My father was in an ambulance group at Camp McNair in Japan in 1951-2. I’m doing genealogy research and I can’t figure out what division he was in. This camp was mostly Marines but I think he was Army. On one of the pictures it shows the 3rd platoon, but I can’t find the unit on the Internet. Hopefully you can help me.
Bonnie Garcia
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Dear Ms Garcia,
Camp Fuji McNair, as it was formally called, was primarily an Army base until 1953, when it was turned over to the Marines. If your father left behind a shoulder patch, it might give a clue to his unit, since the Army wore those all the time. Otherwise, you might want to contact the U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1099 14th Street NW, Washington DC 20005, (202) 761-5396, an supply whatever information you do have.. The burning of Army records at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind., in 1973, presents a problem, but writing your congressman might turn something up (it did for my father). You might also want to contact your local American Legion or VFW, which might in turn know where there might be a veterans association for the unit in which your father served.
Good luck,
Jon Guttman
Research Director
World History Group
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