The Physical Search
I love looking around antique stores, mainly because I love antiques! But, there is so much history there as well. Every time I get a chance to visit a store I do and I always find something that intrigues me.
On this Occasion it was an old brown leather looking pouch or envelope type item that was snapped closed. As I opened it I could tell it was an important set of papers. Folded inside was also an extra paper, so I carefully opened it to see what I had found.
It was Army discharge papers! An Honorable Discharge dated 1945. And in small print right in the middle was the man’s name. Yes! It was one of the sir names from my tree. It may not be someone closely related but I could not go off and leave that important information there.
Decorated Honor
The other piece of paper folded up inside was a list of names, General Orders: Restricted, Headquarters Nagoya Base, Nagoya Honshu. The title was “Award of Decoration” dated the 9th of March 1946. Everyone on the list was awarded the “Good Conduct Medal for exemplary behavior, efficiency, and fidelity.” One hundred and seventy one names on the list! All originally signed and in good condition.
The best part, another man with the same sir name was on this list. They were found together in the same protective cover, maybe this means they were family some how. The two have different id numbers on the paperwork so it could not be a typo but it is possible that the two papers found each other some how and were put together to be sold. If I had not looked really good I would have thought it was the same person on both papers. Each and every man on this list must have gotten one of these letters.
Now I’m off on another hunt for these two men and to see if I can find where they may fit in my tree. If they don’t I still have a wonderful piece of history that inspires me to show love to the men that fought for freedom so bravely.
Jena spends her time researching her family tree as well as others. She travels, visits cemeteries and other historical places while gathering and collecting old photos, albums, scrapbooks and other pieces of memorable history to study and share. Jena is a retired teacher, has served as president with her local Historical Society, and maintains a community history page. She also loves photographing historical reenactments, cemeteries and historical places.