.S. FRANKLIN (CV-13), in action against enemy Japanese forces in the
Sibuyan Sea during the Air Battle of Leyte Gulf on 25 October 1944. By his superb flying ability, indomitable fighting spirit
and cool courage, maintained at great personal risk, Lieutenant (j.g.) Miller contributed immeasurably to the extensive and
costly damage inflicted on the Japanese fleet in this vital war area. His conduct throughout this action reflects great credit
upon himself, and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”
You might be able to get his card from the Navy Yard in DC, but most people consider me the authority on Navy Cross
awards, and will accept my verification of awards. I would be willing to verify that indeed Lieutenant (j.g.) Victor Laverne
Miller received the Navy Cross for his heroism as noted above. Let me know what more I can do to help. Also, can you
clarify? My records show he was in Bombing Squadron 13, not 12. I show 26 awards to pilots from the Franklin on that
date, all but one from either VB-13 or VT-13
Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2007
To: Doug Sterner
Hi again, Doug. You are the absolute BEST to continue to help me with this.
Vicki Tanner’s phone number is 703-607-8570. I spoke with her on 2/16/07; she was very nice, and said that while the
information I had sent her was enlightening, she needed a copy of the actual certificate in order to approve a marker for
my father. To amplify, he died in 1985 and donated his body to science, so there are no remains. My mother died before
he did, and with five siblings residing in five different states, his effects are at this point widely scattered.
It’s interesting that other families sometimes run into this same problem; I’m happy to help your friend with the Marine
Corps Times newspaper in any way I can.
I’ll look forward to hearing what Ms. Tanner says. Good luck!
Jan
Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2007
To: Vicki Tanner (Arlington National Cemetery)
Dear Ms Tanner,
Thank you for your time today in our phone call. I am most thankful that you folks there in Arlington are taking the time to
verify these awards. I’ve had the very distasteful duty several times in the last couple years to have to advise a couple of
private ceremonies that Medal of Honor inscriptions on headstones were fraudulent, and it is not an easy task. It is
comforting to know that you are verifying BEFORE the fact.
I do appreciate your efforts to work with Ms. Girando, and that my own research is helpful. I am pleased to offer my
services freely at any time in the future that I may be of assistance. Understanding that the matter of verification is so
important, when I came home from work I went through my files to find a little more for you. I did find a page from the book
“Navy Cross, Officers and Enlisted Men of the United States Navy Awarded the Navy Cross December 7, 1941 – July 1,
1945”, published by the Navy Department’s Office of Public Information in 1945. Ref: VB333 U6 N3 1945
You have advised that based upon the listing in my website you would accept verification that Lieutenant (j.g.) Victor Miller
in fact received the Navy Cross for his heroism in WWII. You will find Mr. Miller listed as a Navy Cross Recipient from
Ness County, KS, at: http://www.homeofheroes.com/hometownheroes/ks.html
I have further verified Mr. Miller’s citation through the database compiled by the late Colonel Albert Gleim, as well as
having verified his application to the Legion of Valor via the LOV’s National Adjutant.
Thank you for helping to expedite this important matter. Our heroes should never be forgotten. Feel free to contact me if
you have any questions or need anything further.
Sincerely, Doug Sterner
- vi -
From: Girando Jan [mailto:JGirando@amuniversal.com]
Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 11:32 AM
Hi, Doug!
I just talked with Vicki Tanner. She says she has everything she needs and will be ordering the stone this week! This is
so exciting! She said it will take about two months for the stone to come in, and a memorial service can be scheduled at
that time. She said they usually send out a card when that happens, but they’re behind, and she suggested I phone her
about May 1 to check on the progress. It’s her feeling it will be in before Memorial Day.
This is the coolest thing that’s ever happened to our family, and I owe it to you.
How can I repay you? May I compensate you in some way for your help? I’m sure you have some type of fee for
research and correspondence, and it would be my privilege to honor that fee. Please let me know — you’ve done so
much, and I really do appreciate it.
