I wanted to find out a bit more about my grandfather, Von Joseph "Rusty" Roe. Here is what I did know about him. He was born 10 Oct 1924 in Cement, OK.
The next event in his life was when he married my grandma, Mary Ellen Hayes on 23 Apr 1947 in Reno, NV (they were still living in Stanislaus County, CA though). Then later in his life his other wife, Velma, showed up wanting him to support her daughter. According to family He married Velma before he knew grandma. She had a boyfriend who she took off with. Grandpa had known she was pregnant when she left, but never believed the child was his. He had never officially divorced her because he could never find her. So when she showed up in his life again he divorced her and then legally went back to Reno and remarried grandma on 23 April 1967. Grandma and Grandpa finally had their twin daughters almost 10 years after they were married, it took grandma a long time to get pregnant. Then a few years later one more baby girl.
They lived out the rest of their lived in Modesto, CA. Grandpa spent some time in a VA hospital somewhere in southern CA. He was dying of cancer. He finally lost that fight on 3 Mar 1976. Two weeks later I would celebrate my second birthday, so as you can imagine I have no memories of him other than the family stories. He was buried in Modesto, CA beside his father Frank.
I had sent off for his WWII records. I got a notice back yesterday that they couldn't find any records most likely because of the fire of 1973 that destroyed the WWII records. Now what do I do? They sent a questionnaire to gain more information in order to locate other records about him. But there is so much I can't fill in. It is asking a lot about whether he sought treatment at a VA hospital, where and when. So I guess my only hope is if I can get information from my aunt and they can find his medical records. But I'm also baffled as to why I can't find any record of him registering for WWII. We know he was a veteran and that he received treatment at a VA hospital, but why can't I find his registration?
If any of my genealogy pals have ideas and suggestions to help me find his military records, please help!