William L. Beigel

Researching Records of Veterans Killed in World War 2 and Korea

I generally start my programs by discussing a World War 2 topic that is currently in the news; as an example, I did a number of talks last year regarding the flyer who was found in a glacier in the High Sierras. For my talk to your group, I have a few new examples I'll probably discuss (if you check around, at least once a week the remains of aircraft wreckage from WW2 is located somewhere in the US or elsewhere).

I then discuss a number of case histories (as many or few as will fit in the time slot available).

From that, I will discuss sources, and I usually include a discussion to the effect that often WW2-era records are not "user friendly", and that interpretation of the records is a must.

I usually then open the floor to questions from the audience.

Bio

I research the military records for those Americans that were casualties in World War 2 and Korea. By "casualties", I meant those who were killed, wounded, or made Prisoners of War. In WW2 alone, 406,000 were killed, over 600,000 were wounded, and about 150,000 were made POWs.

Academic Background:

BA: History, UCLA, 1980 MA: Geography, UCLA, 1983

Career

I perform this research evenings and at night, with one or two trips to academic institutions or archival collections a year. I am very passionate about this research (although yes, I do get paid!). My full time "day job" is as a Senior Contracts Specialist for ARINC, Inc (www.arinc.com).My office is in Marina del Rey, CA, and specializes in airport, harbor, and transit security systems and integration.

Personal

48 years old, resident of Torrance, CA. I have been married for 22 years (to Dawn) and we have two kids, Jimmy, 17, and Linda, 14, both high school students.

World War 2/Korean War Research

My interest in World War is of long-standing, for family reasons. When my father was 13 years old, his parents divorced. He went with his mother to live with her and her family in Detroit. This was in 1943, and housing conditions were tight in Detroit, due to all the war-time industrial production occurring there at the time.

So, my father and grandmother ended up living with some cousins. In their cousin's family was a son, 19 years old. He became the "brother" my father never had. His cousin volunteered for the Army Air Corps (today known as the Air Force). His name was SSGT Morris Meyers, and he was selected for duty, and became a gunner on a B-17 (Flying Fortress) crew in the 385th Bomb Group.

At the beginning of July, 1943, SSGT Morris' family received a letter stating that SSGT Morris was "Missing in Action" over Europe; about a month later, a telegram confirmed their worst fears; the status of SSGT Morris had been changed, and he was now considered deceased.

The mystery haunted the family for decades.

In the early 1990's, I was discussing the situation with my father. Using the research skills I had learned in college, and with some good luck, I found out more about the status of SSGT Morris than I could have ever imagine.

Over the past ten years, I have worked for about 500 clients, nation-wide, as well as clients in Belgium, Denmark, England, Germany, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, and Turkey.