WWII enlistment records USA

by mail in news:soc.genealogy.methods:-

I looked at Ancestry's "version" of the WWII enlistment records and can see they've omitted a critical piece of data you need.... the ASN (Army Serial Number) from their listings.
So, I took a step back for you, I consulted the actual "Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Enlistment Records)" database [8,866,786 records] that is online at the National Archives website and found the *full* entry for the James M. Burroughs of Scott Field, IL:

ARMY SERIAL NUMBER 34614638
NAME BURROUGHS#JAMES#M#######
RESIDENCE: MISSISSIPPI
RESIDENCE: COUNTY TUNICA
PLACE OF ENLISTMENT: SCOTT FIELD ILLINOIS
DATE OF ENLISTMENT DAY: 21
DATE OF ENLISTMENT MONTH: 12
DATE OF ENLISTMENT YEAR: 45
GRADE: ALPHA DESIGNATION: Corporal
GRADE: Corporal
BRANCH: Air Corps
BRANCH: Air Corps
TERM OF ENLISTMENT 3 Enlistment for Hawaiian Department
SOURCE OF ARMY PERSONNEL 6 Enlisted Man, Philippine Scout or recall to
AD of an enlisted man who had been transferred to the ERC
NATIVITY: ALABAMA
YEAR OF BIRTH: 20
RACE AND CITIZENSHIP: White, citizen
EDUCATION: Grammar school
CIVILIAN OCCUPATION: PAINTER, GENERAL or STATION AGENT, RAILWAY
MARITAL STATUS: Single, without dependents
COMPONENT OF THE ARMY: Regular Army (including Officers, Nurses,
Warrant Officers, and Enlisted Men)
CARD NUMBER # #
BOX NUMBER 0826
FILM REEL NUMBER 3.248

Interesting clue from this record is the fact that he was a former enlisted man (ERC = Enlisted Reserve Corps) [333,446 records]. This tidbit points to an earlier enlistment for a "James M. Burroughs":

ARMY SERIAL NUMBER 20410614
NAME BURROUGHS#JAMES#M#######
RESIDENCE: MISSISSIPPI
RESIDENCE COUNTY: COAHOMA
PLACE OF ENLISTMENT: MEMPHIS TENNESSEE
DATE OF ENLISTMENT DAY: 19
DATE OF ENLISTMENT MONTH: 09
DATE OF ENLISTMENT YEAR: 40
GRADE: ALPHA DESIGNATION: Private
GRADE: Private
BRANCH: Field Artillery
BRANCH: Field Artillery
FIELD USE AS DESIRED # #
TERM OF ENLISTMENT 1 One year enlistment
LONGEVITY ### ###
SOURCE OF ARMY PERSONNEL Civil Life
NATIVITY: ALABAMA
YEAR OF BIRTH: 20
RACE AND CITIZENSHIP: White, citizen
EDUCATION: Grammar school
CIVILIAN OCCUPATION 727 - Undefined Code
MARITAL STATUS 6 Single, without dependents

COMPONENT OF THE ARMY 6 Army of the United States
- includes the following: Voluntary enlistments effective December 8, 1941 and thereafter; One year enlistments of National Guardsman whose State enlistment expires while in the Federal Service; Officers appointed in the Army of the United States under Army Regulations 605-10

CARD NUMBER # #
BOX NUMBER 0343
FILM REEL NUMBER 3.65#

Source:
http://aad.archives.gov/aad/series-description.jsp?s=3360&cat=WR26&bc=sl


My next step was to take a look at the location of both counties, Tunica and Coahoma in Mississippi as well as the enlistment locations of Memphis, TN and Scott Field, IL. Key factor tying them all together... the Mississippi River. A good mode of transportation north.

Using the search engine for the 1930 U.S. census on Ancestry limits us to only name and year of birth. Unfortunately, the database does NOT list birthplaces for almost all who were not listed as heads of household, so a search for Alabama born 10 year olds can't be done.

Using an alternate approach, I looked at the entries for James M. BURROUGHS born 1920 in the WorldConnect/AWT databases and came up with this family.
The family fits the migration of Alabama (through 1930), to Coahoma County, MS (post 1930) and deserves a closer look.

http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=emmitt&id=I4269


A logical next step would be to get the obituary for James and determine if this is a match or not.

Best regards,

Michelle Tucker Chubenko

Professional Genealogist: http://www.chubenko.us/profgen/index.htm

"Things don't turn up in this world until somebody turns them up."
- James A. Garfield
=
NJGenWeb: Monmouth County - http://www.rootsweb.com/~njmonmo2
OKGenWeb Adair Co.: http://www.rootsweb.com/~okadair/adaircty.htm
AdairCoArch: http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ok/adair/adair.html