Jan Girando
From: Doug Sterner
Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Jan,
Your situation illustrates VERY well the problem with the lack of an Official database of our nation’s heroes. I myself find it
amazing that, with fewer than 7,000 men and women (out of 40 million veterans) in history that have received the Navy
Cross, you and other families should have so much difficulty obtaining the citation for a loved one’s EXTREME heroism.
That is the reason I’ve taken it upon myself to develop this important database which, by the way, I am expanding this year
to include all awards of the Silver Star as well.
As for compensation, your email to me today was ALL the compensation I need. Such successes provide me with a thrill
and satisfaction that what I am doing is important, that it is priceless. I have never charged a fee, and never will. What I do
is about American history and our heroes.
In the meantime, I am going to work on obtaining your father’s Navy Cross citation. I expect to have it within the next four
to six weeks, and will provide that to you upon receipt. That way, you can print it on a program for the memorial service if
you wish.
Thanks again and please keep me posted. I am so happy for your family. Doug
From: Girando Jan [mailto:JGirando@amuniversal.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 11:04 AM
Hello, everyone. Here’s the update.
Dad’s marker has been installed in Arlington National Cemetery.
Last week I received the postcard indicating that Dad’s marker has been received and installed in Arlington National
Cemetery. At the outset, I want to especially thank Doug Sterner for his amazing work in helping us accomplish this
important family goal. This morning I spoke with Vicki Tanner at Arlington about arrangements for Dad’s service.
The memorial service is scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 11.
Arlington does not arrange for transportation to the cemetery — that is up to the family. I’m not inclined to coordinate this,
since I think it might be best handled by each of you based on your family’s own needs (number attending, budget
considerations, residence or hotel locations, etc.). You may elect to use your personal car or you may choose to arrange
for more formal transportation (a town car, limo, etc.). We may want to gather at a central location (perhaps one of the
major hotels) before leaving for the service, but we can work this out as the date gets closer and we’re more settled in our
plans.
Because he was an officer, he is entitled to Full Military Honors. I have also asked that they include a Catholic Chaplain.-From: Miller, Larry [A Family member]
Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 11:35 AM
To: Girando Jan; Patti Ridgeway; Georgia Goldberg; Cindy Johnston
Subject: RE: Lt. (jg) Victor L. Miller's Memorial Service
Thank you for the update and the considerable effort it took to get to this point. We are all fortunate that Doug was so
helpful in the process.
We will see you in D.C. Larry Miller, CPM
- vii -
I sincerely wish that the preceding example was the exception, not the rule, and furthermore
that the outcome in all or even MOST of those exceptions were so positive. Unfortunately they are
not always so. The following illustrate similar exchanges over the last two years, and are but a few
of the incidents in which I have personally been involved. One can only guess at how many heroes
have been "lost to history" and how many families of American heroes have been robbed of their
rightful history of military service due to a lack of readily available military records.
From: Sherry Zwick
Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2005 4:56 PM
To: doug@homeofheroes.com
Subject: I need your help
Help Doug
I need your help please---plus I have some info so you can update your site. My dad was a recipient of the Navy Cross-Edward G. Lorenz...then Lt JG. You don't have him on his home state page--his hometown was Bowman, ND.
My dad has died and we are burying him at Arlington on Dec 14th. I have not found a full text write up re: the award of the
Navy Cross---what he got it for etc. Can you help me with that? I would really like ti for his services in a couple of weeks.
Thank you
Sherry Zwick
From: Doug Sterner [mailto:Doug@HomeOfHeroes.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2005 9:37 PM
To: 'Sherry Zwick'
Subject: RE: I need your help
Dear Sherry,
First and foremost, please accept my thoughts and prayers for you in this time of loss. Thank you also for the personal
information on your father. I am sorry but I do not have the full text for your father's Navy Cross citation, only that he
received the Navy Cross for an Air Mission over Tokyo Bay, Japan, on July 18, 1945. I am ccing this email to two friends,
both historians, who might be able to help. It would be great if we could get this citation for you before your father's burial
at Arlington.
