American soldiers
 

My apologies if I have already asked this here, but I have tried on several forums without success.

I recently got a North Korean flag (which can be found in my album) which was said to have been the "taken" by an American soldier, Pfc. Gustav "Gus" Brown of the 9th US Infantry Division, some time around 1951-2. He served as an artilleryman before being transferred to the artillery. He survived the war.

Unfortunately I know that the 9th ID never served in Korea, so I would like to find out more about him: even if I could just find his division, I'd be very grateful.

Anyway, is there any way that I could find out about the guy without (a) being a relative and (b) going stateside?

I had abandoned any hope of finding military records of any sort until I unexpectedly managed to find dozens of documents on various Belgian soldiers I was interested in.

Any help would be much appreciated!
BP

Hi BP,

The 9th ID was not active during the Korean War. The 9th infantry regiment was. It was part of the 2nd infantry division. I can come up with the arty bns of the 2 ID if that would help. I hope this helps.

Don

BP,

You might try here. i don't know what information is necessary to get a record or what you might receive. Good luck.

Don

Hi Don, I really appreciate your help! If you could look at the 9th IR I'd be very grateful.

As for the archives, it's like something Kafka-esque:

In order to request a record, you need the service; service number; Social Security Number; branch of service; dates of service; date and place of birth to secure a record. However, if you are not next of kin, the records you can secure only extend to service number; branch of service and dates of service. After going round this loop for a couple of minutes, I found this

:eek:

Greetings from snowy Nebraska,

I googled the 9th IR and I found after action reports from the Korean War. Interesting but individuals are not listed. Many units had a history published, some listing unit members but I don't know if this is the case here. I'll keep looking. The Second ID was practically destroyed when the Chinese entered the war in late 1950. I don't know if this individual was involved or not. If you know where this person came from, city and state, there may be another way to chase his records. Each county in the US has a veterans office which is supposed to receive a copy of the individuals DD 214 at discharge. Maybe your man can be located this way.

Regards

Don

Hi Don,

Thank you for your trouble! I've found this link to a person of the right name from NY, allegedly a vet of the Korean conflict (http://www.mcdonaldandson.com/fh/obi...50&fh_id=12206) but without additional info, there doesn't seem to be any way of checking.

Thanks again!
BP

BP,

Peekskill, NY is in Westchester County, NY. There is a veteran's affairs office. I'm assuming that when he was discharged his records were sent here assuming this was his home of record. I'm going down to my local veteran's officer here and talk to the officer Monday. He is a former student of mine. I'm wondering if he has connections. Doesn't hurt to ask. What exactly would you like to find out?

Don

Hi Don,

Above all, I'd like to know what division he served in, but his period of service in Korea would be good too. I really appreciate your help on this!

All the best,

BP

Happy Monday,

Not much luck BP. It seems it is very hit or miss if a record was ever deposited in a veteran's affairs office. Even then what can be released to someone not related is limited. Two possible courses of action, contact the mortuary and ask them to put you in contact with surviving relatives, or, if they can't do that, if they would forward a request for information. You could also contact the New York State Division of Veteran's Affairs - 2 Empire State Plaza, 17th Floor - Albany, NY 12223-1551 and ask if they could help you or point you to someone can. Sorry I couldn't find out any more.

Good Luck and keep me informed if you find out anything.

Don

Thanks Don!

The problem seems to be that there were several Gus(tav) Browns doing the rounds at the time. One seems to have been in an Afro-American unit of the 9th infantry which is encouraging. Another seems to have got a transfer to Hawaii (good if you can get it I suppose) after Korea. I'll see what I can do and let you know if I find anything.

Best wishes & thanks for your help,

BP

There used to be a veterans association for GIs who were in Korea with the US 2nd Infantry Division, but it closed down in April 2011:

http://www.2id.org/

There are some links there, but it seems that the site was supposed to have been removed at the end of 2012.

It was suggested that members go to the 2nd (Indianhead) Association instead:

http://www.2ida.org/

It might be worth contacting them and seeing if any of the Korean War veterans remember your man?

That is really very sad. It is really a testament to how ignored Korean veterans have been, that though around 10 years younger than WW2 veterans, they disband their associations first. I heard the Canadian veterans did likewise last year too. Very sad indeed.

I'll do as you suggest.

There also seems to be a Gus Brown listed as a member of 143rd Field Artillery Battery, 40th "Ball of Fire" ID. (http://143korea.tripod.com/id22.htm)

How did you acquire your flag? Maybe that could provide the missing clue.

Don

I'm afraid I got it by epay, but it was previously in the possession of a well-known US collector who was good enough to give me what information I have. The veteran in question seems to have had a long life after Korea, apparently refusing to eat Korean food on the basis that "If it was green or moved, they'd stew it".

BP