Finding Old Military Buddies
Posted on May 19, 2008
Filed Under Finding People |
War is hell. With bullets whizzing by, mortars exploding around you, and family a distant memory, all you have is your fellow soldiers. They’re your family, and sticking with them is the only way to survive and keep from going crazy. But what about after your service? Keeping in touch with old military buddies can be tough, but it’s important to do so. After all, those guys saw you through the stickiest of situations and the toughest of times. Bonds formed in war can be the strongest you’ll ever experience, so don’t let those slip away.
Sadly, thousands of former military personnel are homeless and destitute, wandering the streets in a drunken or drug-addled daze. You might run into some of them, but you’d probably never recognize them for the guys that had your back out on the battlefield. Give a few bucks to these guys — you just might be repaying them for saving your ass twenty years ago. Finding your old friends from the service shouldn’t be too hard, though, because chances are most of your old pals are living lives just like you with wives, children, and regular jobs, sitting around wondering whatever happened to Sgt. Booker or old Sammy. Nostalgia affects us all, but don’t wait around for them to find you!
Your first instinct will be to head to the garage and rummage through all your old stuff. Photo albums, letters you wrote while away, souveniers you picked up abroad — all these will trigger your memories and hopefully give you some sort of lead to follow. But how many of you took down the contact info of your entire platoon? Not very many, I’d wager. And even if you did, that info could have (and probably has) changed. Plus, military guys give each other a lot of nicknames… I highly doubt “Bo-Bo” will be listed in the local white pages!
If you can’t remember any names, visit the local military recruiting office. They’ll be able to put you in contact with your particular branch of the military. The military keeps extensive records of all its past servicemen, so just provide your name and tour of duty, and they should be able to give you some names. Chances are you won’t get any contact info from the branch, but they’ll give you a good starting point. In fact, a few names are all you need to begin finding old military buddies.
Once you have the names, there are a number of online search engines that allow you to access military records and look for old friends. Army Locator is a popular one that has access to over 20 million military records for its searches, but it isn’t just limited to Army searches; you can use it to look up Coast Guard, Marine, Navy, and Air Force records as well. If you can’t find them there, try a people search engine such as Public Records Now. If used correctly, it can be your link to reestablishing those bonds forged in wartime.
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