my dad's oldest brother served in WWII aboard CVE-13 USS Core. He was an aviation machinist's mate 2C. The Core was a merchant marine ship converted into a small carrier. From what i've read she was responsible for sub hunter missions in the north atlantic.

last week one of my dad's other brothers died (US Army, Ret) and despite the loss we had the good fortune of finding some memorabilia from his oldest brother that was thought to have been thrown out. I had my dad submit a request for his DD214 from the eVetsRec system.

this is his yearbook from Aviation Machinists Mate school in Florida...


John H. Gordon -- "Flash"
3754 Leonard St, Philadelphia, Pa.
Here's a boy who likes lots of sleep,
Laid in his bunk to always count sheep.
At reveille time he never would budge,
till the M.A. came and gave him a nudge.

Here is the letter (signed by FDR) about his death, the only thing i can find about "Squadron 36" is VS-36 which may make sense since it was based out of Atlantic City, NJ (this has been my only lead)


Here is a picture of him as an aviator


My grandmother always said he was a "tail gunner", but this picture taken a month before his death on the USS Core shows an FM-4 Wildcat (a one man plane)



i am really confused, and i've been wanting to find this information out for years but up until now i had no real leads to go on. i have his wings, but i would like to have everything so it never gets lost again.

thanks in advance for any help

Yeah that info would be great for my grandpa!

Unfortunately the building where the archived records were stored, was burned down in the '70's.  Many records were lost.  Don't be too disappointed if you can't locate any info.

I'll look around for the contact info.

Quoted: Unfortunately the building where the archived records were stored, was burned down in the '70's.  Many records were lost.  Don't be too disappointed if you can't locate any info. I'll look around for the contact info.

i found that info online...

i just need some insight on:

"Composite Squadron 36"

Quoted: Quoted: Unfortunately the building where the archived records were stored, was burned down in the '70's.  Many records were lost.  Don't be too disappointed if you can't locate any info. I'll look around for the contact info. i found that info online... i just need some insight on: "Composite Squadron 36"

the good news is that the Army/Air Force records were lost, the Navy Marine records are intact. I got my grand fathers records from the Marines in 30 days. he was a WW2 Iwo Jima Vet.

For military personnel records the best place to go is the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis MO.

National Personnel Records Center
Military Personnel Records
9700 Page Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63132-5100

http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/index.html

The fire only effected certain Army and Air Force records

http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/fire-1973.html

For information about military unit history you need to send a request to the Joint Service Records Research Center.  

Department of the Army
U.S. Army & Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC)
7701 Telegraph Road
Kingman Building, Suite 2C08
Alexandria, Virginia 22315-3802
Telephone number: 703-428-6801

There MAY (I am not for sure one way or another) be a charge for these records and you MUST provide specific date ranges for the records you are searching for.

JSRRC is most famous for helping the VA with PTSD claims but they provide unit historical records for all types of uses.  I would recommend contacting them directly so they can assist you with sending a proper request.

Hope this helps and good luck.