Researching a Soldier

[army pilot_1967]

Back in the 70s, I was stationed with the 1/17 Air Cav at Ft Bragg, NC. As I got to know my fellow pilots I would ask if they had any patches from Vietnam that might be willing to give me. I received a Blue Max patch from one of the cobra pilots in our troop. He told a bunch of "war stories" and most of us didn't pay a lot of attention to what he said, however we realized he was highly decorated from his tour in Vietnam. Matter of fact I visited him in his quarters on Ft Bragg and was impressed at the various award citations on his "I Love Me" wall in the living room. He was quite a pilot and a helluva warrior, no doubt about that...no doubt at all. Now after all these years I'm interested in learning more about his awards and decorations. Obviously I know his name, but I've searched my orders from that time period to see if he was on any of the same orders with his SSN, but no luck there. Any suggestions on how I can research him if I only have his name? Thanks for any assistance you might offer.

[BigJohn#3RD]

I have had some luck researching a Vietnam War KIA DSC Recipient on ancestry.com: http://landing.ancestry.com/military/us/default.aspx They have a award index for Vietnam though not complete is fairly good. They are currently advertising a 14 day free trail.

 

Another resource is Home of Hero's http://www.homeofheroes.com/members/ that is fairly complete for Silver Stars and DSC from Vietnam Conflict but due to the huge volume of awards from that conflict it is a very daunting task It gentleman who runs it does it buy donations and some sponsorships. If you are a donor I think he will be extra effort into doing the research you need.

 

LMK how your search goes.

 

Regards

John

[army pilot_1967]

Thanks for the info, John. I'll let you know if I have any luck.......Jess

[texcen]

One other possibility is to contact the Dept. Of Veteran Affairs near you to ask if they can help locate him. I would say possibly folks in Veterans Benefits Administration offices would be most helpful.

 

Good luck with your hunt.

 

TEXCEN

 

Emil

[army pilot_1967]

I contacted a person in an Aerial Rocket Artillery Association and asked if he was a member of their association. I received a reply from an individual that thought the soldier in question had been killed in a Cobra accident. Word amongst those of us that knew him back in the mid-to-late-70s was he left the Army and became a cross country trucker. So guess I'll try to see if the VA can offer anything.

 

I checked one of the websites that John suggested and it appears the soldier wasn't awarded either a DFC or a Silver Star. I thought that he had a SS, but guess not. I'm trying to sort through the other website to see if there's anything on him there.

[Bob Hudson]

I contacted a person in an Aerial Rocket Artillery Association and asked if he was a member of their association. I received a reply from an individual that thought the soldier in question had been killed in a Cobra accident. Word amongst those of us that knew him back in the mid-to-late-70s was he left the Army and became a cross country trucker. So guess I'll try to see if the VA can offer anything.

 

I checked one of the websites that John suggested and it appears the soldier wasn't awarded either a DFC or a Silver Star. I thought that he had a SS, but guess not. I'm trying to sort through the other website to see if there's anything on him there.

 

 

Send his name to me in a PM and I'll see if he shows up in any of the paid databases the forum subscribes to.

[army pilot_1967]

Send his name to me in a PM and I'll see if he shows up in any of the paid databases the forum subscribes to.

 

Thanks for your assistance. The name of the soldier is Billy J. Causey, and I believe that "Billy" is his given name. He was in the Army during 1970-1975 because we were stationed at Ft Bragg in the mid-70s. He was a captain at the time and was in the Armor Branch. My wife even did a search on Face Book, but nothing on Billy showed up.

 

Thanks again,

Jess

[saarf]

Try www.zabasearch.com. There are several individuals by that name listed, and year of birth is listed for several.

[army pilot_1967]

Whoa, I didn't think that was such a common name, but there sure are a lot of 'em. I appreciate the help. I'll go back through my orders from the time we were at Bragg and see if I can't find his SSN. I want to put his Blue Max patch in a frame with the print "The Defense of An Loc" and wanted some personal info on Billy that I could put on the dust cover on the back of the print once it is framed. Thanks again to everyone...you all have been very helpful.

[minesweeper]

If you never found it, Billy Causey is a Cobra legend in my mind, I can give you more info if you still need it