Discharge Special Order 1921, interpretation pls. Seeking Surgeon's Certificate of Disability
Continuing from https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/134949/va-master-index-record-analysis. Same profile L846-C3F, record is available at https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/164729127.
NPRC replied to request for OMPF, stating that the only available record was the alternate record known as a "Discharge Special Order".
Is there any other place to such as NARA Washington DC to consider looking for records related to this servicemember?
This is for service ending in 1921.
I'd like to know branch, unit, enlistment date & place, station etc. Both letters in the Discharge Special Order as signed by officers with "U.S.A." in title. Is that "US Army"? Are there any clues indicating if Air Service/Air Corp service?
The service member (item 1 on page 1) has some acronyms "Rect. F.A., unsgd. att. 15th Rect. Co." The previous thread reply indicated Rct=Regimental Combat Team, Recruit.
Both pages list Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. Wikipedia indicates this was an Army installation at the time. Would this form be issued where he was stationed? (Indicating he was stationed at Jefferson Barracks). Would Jefferson Barracks have additional records?
Would the Surgeon's Certificate of Disability be available, if NPRC has already located all service records they have? This document is referred to in the Discharge Special Order.
It is puzzling why these records are for John Taylor, while I am researching Audrey Lambdin. On Form 13075, I listed both names used and Service Number from the VA Master Index (see previous thread https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/134949/va-master-index-record-analysis). The VA Master Index indicated John Taylor was used as alias. Could there be a mistake in records? The NPRC letter accompanying this Discharge Special Order omits the Service Number I provided in my NPRC request (Service Number was gleaned from VA Master Index). The letter also says "The veteran's last name is LAMBDIN."
Should I try new NARA request, using only known Lambdin name? No one in family had any idea he was in military or used an alias. No wife or descendants, d 1921.
I am new to military research and appreciate any pointers!
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"Rect. F.A., unsgd. att. 15th Rect Co." most likely stands for "Recruit Field Artillery, unassigned attached to 15th Recruit Company."
In other words, the soldier was a recruit in the field artillery but was not assigned to a specific unit, he was, instead, attached to the 15th Recruit Company (probably a special medical company). An assignment is somewhat permanent whereas to be "attached" is usually temporary.
Jefferson Barracks was a major recruiting and training center for the army during the war years and was also the home of some field artillery units. In addition, it was one of the first army installations involved in aviation. However, recruits would be more likey to come under the Field Artillery (this is the case at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, today).
I see that his address was given as the North Dakota State Hospital for the Insane at Jamestown, ND. The records from this hospital appear to have been sent to the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Consider contacting them to see what, if anything, is available regarding their patients/residents during this time period.
https://www.history.nd.gov/archives/stateagencies/statehospital.html
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Thank you for detailed reply!
Would you agree the soldier wasn't enlisted long enough to be assigned to a unit? VA Master Index (the only other document found so far regarding military service) states enlisted Nov 1920 and discharged Aug 1921. Would he likely have been training at Jefferson Barracks for the duration of enlistment? VA Master Index here https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPTJ-G138
Regarding Jamestown ND hospital- it seems he went directly from Army to Hospital for the Insane. His death certificate indicates he was under care of hospital Dr. from Aug 1921 until death.
Was transport arranged by military to bring recruits from enlistment location to basic training? Or from discharge location back home? It seems he enlisted at Steele ND (per VA Master Index) and went directly to Jamestown hospital for the Insane from Army (per discharge paperwork & death certificate). Perhaps passenger train records exist to confirm his travel from ND to MO 1920 and back to ND 1921.
Again, thank you for the helpful reply! My goal is to collect and understand all records related to this little-known uncle who left no family.
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An American soldier in World War I underwent 16 weeks of training before being permanently assigned to the unit in which he would serve. If the soldier was selected for specialized training (communications, supply, medic, etc) he would be sent to a specialized school. It was not much different than today. There were over 30 basic training camps around the country at the time. However, the army was downsized after the war so by 1920 there were probably fewer operating training camps.
If a soldier was injured or became ill, or suffered a nervous breakdown, during training he would be sent to the camp hospital for short term care. He might go to a rehab Company until able to return to normal duty. Pvt Lambdin was discharged for "paranoia," which probably means he had a nervous breakdown at some point in his training and, as a result, never completed the 16 weeks of training. This happens today. I was in basic training in 1969 and we lost 2 men out of 80 to nervous breakdowns from the stress of the training. Soldiers who do not finish their basic training need to be processed out of the military, a procedure that can take weeks or months depending on the severity of the illness or condition.
The VA wasn't organized until 1930 so there were no VA hospitals in 1921. The next best choice is a psychiatric hospital near the soldier's home and family. Unfortunately, psychiatric medicine was still in the dark ages in the 1920s and people with psychiatric disorders were often classified as "insane." It is possible that your uncle was sent to Jamestown months before he was ultimately discharged, especially if Jefferson Barracks lacked the capability of dealing with psychiatric conditions. (Today he would probably have been diagnosed with PTSD and sent to a VA hospital.)
The nature of transportation to a training camp would likely depend on how many men were being sent from the recruiting station to the training camp. Most likely, they were given train or bus tickets and sent on their way individually or in small groups. Soldiers were often enlisted in large groups during the war but by 1920 this was probably not the case. Medically discharged soldiers would be discharged individually rather than en masse and, if they were physically able to travel alone, they were likely given a bus or train ticket and a packet of paperwork and sent off.
I doubt that there would be a passenger manifest for a train or bus trip. However, comings and goings of soldiers were often covered in the local newspapers. The Bismark Tribune has been around since 1873. Both Steele and Jamestown are in its circulation area. Newspapers.com has the Bismark Tribune in its digital collection and would be worth searching.
https://newspaperarchive.com/search/location/us/nd/bismarck/bismarck-tribune/
Please let me know what you discover by posting it here, there are probably others in the group who could benefit from your search process. Best of luck!
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Thank you for additional detailed information. I have come up empty in newspapers.com searching "Lambdin" in ND 1920-1921 (his enlistment timeframe). I don't have a subscription to newspaperarchive.com but a search there also comes up empty.
I see several obstacles in locating newspapers & other records: when was the very common alias "John Taylor" used? According to VA Master Index, his service was brief and didn't include wartime.
The ND State Archives apparently have microfilm of local Steele newspapers. Not nearly as convenient as online images.
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It seems odd that he would die in the psychiatric hospital in December the same year he was discharged from the Army for paranoia. I am curious as to how he died. The online death certificate at Ancestry.com has been redacted to remove the cause of death. You might consider contacting North Dakota to see if you can get a copy of the death certificate showing his actual cause of death.
You had at one point wondered if he was in the Army Air Service. His WWI draft registration lists his occupation as an airplane assembler, but it also says he was cross-eyed so he was probably not going to be a pilot. He may have been in training to be some kind of aircraft mechanic.
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I contacted Vital Records in ND. State law limits who can obtain cause of death. At this point, no living family members are close enough to be authorized to obtain the full death certificate. He had no wife or children and siblings are deceased.
But agree full death certificate would be useful.
I'd also appreciate having 1920 census but haven't found him there.
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