When I mailed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Department of Veterans Affairs in December 2024, I knew I might be waiting awhile. Like many genealogists, I had visions of a thick packet of records arriving in the mail — perhaps pension paperwork, correspondence, medical records, or details about my grandfather’s World War I service.
Nine months later, the response finally arrived.
The information provided about my grandfather, Leon Crawford, was surprisingly sparse — just the date of his marraige.
My original submission provided my grandfather’s date of birth and death along with his enlistment and discharge dates and identifying number.
Unfortunately, this lack of detail was not entirely unexpected. Since Leon served during World War I, any surviving military personnel records would likely have been stored at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis in 1973 when the devastating fire destroyed approximately 80 percent of Army personnel records for soldiers discharged between 1912 and 1960.
As genealogists, we often encounter these frustrating gaps. Records we hope exist may have been lost decades before we even began our research.
Thankfully, not all of Leon Crawford’s military history disappeared.
My grandmother carefully preserved two original documents: Leon’s enlistment record and his honorable discharge papers. Those family-held records contain far more personal detail than the modern FOIA response.
The enlistment record reveals details that bring Leon to life as a young man entering military service in 1917. It tells us he enlisted at Dodge City, Kansas, and that before entering the Army he worked as a switchman. It notes that he had no prior military service, was single at the time of enlistment, and was appointed a wagoner. The record even documents his military engagements, including service connected to the outer defenses of Paris, the Battle of the Marne, and St. Mihiel.
ENLISTMENT RECORD
Name: Leon Crawford
Grade: WagonerEnlisted, or Inducted: April 26, 1917, at Dodge City, Kans.
Serving in: First enlistment period at date of discharge.
Prior service: None
Noncommissioned officer: Aptd Wagoner Mar. 1, 1917
Marksmanship, gunner qualification or rating: † None 2nd Class Gunner
Horsemanship: Not Mounted
Battles, engagements, skirmishes, expeditions:
Pontoise outer def. of Paris
Mar 31, 1918
St. Mihiel 2nd
Battle of the Marne and
outer def. of Paris from June
28 to Nov 5, 1918.This soldier entitled to wear: Two gold War Service Chevrons
Knowledge of any vocation: Switchman
Wounds received in service: None
Physical condition when discharged: Good
Typhoid prophylaxis completed: May 21, 1917
Paratyphoid prophylaxis completed: May 21, 1917
Married or single: Single
Character: Excellent
Remarks: No A.W.O.L. or absence from duty under G.O. 45/14 or 31/12
Entitled to travel pay to: Dodge City, Kansas
Served in: 25th A.A. Battery / 1st A.A. Sector G. Stewart, Va.
Signature of soldier: Leon R. Crawford
Laurie B. Alley
2nd Lt. Inf. U.S.A.TRANSPORTATION ISSUED to Hutchinson Ks.
(Stamped text)
OFFICE OF THE CAMP SUPPLY OFFICER
CAMP FUNSTON, KANSASMAR 28 1919
PAID IN FULL $1091
L. P. WORRALL
CAPT. Q.M.C. U.S.A.ENLISTMENT RECORD
Name: Leon Crawford
Grade: WagonerEnlisted, or Inducted: April 26, 1917, at Dodge City, Kans.
Serving in: First enlistment period at date of discharge.
Prior service: None
Noncommissioned officer: Aptd Wagoner Mar. 1, 1917
Marksmanship, gunner qualification or rating: † None 2nd Class Gunner
Horsemanship: Not Mounted
Battles, engagements, skirmishes, expeditions:
Pontoise outer def. of Paris
Mar 31, 1918
St. Mihiel 2nd
Battle of the Marne and
outer def. of Paris from June
28 to Nov 5, 1918.This soldier entitled to wear: Two gold War Service Chevrons
Knowledge of any vocation: Switchman
Wounds received in service: None
Physical condition when discharged: Good
Typhoid prophylaxis completed: May 21, 1917
Paratyphoid prophylaxis completed: May 21, 1917
Married or single: Single
Character: Excellent
Remarks: No A.W.O.L. or absence from duty under G.O. 45/14 or 31/12
Entitled to travel pay to: Dodge City, Kansas
Served in: 25th A.A. Battery / 1st A.A. Sector G. Stewart, Va.
Signature of soldier: Leon R. Crawford
Laurie B. Alley
2nd Lt. Inf. U.S.A.TRANSPORTATION ISSUED to Hutchinson Ks.
(Stamped text)
OFFICE OF THE CAMP SUPPLY OFFICER
CAMP FUNSTON, KANSASMAR 28 1919
PAID IN FULL $1091
L. P. WORRALL
CAPT. Q.M.C. U.S.A.
The honorable discharge adds even more personal description. Leon was recorded as having blue eyes, light brown hair, a ruddy complexion, and standing five feet, nine and one-quarter inches tall. These are the kinds of details that transform an ancestor from a name on paper into a real person.
Honorable Discharge from the United States Army
DIRECTOR OF COMPENSATION
CLAIM PAID SEP 4 1923
AMOUNT PAID $702
KANSAS VETERANS COMPENSATION BOARDVETERANS COMPENSATION APPLIED FOR
CLAIM NUMBER 22007TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
This is to Certify, That Leon Crawford
† 15-3713 Wagoner
THE UNITED STATES ARMY, as a Testimonial of Honest and Faithful Service, is hereby Honorably Discharged from the military service of the United States by reason of † S.O. 64 W.C.D. Washington D.C. Nov. 15, 1918
Said Leon Crawford was born in Newton in the State of Kansas.
When enlisted he was 21 1/2 years of age and by occupation a Switchman.
He had blue eyes, lt brown hair, ruddy complexion, and was five feet 9 1/4 inches in height.
Given under my hand at Camp Funston, Kansas this 27th day of March, one thousand nine hundred and nineteen.
Sam C. Williams
CaptainCommanding.
B. F. Martin
This experience was a reminder that sometimes the most valuable records are not found in archives or government files, but in the papers saved by parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. A folded document tucked into a drawer for decades may preserve information lost everywhere else.
The FOIA response may have been disappointing in size, but it also highlighted something important: family archives matter. The papers my grandmother saved preserved pieces of Leon Crawford’s story that otherwise might have vanished forever.
I was very lucky when I requested my grandfather’s military records. Before they would process the request, they required I get all his surviving direct dependents (which was my dad and uncles) sign-off on the release. The packet was 1.5″ thick. My father and uncles were dumbfounded when they reviewed the many records which included records indicating he was married before he married their mom.
I was able to get my father’s official military personnel file from The National Personnel Records Center (St. Louis) since he served in the U.S. Navy during WW2. THose records were not burned in the 1973 fire. However, I have not tried to get my grandfather’s records since US Army records were impacted by the fire. Some US Army records have been recovered, but only a small percentage. The FOIA request was supposed to obtain information from other sources.
I have modified the post to show the form I submitted and the information I got back.
Best of luck
Still waiting for my Dad’s file, which I requested via FOIA in mid-Dec 2024. The VA sent me virtually nothing in its response and then, following Reclaim the Record’s advice, I appealed to receive the full file and proved that I was Dad’s daughter. Crickets. My local member of the House of Representatives has kindly been following up and trying to get movement, but so far, just stalling from the VA and its legal folks. Aaaaargh.
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