Edward Blees: WWII Record
A year ago, I wrote about Edward Blees (1923-2019) as a soldier in World War II. At the end of that blog post, I stated that I had requested Ed’s military file from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).
National Personnel Records Center
The reply from the NPRC came about 4 months after my request. Sadly, the electronic file was small.
The letter explained that a devasting fire swept through the NPRC in St. Louis, Missouri on July 12, 1973. Major portions of Army military personnel records for the years 1912-1959 were destroyed. Ed Blees’s complete Army personnel file was among the documents lost that day. The NPRC stated that “complete records cannot be reconstructed.”1Letter to Patrick Blees. National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis MO, April 21, 2023.
Alternate Records
The NPRC could not provide Ed’s complete record, but they did send a copy of the Veteran’s Administration’s Enlisted Record and Report of Separation; Honorable Discharge for Edward J. Blees.
This one-page document is difficult to read due to it likely being the fourth page of a carbon copy set.2The bottom margin of this sheet is labeled: 4 Veterans Administration Headquarters Copy. A sheet of carbon paper was placed between two or more sheets of paper. The pressure applied by the manual typewriter to the top sheet caused pigment from the carbon paper to reproduce the similar mark on the copy sheets. With many layers, the underlying layers became less crisp.
Carbon copy Enlisted Record and Report of Separation; Honorable Discharge, Edward J. Blees
Original Record
Wait a minute!
When Patrick applied for his father’s veteran grave marker, he must have provided proof of Ed’s military service.
In the “important papers” file cabinet in our basement, Patrick found this original, typed form. It was the top copy of the “alternate record” provided by the NPRC.3WD AGO Form 53-55, Enlisted Record and Report of Separation; Honorable Discharge, Edward J. Blees. Original owned by Patrick Blees, May 2019.
Original Enlisted Record and Report of Separation; Honorable Discharge, Edward J. Blees
Information in this record:
- Name: Edward J. Blees
- Army Serial No.: 37550429
- Rank/Grade: PFC [Private, First Class]
- AUS [Army of the United States], Company D, 179th Infantry
- Induction: 18 Feb 1943
- Entry: 25 Feb 1943, Fort Snelling, Minnesota
- Military Qualifications: Rifle MM [Marksman], Combat Inf Badge, Driver & Mech Badge
- Decorations and Citations: European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal 44
- No wounds
- Immunizations
- Service outside Continental U.S.: Sep 1943 to European Theater of Operations, Sep 1945 return to U.S.
- Pay Data
- Insurance Notes
- Thumb Print
- Additional remarks: Lapel button issued, 3 Overseas Service Bars, ASR Score [Adjusted Service Rating] – demobilization score [hierarchy for sending troops home at the end of the war]
- Original Signatures
- Filed for the Record (typed at the very bottom) indicates that Ed’s Honorable Discharge was added to Ramsey County MN Deed Record Book 22, page 173 on November 19, 1945.4The small receipt was previously attached with metal staples.
Ed Blees, at Como Park in St. Paul MN, April 20, 1943
Next week, we’ll take a look at Ed’s decorations, citations and qualifications.
Do you have a photo of Ed in his Army uniform? A portrait-type photograph?
SOURCES
- 1Letter to Patrick Blees. National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis MO, April 21, 2023.
- 2The bottom margin of this sheet is labeled: 4 Veterans Administration Headquarters Copy. A sheet of carbon paper was placed between two or more sheets of paper. The pressure applied by the manual typewriter to the top sheet caused pigment from the carbon paper to reproduce the similar mark on the copy sheets. With many layers, the underlying layers became less crisp.
- 3WD AGO Form 53-55, Enlisted Record and Report of Separation; Honorable Discharge, Edward J. Blees. Original owned by Patrick Blees, May 2019.
- 4The small receipt was previously attached with metal staples.