With many thanks to Walt Linne, Alece Egan, and Paula Evans Baker, we offer this new "Contacting your
Dad's Buddy Checklist." Walt and Alece are the organizers, the main collaborators, and the people to
write to if you have your own additional hints and tips on how to contact a possible Buddy of your Dad's.
A good starting point is to contact your Dad's military association. While
not always the case, the association generally has a roster of active members,
an Historian and a newsletter. Writing the Historian, requesting a roster or
placing an article in the newsletter may lead you to a buddy of your Dad.
If this fails, you may want to send out a general letter to all the veterans
of your father's outfit. Here are some helpful tips on what to include:
1. Send a short letter introducing yourself and your Father. List all the
information you know about your Father -- to include MOS (Military Occupational
Specialty) training history, operational history, and where he died.
2. Also include a photcopy of a photo of your Dad, preferrably in uniform, along
with any nicknames he might have used, as those who don't remember his "formal"
name might remember his face or his nickname.
3. Include all you know about his interests, his hobbies, and his appearance, etc.
Did he play an instrument, have any interesting habits, likes, or dislikes? As
these "memory triggers" might be the very thing that produces results -- and a
possible contact.
4. Enclose a self-addressed, postage-paid postcard with the individual's name already printed
on it. Ask a few pertinent questions that can be answered briefly or with "Yes" or "No" answers,
so if the contact doesn't write you a full letter, he might be inclined to at least return the
postcard.
5. On the postcard, ask for dates the individual was with the outfit, ask for his telephone number,
and ask permission to call him if the dates match.
6. Provide your OWN telephone number, just in case the contact remembers something, and is motivated
to call you. Also provide your return mail address of course, and your E-Mail address as well. You
never know . . . maybe this contact has been looking for YOU!
7. Prepare a list of questions you want to ask in case an actual contact is made with a veteran, and
keep a copy near the phone, especially just following your mailing. If a veteran calls you, you may
find that having ready questions (handy) will help to jog fading memories.
8. Send a follow-up thank you note whenever a contact is made. By the time your contact reads it, he
may have remembered even more.
Additional Experience or Input --
If you've had a specific experience yourself, and have a hint or tip you think might be worth adding to this
list for others, just click the button below.
Many thanks to Walt Linne, Alece Egan, and Paula Baker for compiling and maintaining this information. On behalf
of AWON, we dedicate this page to the memory of:
SGT Walter John Linne, KIA 24 March, 1945
2LT Edwin Lawrence (Ted) Blanche, KIA 24 March, 1945