For the record, a total of 28 Navy Crosses were awarded for air missions on July 18, 1945. These included missions over
Honshu, Kokosuka, Kure, and Yokosuka, in addition to Tokyo Bay. It might help if I knew your father's squadron. I do know
that Bombing Squadron 83 (VB-83), embarked from the U.S.S. Essex, was involved in the bombing mission over Tokyo.
The citations for two of those follow. Your father's citation will probably be almost identical:
Birch, Robert Featherstone - For extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as a pilot of a carrier
based dive bomber in the attack against an enemy battleship in the Tokyo Bay Area on 18 July 1945. Lieutenant Birch
skillfully and courageously pressed his attack home in the face of intense and accurate anti-aircraft fire scoring a hit on the
target which contributed materially to the severe damage suffered by the warship. His skill and courage were at all times in
keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Breslove, Joseph, Jr. - extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as pilot of a carrier-based dive
bomber plane in a carrier strike against major units of the Japanese Fleet at Yokosuka in Tokyo Bay on 18 July 1945.
Lieutenant Breslove skillfully and courageously piloted his aircraft in a dive bombing attack on an enemy battleship. During
this action, in the face of intense anti-aircraft fire, he scored a direct hit with his bomb which contributed materially to the
damage of the vessel. His skill and courage were at all times in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval
Service.
If I or one of my friends can uncover more before your father's burial, we will do our best to get that info to you.
Sincerely, Doug
AFTER AT LAST FINDING and Providing Lt. Lorenz' Navy Cross Citation
From: Sherry Zwick
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2005 8:24 PM
THANK YOU soooo much. I am grateful and appreciate you.
Doug, I hope this info will help with your websites too. I will think of you on Dec. 14th.
If any of you are able to attend, please do. My Dad will be buried Dec. 14th - services at 12:45 in the chapel.
Thank you again..this really matters to me!
If there is ever anything I can do for you, contact me.
Sherry Zwick
- viii -
From: Sherry Zwick
Sent: Monday, December 26, 2005 9:10 AM
Doug
Thank you for your thoughts and help in getting the info on my Dad's medals.
It was awesome at Arlington--very proud moment for me. I am glad that I did that. The best thing I've done! Emotional AND
life altering. He was buried overlooking the Pentagon...where a cousin of mine in the Air Force works!
Right as my Dad's services completed, a young Marine who was killed the week before in Iraq was being buried across
the way.
THAT was a strange moment in time. I felt for that kid's parents. It could've easily been another cousin and his family.
I have not done anything else, but will do so and let you know re: his squadron.
I'll also send you a picture - the ones I used at Dad's Mass.
Thanks again,
Sherry
The following email was brief, but the attached photo spoke volumes:
From: Ed Driscoll
[mailto:edphoneguy@comcast.net]
Sent: Friday, November 11, 2005 6:30 PM
To: doug@homeofheroes.com
Subject: Emailing: 77066_front11112005.jpg
Hi Doug,
Your web site helped us get this done.
Thanks
Ed
NOTE: What Mr. Driscoll had done was use the Home
Of Heroes to verify and prove that his friend and
fellow Marine, Corporal John C. Calhoun who was
killed in Vietnam on January 7, 1968, had been
awarded the Navy Cross. Based upon this information,
Corporal Calhoun's headstone was properly marked
to note his heroism, and Boston, Massachusetts,
celebrated Veterans Day 2005 in remembrance of a
forgotten hero.
While these examples (and there are many more, illustrating the prevalence of the problem
and the depth of the need) inspire me and make me realize the importance of my own efforts, it is
not enough. I am certain for each of these family members I am able to offer assistance to, that there
are literally thousands who begin their quest to honor and remember a family member or comrade,
only to give up in frustration at the many difficulties and road blocks to obtaining the information
they need. While in many of these cases the information could actually be easily obtained through
NPRC, most Americans do not realize that this repository of records exists, what they do, or how to
go about obtaining records. Furthermore, in all too many cases, even NPRC, NARA, or the Navy
Yard can not find the needed records.
