Buddy Search Tips

If there is someone you know and have any information about or would like to research do the following:

• 1-Check the years listed below for a name. Names be on there for lots of reasons, mistakes by me, or the man is deceased. Also check years not known as it might not have been recorded. 
  
• 1-go to the Locator page and look up by last name only: LOCATOR PAGE 
  
• 2-copy down what information I have about this man. (most cases there are bits and pieces of info)
• 3-Check out the Search tips on the web page
• Best Search engines for finding guys are:
•  zabasearch 
• intelius
• 4-Contact me with any new information: Burgertogo@msn.com

Note: I have a listing of SS numbers for a lot of guys. If you contact me I can get them or you. I never give them out unless I know you.  With a SS number we can pin point where a man has been living and most often we can find him.  

Click below to see a list of men we don't have address for Check more then one year and pick someone to find

Tips on finding people. 

How to find VETS:,
I have found the most amazing thing. Finding buddies is difficult , but not impossible Below is a method almost guaranteed if you are willing to do some work. There are no sites that locator people for FREE, but some give you a taste of finding someone for FREE. If you use a combination of sites its possible to find a guy with SS number(I HAVE a lot of SS # from rosters on C 2/5 guys ).
†
#1-
go to         http://intellius.com/
do a search by ss# ( if you have any old orders there n there or send me a short list of name for numbers)
type in SS# and last name
intellius will tell you  cit State, results will vary from 0- 10 or so jot down the city state.

#2
go to  http://www.zabasearch.com/
type in the full name with middle initial and the state.
Zabaserach will give you 1 to 60 names.
go the the correct city, see the year born, usually 1945,1946,1947, 1948, 1949, 0r 1950. this is the right guy (80-90%).

#3 For More information go to:
Also go to military.com(then use buddysearch)†to get the correct middle initial. if you do not have an order. they will search the Department of Defense for all men serving in the military.
Military.com: for those soldiers without an order(SS#) or initials.
once you are in, the home page section has: Buddysearch. click this, it will ask you to enter the name of the soldier that you are looking for.
It will search DOD for all soldiers with the same name. common name you can get 100 or more. look at the rank, click that person. it will show a MOS, still active, or veteran. you might have to go through each one. Sometime there is only one 11B20 or 11B20 or medic. It will give you the full name with initial. (Lee Alexander, only one Lee O. Alexander with 11B20 MOS) the initial helps out a lot.
there is link to Zabasearch, so you can click directly to Zabasearch.

Remember: If you find a NEW man please enter the information on the locator Page Locator Page.. http://ccompany2nd5thlocator.org
on his behalf, of send the information to me and I will enter it for you. Don’t sit on this information we need to get it into the C 2/5 database.

†
good luck. that’s why SS# are important.


PERSONAL CONTACT
One of the first questions to ask  anyone you find is, "do you remember any names, or  do you know where anyone is today?" This is an easy  way to quickly double your list.

OLD LETTERS & PHOTOGRAPHS
Letters home from Vietnam often  mentioned buddies - even naming their home towns.  Sometimes we wrote names on the back of photographs  identifying the guys in the picture. Are any still  sitting around - perhaps in your folks' or another  relative's papers?

ROSTERS & ORDERS
Did you keep a roster or a journal  of the unit's moves? When we received promotion, purple  heart, R&R, etc. orders, they usually contained the  names of others serving with us. Have you dug out those  old orders lately for clues? HINT: If you were in Vietnam after 1967, those orders contain Social Security Numbers,  which we can convert to identify the state they were  issued in.

INTERNET
 There are numerous resources on the internet for  locating others.  My favorite is http://www.zabasearch.com.   This site sometimes include birth date, so even some common names can  be pinned down.  Another is http://www.whowhere.com. 
Try http://www.intelius.com/ if you have a SS number, it might get you clost to the city and state. Additionally, there are many subscription sites that use utility,  court, voter registration, and credit records to provide  addresses.  I recommend http://www.ussearch.com.

MORNING REPORTS
Army units kept daily rosters (DA  form 1) on the status of each person assigned. These  records were microfiched, and can be obtained for a  SPECIFIC battery, for SPECIFIC days (usually requested to  support a VA claim) from:

 National  Records Center
 9700 Page Avenue
 St. Louis, MO  63132
   (Be patient - it can take  up to a year for them to  respond!)NAMES &  UNIT INFORMATION:
Click on this link for information on getting your military records:
http://members.aol.com/forvets/htomr.htm

Morning rosters will  have most of the names of the men you worked with, ask for the  dates six months before and after you were in service. There will  be a fee for the rosters. They are copied from micro film. There  should NOT be a fee for any personal records. They may suggest  that you have local college students do the search for rosters  due to the fact it does take a lot of time and they want to use  that time for mostly personal searches. Tell them you wish to pay  the fee, it’s about $8.50 to start, and about $12-$15 per  hour for morning rosters.

There is also info at  the site mentioned for sending "Blind" letters to  buddies you wish to contact. The Veterans Administration also allows "Blind" letters, you can call your local VA and  ask for three names at a time to see if your buddy is listed  anywhere in the states.

