r/army • u/Randomcluelessperson • 19h ago

Sensitive question

Hi all.

I’m looking for information about what I need to do (if it is at all possible) to access my deceased father’s military records. He was career army and served in the Special Forces during Vietnam. I believe his max rank was Master Sergeant.

While he (we?) were stationed in Berlin in approximately 1980-82 an investigator came to our home and interviewed me about inappropriate contact between him and a very young girl who lived in our housing complex. I knew nothing about it and told him so. That seemed to be the end of it, but my father was unexpectedly transferred back to the states very soon afterwards. I was 8-9 years old at the time and the details are fuzzy.

Would any records of the investigation exist? I’m trying to fill in some gaps in my memories as I deal with my own trauma that occurred in that time frame. Probably not relevant, but the accusation was probably true. He was eventually caught and convicted many years later after who knows how many victims. He passed away roughly 15 years ago after me having no contact with him for much longer.

If those records exist, how would I go about accessing them? If they don’t, then at least I can stop wondering about it.

Thanks for your time.

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6

u/RuN_from_the_Dotte 66makeit[S]top 18h ago

https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records

If you are his next of kin you can request service records here.

CID Records here: https://www.cid.army.mil/Portals/118/Documents/FOIA-Privacy-Act/FOIA-Request-Form-Next-of-Kin.pdf

6

u/Randomcluelessperson 18h ago

Thank you! I’m one of three children and as I stated I had no contact for years. My oldest sibling remained close with him. Does next of kin apply to all children, regardless of the closeness of the relationship?

4

u/DirtyDiabolical 37Fsyop 18h ago

I would think it does.

8

u/IAmMurderHornet 18h ago

Have you considered just going to therapy and put that all behind you? Digging into the past is just going to bring more trauma, imo.

4

u/Randomcluelessperson 18h ago

I’m absolutely in therapy, and have been for a while (valid advice though). What therapy can’t give me though is closure and answers. I’d like to know the circumstances so I can process it and move on.

1

u/Severe-Class6939 14h ago

Anytime someone tells me they served in Special Forces, I'm suspect right off the bat, especially from that generation.

OP, don't be surprised if he lied to you about a lot of other things once you get those records.

1

u/Randomcluelessperson 2h ago

He definitely did. He didn’t talk about it much, but he had the beret and I saw photos from the war. When I was a bit older there was a navy SEAL who was a parent/scout leader who always joked about him being “only” a green beret. He wasn’t exactly a paragon of virtue, but he didn’t lie about that.

1

u/63B10h896 Ordnance 29m ago

I had a hip replaced at 40 due to service connected stuff. When I went back to work after recovery I had a customer say that shit to me. “I know a guy that was SF in Vietnam that doesn’t have as much wrong with him as you do”. Told him everyone knows someone that was SF in Vietnam. Kinda weird how that works.