- ix -
Lost Heroes
It is said that "a veterans records are only as good as the clerk that types them." Similarly, the
compilation of those records is only as complete as the people who handle the data. The staff at
NPRC, like any organization, has some technicians who do only what they have to in order to keep
their jobs, uncaring about the personal impact of their lack of motivation. But I can also say from
extensive experience that there are many EXCELLENT and DEDICATED technicians at NPRC
who go that extra mile. It is not uncommon to receive phone calls from some technicians in response
to an FOIA I've submitted, to clarify information, ask questions, and otherwise insure that they are
meeting my needs and expectations. Nevertheless, NPRCs ability to provide records is only as good
as the process of getting those records into the files in St. Louis.
Earlier this year I submitted an FOIA to NPRC in an effort to obtain the citation for the
Distinguished Service Cross posthumously awarded to First Lieutenant Richard M. Rees who was
killed in action on December 15, 1973.
Lieutenant Rees citation was a two-page citation,
for which I had the first page, so I was seeking
text for the second page. Based upon my FOIA, I
received the response at right, listing the Silver
Star earned in 1968, but no record of Lieutenant
Rees being awarded the DSC.
The fact that I had the first page of
Lieutenant Ree's DSC citation was evidence of
this award, second only to the Medal of Honor.
(I've since obtained the needed second page.)
What concerns me is, that but for my own
research, the official records at NPRC of a dead American Special Forces hero who could not
advocate for himself failed to include so high and distinguished an award as the DSC.
From January to March of 2007 I submitted some 40 FOIA requests in efforts to obtain the
citations for awards of the DSC during the Vietnam War that I had already verified as legitimate
based upon a General Order to be cited. In FIVE of the 25 responses I've received thus far, I was
notified that no record of the veteran receiving the DSC exists.
With fewer than 15,000 Distinguished Service Crosses awarded in history, it would seem a
rather simple thing to insure that the record of every man (and one woman) who earned this
prestigious award would properly be recorded. I believe that there is a large number of individual
awards the citations and paper work for which has never been properly submitted to NPRC for
archiving. There are a couple of factors that contribute to this:
1. There is always those cases of lost communications, the failure of the various military
branches or the Department of Defense to insure that the citations for these awards
are properly transmitted to NPRC.
2. Awards to posthumous heroes may be somewhat delayed. As in a case to be cited at
the conclusion of this report, the files on a hero submitted for an award may be closed
too quickly, sometimes before the awards process has been completed. Subsequently,
proper documentation of the award never reaches NPRC.
-x-
3. Late upgrades: Not infrequently have lesser awards been reviewed and upgraded to
higher awards. Such upgrades may occur years, even decades later. In the year 2000 a
belated Medal of Honor was awarded (posthumously, of course), to a Civil War
veteran. Being the Medal of Honor, there can be no doubt it was properly recorded
and filed. Many lesser awards, including the Navy Cross, DSC, and Silver Star that
are subsequently awarded after upgrade are done so with less publicity and attention.
Certainly a good number of these have not been properly archives.
In conjunction with this problem is late approvals for GROUP awards. In 1947 the
Bronze Star Medal was authorized to EVERY WORLD WAR II VETERAN who
received the Combat Infantryman's Badge. Furthermore, Bronze Stars have been
authorized to:
*Every member of the Philippine Defense Force serving in the Philippine Islands
during the period December 8, 1941 to May 6, 1942
*Every member of the 101st Airborne Division who served during the invasion of
Normandy, in Operation Market Garden, or at the Battle of the Bulge.
Most qualified veterans are not aware of this broad awarding of the Bronze Star, and
do not realize they have earned this decoration. For most of them, there is nothing
noting that award in their files. With a National Database, as previously noted, a
simple macro could parse out every one of these qualified veterans and correct their
records to include an authorized Bronze Star in simply minutes--perhaps seconds.
Whatever the reason, the failure of our Nation to provide accurate records for each and every
man and woman who has answered the call of duty and served in uniform is inexcusable, more so in
light of advancements in technology that have made complete, accurate, and readily assessable
records much easier. Records failures ROB our veterans of the most basic thing we owe them for
their service, a proper remembrance. One Medal of Honor recipient included the following quote in
a book he authored shortly before his death:
"Poor is the nation that has no heroes,
but beggard that Nation that has and forgets them."
