A fairly random question but is there an open source archive that would allow me to trace the service of a specific US Army Officer from the WWII era? (I’m British and have no direct access to physical US archive resources, so I’m really looking for an online option.)
He was possibly a staff officer and spent time in Britain, at Rock Island Arsenal, and belonged to the Ordnance Corps. I have various references to him as a Lieutenant and later as a Major
I’m looking for data such as date of commission, dates of promotions, decorations (if any), postings within the USA and overseas, and date of end of service.
I appreciate this is needle-in-a-haystack search territory, but I’m hoping it’s a viable use of my time.
Since the records are more than 62 years old,you have access to them. You can get his DD214 and service records here: eVetRecs
You can also request his official military personnel files from the National Personnel Records Center by submitting a Standard Form 180. That form and address is here: Access to Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF)for the General Public | National Archives
This will get you everything you ever need to know about his military service.
His last name matters. There was an immense fire at the records center destroying almost all WW II records for names in the middle of the alphabet, for example, my father’s.
It is my understanding that sometime after Vietnam? there was a fire in the main military records depot which destroyed many records. This is a real problem for Post WWI record searches
The Mormons have a very large database of individuals, not just Mormon, that can be searched.
The Rock Island Arsenal and the Ordnance Corps may have websites with links to resources, and links for member searches.
Many units have their own webpages and associations so you might search there as well. ( this is how I got most of my Dad’s information after his official record was 90% redacted. His Air Force unit had a web page full of dates, pictures, and a forum. I. simply asked about my dad, and got several lengthy replies)
If he went to West Point, some of the information is there. If you have and idea of where he went to college otherwise, he may have been in the ROTC and you can find some information in the alumni pages.
You could also try Ancestry.com. The web site is home to a mountain (Mormon reference - if you know, you know) of information. Sometimes rather surprising information. Best of luck in you search.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I will pursue some of these and see what I can discover.
I have almost zero information on the officer in question - just his name appearing in various documents over a period a couple of years.
Lt John Savage (noted as belonging to the Ordnance Corps) first appears in the minutes of a meeting in London in 1942 as an attendee, along with several other more senior US and British officers. The meeting was a regular catch-up relating to the Canal Defence Light project. By 1944, a Major John Savage is listed as the named recipient for consignments of specialised CDL components being shipped to Rock Island Arsenal from British manufacturers. That makes sense, given that RIA was where the US turrets were assembled. The secret nature of the CDL project means I’m reasonably confident we’re talking about the same guy. I also have a less clear reference that suggests he might have spent time at Fort Knox in 1942/43 (also involved in CDL work).
Whilst Savage is probably a minor player in the wider story, I just found it interesting to see how more junior officers in this type of project often seem to percolate around into different roles and wanted to get a thumbnail view of his service.