Each mans name on the  roster will have a service number or social security number  listed after the name, in addition to rank, Military Occupation  Specialty code ( MOS ), secondary MOS ( job they may have been  doing although they had a different mos ), and the dates ETS: for  discharge, Eligible to Return: from overseas unless they  extended, and SPED: date they were inducted or enlisted. There is  also a race column: 1 = Caucasian, 2 = African American, 3-5 not  in order …American Indian, Hispanic, Puerto-Rican, 6 =  Mexican.

Military MOS  Numbers List:
http://grunt.space.swri.edu/mosindex.htm … this will help you narrow  your search.

2) http://www.militaryusa.com is a site that has a Vietnam data base  you can use to confirm your buddies name, match MOS’s, rank,  search for a middle initial, and has service men served in (USMC,AF,etc.)

INTERNET PHONE  BOOKS:
1) Yahoo People  Search: Fill in the boxes and go…try e-mails first, then  phone numbers. If using a middle initial and no-results, try it  w/o, then variations of the first or last name. As in all  searching on the Internet, start with full names, then no middle  initial, then Ed after Edward, then E for the first name. Write  down or print out the e-mail numbers, Send "Blind"  e-mails to all those who look like matches, look for middle  initials in the addresses. Then search phone numbers and  cold-call the phone numbers that look close.
 Watch for relatives in both modes, in areas you feel are correct.

2) http://www.whowhere.com is another phone search  directory, but has various "Reverse" search modes. It  also has area code search and exchange search if you have a phone  number and you want to know where it’s from. You’ll  find both directories faster in early morning or late evening.

INTERNET SEARCH  ENGINES:
Another source  of searching can be found at http://www.alltheweb.com Use "Exact Phrase"  mode at first, then "All-the words" mode. There are  many other web search engines out there, but I’ve found this  the best. Again, start with all the info typed in the search box,  and then shorten it: John D. Doe Jr. , John D. Doe, John Doe, J.  D. Doe, J. Doe. Search anything you want in this way!

SOCIAL SECURITY  NUMBERS:
The first three  numbers indicate the ONE state the Vet was inducted or enlisted  from. An up-dated list and explanation of these can be found and  downloaded at the web site http://ssa.gov/employer_info/statessn.html

Morning Rosters will  come from the National Personnel Records Center with service  numbers in view, however the social security numbers will be  written over w/black magic marker….not to worry, it can be  easily removed with a 50% solution of (70% Isopropyl rubbing  alcohol) and 50% water blend. Lightly rub until numbers appear!

SERVICE  NUMBERS:
These are a bit tougher, as they lead you to 3-12 states the  Vets were from. The following list shows RA (Regular Army 3-Year  vets) and US (2-Year Inductees)
RA-11
US-51
CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT
RA-12
US-51
DE, NJ, NY
RA-13
US-52
MD, PA, VA
RA-14
US-53
AL, FL, GA, MS, TN, NC, SC
RA-15
US-52
IN, OH, WV, KY
RA-16
US-55
IL, MI, WI
RA-17
US-55
CO, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WY
RA-18
US-54
AR, LA, MS, NM, OK, TX
RA-19
US-56
MT, CA, ID, NV, OR, WA
RA-67/68
 
Draftee Reenlisted on active duty ?
RA-101
 
HI
RA-102
US-501
Panama
RA-104
US-501
PR
 
US-502
AK

OFFICERS: Officers  are usually not listed on morning rosters, and are the hardest to  find. I find most via orders men send in. Officers are more prone  to NOT be in the states born in, enlisted and drafted men who  have more of the blue-collar type jobs, I’ve found IN or  near their original states.

PRO-CD PHONE  BOOKS:  At the cost of about $130.00 per year with limited  print-outs, the store-bought computer program is useful in the  fact that it gives you the closest 100 matches to what you enter  into the search. In addition, you can look up the neighbor next  door with a click, use map search, and do reverse address  searches that I’ve found very handy. Included is a business  search, and street atlas. I’ve found Vets by calling the  people next door!

COPIES OF  ORDERS:  Ask your association members to look for orders they  brought back from overseas, some have. They list up to, and  sometimes over, 100 vets.

ASK FOR HELP:  Other than having a web site that can be surfed to, searching can  be very time consuming. Cold-calling on weekends and off-business  hours can easily run in excess of $50.00 per month.

COLD-CALLING:  Prepare a short introduction to introduce yourself…with all  the telemarketer’s calling these days, you’ll soon  notice a bit of an attitude from some. However, if you can get  all the important info into your first or second sentence, you  won’t get a hang-up. KISS: Keep it Simple Stupid!..

Hello, is this the  John Doe residence? They always reply cautiously,.. I’m  looking for a John D. Doe that served with the (Unit) in the  Vietnam War….they will reply.

About 99.9% of the  vets I find are happy to be found…we are in fact, a unique  brotherhood.

Make a phone data  sheet, keep it near the phone. Fill it out as you speak to the  newly found member. Get all contact info, ask for names of  others, old orders, etc. I always ask for nick-names used, and a  name of a close buddy I could find for them.

BOOKS:  The  best book I’ve found about searching for military veterans  is available through Amazon.com for about $20.00. "How To  Locate Anyone Who Is Or Has been In The Military" by the late LTC  Richard S. Johnson of San Antonio.  Order book from http://www.amazon.com

POSTAL TIP: Always  write: "1st Class Mail, Change Service Requested" next  to the address on the front of envelopes to veterans. This will  improve your chances of receiving an address correction if they  have moved recently.