As a final example of this failure I offer the story of two World War II heroes. Both were
young men who gave their lives in defense of freedom in World War II. Both men were awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross for heroic actions in the moment that cost their lives. In both cases, the
record of their valor and award of this high honor was lost. Both men's parents died never realizing
their sons numbered among the 5,000 highest decorated soldiers of World War II.
Not until 2002, nearly half a century after their actions, and then quite by accident, were
these two heroes at last re-discovered and rendered their proper due.
- xi -
FOUND--An American Hero
On July 25, 1944, in France, Staff Sergeant Lawrence "Gunderson's
company was pinned down by heavy enemy fire from machine guns and an
anti-tank gun. With complete disregard for his personal safety, Staff
Sergeant Gunderson, armed only with a rifle and several grenades,
skillfully maneuvered within close range of the machine gun and, exposing
himself to observed fire from the gun, single-handedly wiped out the entire
crew with grenades. Fearless and aggressive, he then attacked the crew of
the anti-tank gun at point blank range. Though subject to direct small arms
fire and receiving wounds in this encounter that proved fatal, his attack was
so fierce that all members of the German anti-tank gun crew were killed or
wounded. As a result of his action, the company was enabled to continue its
advance."
Staff Sergeant Gunderson was buried in France until 1948, when his parents requested return of their son's
remains for burial near his hometown of Stillwater, Minnesota. Beyond the marker at St. Michael's Cemetery
in Bayport that marked their son's final resting place, all that remained were family photos and his personal
effects, returned after his death. They included pictures, two prayer books, a CIB, Good Conduct Ribbon,
wallet, watch, etc. From an "official" standpoint, Lawrence Gunderson was simply one more casualty of the
war, and the Army's obligation to the surviving family had been completed.
Sixty years later in nearby Indiana, Monty McDaniel watched the movie
"Saving Private Ryan". Scenes of the cemetery sparked his interest in doing an
Internet search to locate any information on his uncle, Staff Sergeant Paul
Alexander who was killed in action on June 14, 1944, and was subsequently
buried at A.B.M.C. Normandy. McDaniel not only found his uncle listed by the
American Battle Monuments Commission, but to his complete surprise, learned
that in the action that took the young soldier's life, his uncle had performed so
heroically as to be awarded the U.S. Army's highest decoration, the
Distinguished Service Cross. Armed with this new information, McDaniel
sought help to learn more of his uncle's heroism, at last obtaining a copy of
First U.S. Army, General Orders No. 70 (October 17, 1944). There, in detail,
was the narrative of Staff Sergeant Alexander's final hours of life, and his great
heroism. Following the citation for Alexander's award was the name of Staff
Sergeant Lawrence W. Gunderson, and the account of heroism that earned the Minnesota man his own DSC.
Monty McDaniel couldn't help but wonder if like his own family, Lawrence Gunderson's family was unaware
that he was one of the fewer than 5,000 soldiers who earned the DSC in World War II. After some dedicated
"leg work" he at last located the Gunderson family. William and Claire Gunderson, Lawrence's parents, never
got the opportunity to learn of their son's heroic actions. Nevertheless, on July 22, 2002, 58 years nearly to the
day after Staff Sergeant Gunderson gave his life in defense of freedom, Senator Mark Dayton presented the
award to Lawrence's brother John, also a veteran. Seven of the young hero's brothers and sisters were present
for a long-over-due recognition of a forgotten hero.
The story of Lawrence Gunderson's DSC is at once, both inspirational and tragic. It is heartwarming to see a
lost hero found and properly recognized. It is tragic that the young soldier's parents never knew of his great
heroism, and that in effect for more than half-a-century a family was deprived of an important part of their
own American legacy. The same could be said for Paul Alexander. Unfortunately, these stories are not a
unique incident of a single "lost" General Order.
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