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posted 4/30/2015 2:48:38 PM 
Hello, I am reaching out to see if anyone may have any further info, pictures, etc. regarding my great uncles service with 12th AD. His name was Victor Grahek (Army Serial # is 35517217) from Cleveland, Ohio. He was assigned to the 66th, but I am not sure which company. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1962 and not much is known in the family of his time overseas. Ive done some research over the years and have combed through the unit historical documents on the 12th AD page, searched through the Hellcat News and old 12AD yearbooks, and conducted a few online searches but to no avail. Whatever help or leads you may be able to provide would be greatly appreciated!
Sincerely, Chris Grahek, LTC (RET), US Army
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posted 5/1/2015 3:47:54 PM
Sounds like you've done your homework in trying all the avenues of research, Mr. Grahek. One more thing you could try is to contact the unit rep. of the 66th AIB. He can have your inquiries published in the Hellcat News. Then hopefully you will hear from someone who remembers your relative. It's a long shot, but it's worth a try. The unit rep. is: George R. O'Bryan, 1016 Monroe, Red Bud, IL. 62278. Email: geoo@htc.net
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posted 5/3/2015 10:04:48 AM
Thank you for your reply. I actually got in touch with George back in the summer of 2007. That unfortunately did not generate anything. I will likely try again to see if a new query generates a response from a descendent .
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MikeWoldenberg
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Member # 16
Posts: 1055
From: University at Buffalo (NY)
Registered: 6/1/2004
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posted 5/4/2015 5:20:08 AM   
Chris, When I searched the Hellcat News,
two hits for the name showed up. One was a
woman who was a wife or daughter of a member of a field artillery battalion. But the
only Grahek in the 17,000 Men Roster was
Victor. This is a remaining puzzle.
When I looked for hits in the Hellcat News,
somehow the computer picked up the volume IV
of a scrapbook compiled in training. There were two typed rosters. It was extremely difficult to read these pages because they were not give enough "bits" when photographed. HOWEVER, I believe the first
mention of the name indicates that in training he was part of Service Company. The 66th is assumed by me.
Mike Woldenberg
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MikeWoldenberg
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Member # 16
Posts: 1055
From: University at Buffalo (NY)
Registered: 6/1/2004
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posted 5/4/2015 5:52:26 AM
Chris, You may be able to find newspaper obituaries. These often cost a few dollars and I will leave that part of the research to you. Try, for instance:
http://www.archives.com/search/obituary
I would try obituaries for Cleveland. There are many Graheks living in the iron range of
Minnesota: Ely, Gilbert, etc.
Please contact me directly if you find his obituary.
If I have the right man, he apparently was born in 1909 and was divorced.
Mike
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posted 5/4/2015 6:47:49 AM
Mike, Thanks much and I am using the e-mail link on this thread to send you a more detailed reply. v/r, Chris
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posted 5/4/2015 3:19:34 PM
Mike, I found those listings in Scrapbook 4 on the Portal to Texas History's page. In both it was for awards (Good Conduct 2nd award and a Vehicle Driver's Badge), and it was Service Company, but in 44th Tank Bn. Interesting.... If you're interested or need for future research purposes they have 6 volumes there. You can zoom in on a full page for a much better view. v/r, Chris
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MikeWoldenberg
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Posts: 1055
From: University at Buffalo (NY)
Registered: 6/1/2004
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posted 5/5/2015 6:53:20 AM
Chris, Please tell me how to access the
scrapbooks in a format that I can read on the computer. This is a brand new resource for
researchers.
As you may know, the 44th Tank Battalion fought in the Pacific theater, and did a terrific job, especially in the Phillipines.
He was reassigned, at some point, evidently.
Look on the left side: 2713 Division Photos.
Many of these were taken during training.
The names of the men were often left out. You might want to surf through those pictures (by unit--66th and 44th) and see if you can find Victor.
Mike
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posted 5/6/2015 9:49:15 AM
Mike,
I stumbled on this link to the Portal of Texas History after a 12th Armored Google search:
http://texashistory.unt.edu/search/?fq=str_title_serial:War%20Record%20Books
If the link doesn't work just Google the Portal and you can input a 12th AD search from their site.
There were seven matches in their archives, six of which are scrapbooks. You can click on any scrapbooks and it will take you to a new screen giving you a by-page view. Each scrapbook has been fully uploaded and is searchable. The images are very high quality and you can also view using the full screen option which allows further magnification. You can print and export the images.
Regarding Vic, I did a quick search for his name and found two hits. I was able to go to the specific pages in scrapbook #4. Based on the two awards orders and the 44th's timeline I'm going to assume he was reassigned just before they were alerted for movement. If his records are available from the National Archives I hope to piece together the missing elements to build a full picture of his service.
Thanks again for your help and I hope the link aids in your research.
v/r, Chris
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harry dhans
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Posts: 317
From: Abilene,TX
Registered: 5/24/2012
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posted 5/7/2015 12:30:41 PM
do you know where he is buried at? I haven't been able to find it.
Have a copy of his enlistment record.
If he was in 66th as rosters say and didn't have enough points to be sent home, he may have been sent to the 44th.
It takes time but a near relative can obtain his record from NARA.gov
Harry, archivist, 12th AD Museum.
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posted 5/7/2015 2:35:33 PM
Hello Harry,
My great uncle enlisted in October 1942 and I have a copy of the record. He is buried in Cleveland (Calvary Cemetery). I've forwarded a request to NARA for all records and hope they have some additional info that wasn't destroyed in the 1973 fire.
Been dialoguing offline with Mike and we've found records for him assigned to Service Company of the 44th. We're guessing he was transferred out right before they deployed. I'll assume it was to the 66th but have nothing other than his listing on the Division page to substantiate that at this point. We also speculate he didn't have enough points and was transferred to 7th Army at some point after the war ended as I know he didn't ship home right away.
If you find anything else in the records there please advise.
You can also reach me at christopher.j.grahek.civ@mail.mil.
Thanks for your response. v/r, Chris
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