USMC or any ex or curfent military...

[Collier11]

...I was just thinking for some reason and I had a question about my dad that maybe you guys can answer.

Apparently when he was younger he just went AWOL from the Marines not long after him and my mother got together but nothing was ever done to him, he was honorably discharged and no charges were brought against him. I never really thought about it but around the age of 13 he started kind of going crazy and acting extremely bi-polar and paranoid (once threatened to shoot his brother cus he didnt shoot a Doe out of season crazy)until my parents got divorced because of it and I havent seen or heard from him since which is fine by me.

My questions to you military guys is this, how do you go AWOL from the Marines and get a honorary discharge several months later, never get arrested, and never get charged? Did he possibly witness something he shouldnt have? Ive always wondered but never really asked anyone til now so I thought id see what you all thought?

[Curly Bill]

AWOL and then get an honorary discharge? Doesn't sound right to me, but sounds like this was some time ago, and who the heck knows what might haven happened or what he might have seen. Under normal circumstances though you don't go AWOL for several months and then get an honorary discharge.

[C&CDean]

I think that your dad has been telling you stories.

[Collier11]

I think that your dad has been telling you stories.

I dont talk to him, this wasnt from him it was from his brother who he threatened to kill. His brother is a honest guy and was just as confused as I was, who the hell knows?

[OUbones]

If you're really interested it shouldn't be to hard to really find out.

[C&CDean]

I'm fairly certain that he didn't go AWOL and get an "honorable" discharge.

He could have gotten a "general discharge under honorable conditions" if he somehow proved that he needed to go AWOL for family needs, etc. I know a couple of people who got these, but they returned to the military for a period of time before the discharge.

[Collier11]

That may have been what he got but I know for a fact it wasnt for family reasons that he went AWOL, thats why it is weird that he didnt get in any trouble

[fadada1]

going AWOL or UA (unauthorized absence) usually will get you a Big Chicken Dinner (Bad Conduct Dischnarge). Often preceded by some brig time, extra duty, and loss of paygrade. go AWOL during a war and it might get you shot.

[Frozen Sooner]

What's it say on his DD-14 (I think that's the form.)

[olevetonahill]

Its DD-214
I doubt the Son has it , You might be able to contact the USMC, And get copies of his records, But If you think He saw or did something that they are covering up . Guess what ? it will be covered up .

[Frozen Sooner]

Dang. Well, heck, I was close.

Dang thing was a PITA to get when my grandfather died-we didn't have a copy of it and some Navy record-keeping facility in KC (I think) had burned down with the government copy of it-we got to bury him in the cemetery in Arlington, TX, but he didn't receive a full 21-gun salute due to our inability to provide the DD-214.

And yeah, I didn't think the details of why he got an honorable discharge after being AWOL would be on there, just confirmation that his discharge was, in fact, honorable.

[Collier11]

I dont talk to him anymore and never will again so that is doubtful that I will see any forms that he has.

So, is the only way he could have went AWOL and not got in any trouble if they were covering something up?

[AlbqSooner]

The military records facility that burned was in St. Louis. Close again Mike, but in the words of Monica Lewinsky, no cigar.

Have a friend who spent 4 years in the Navy. Really got screwed around several times. He spent 3 years in the Gulf of Tonkin on a carrier. When they returned from his final WestPac deployment, they docked at Oakland/Alameda on December 3. He was to be discharged on December 22. After getting the ship squared away, all but security personnel were given a 72 hour liberty. He packed a ditty bag, walked down the gangplank and took a cab to the airport. Arrived in Tulsa on December 4 and never looked back. A few of us told him he needed to go back. He refused. Few months later his DD-214 arrived in the mail. Honorable discharge. Something similar may be what happened with your dad.

[olevetonahill]

What ^ said .
It depends on the timing , You have to many varibles and not enough Info to go on .
If ya aint evar gonna see him again why do you care ?

[olevetonahill]

I aint trying to be a smartass I was just wondering .

[Collier11]

What ^ said .
It depends on the timing , You have to many varibles and not enough Info to go on .
If ya aint evar gonna see him again why do you care ?

I was just curious, not a big deal. I had spoken with my Uncle and mother about it before but not in a lot of depth. My uncle had the same questions that I had and my mom didnt know him then or barely knew him, not sure. I was wondering in more of a hypothetical "how could this happen and he get away with it" than in any way that could affect me

[soonerloyal]

I know I'm a nasty civilian, but I am using the info I'm sharing here to get a copy of my birth father's Army records. I haven't seen him since I was about one, so I don't know him at all. Hope we both find at least part of what we're looking for!

http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/standard-form-180.html

As to the fire and the records destroyed, here's the site info about that:
http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/fire-1973.html

Best of luck!

[Harry Beanbag]

Dang. Well, heck, I was close.

Dang thing was a PITA to get when my grandfather died-we didn't have a copy of it and some Navy record-keeping facility in KC (I think) had burned down with the government copy of it-we got to bury him in the cemetery in Arlington, TX, but he didn't receive a full 21-gun salute due to our inability to provide the DD-214.

And yeah, I didn't think the details of why he got an honorable discharge after being AWOL would be on there, just confirmation that his discharge was, in fact, honorable.


Are you talking about a veteran's cemetery in Arlington, TX? And why would he get a 21 gun salute, was he the President or something?

[OUDoc]

You mention that he started acting weird. Do you think they discharged him to get him out of their hair without doing a psych work-up on him? Kinda washed their hands of him, so to speak.

[Frozen Sooner]

Are you talking about a veteran's cemetery in Arlington, TX? And why would he get a 21 gun salute, was he the President or something?

Yes.

And I'm just repeating what grandma told me on the salute. :shrug:

He was a Naval officer for the beginning of the war and finished as OSS. He must have done something interesting.

[Harry Beanbag]

All veterans can receive a gun salute at their funeral, usually a 3 shot volley. The 21 gun variety is reserved for extremely high ranking officials though, like Presidents, chiefs of state of other nations, or royalty.

I was hoping you were talking about Arlington, TX and not Arlington, VA. I could be wrong, but I think the requirements to get into the Big One are fairly strict, meaning you would probably have to provide a DD-214 or something similar.

[Frozen Sooner]

Yeah, I thought I specified Arlington, TX in my original post specifically to avoid the confusion.

He did receive a 3 shot volley. I may be confused on what grandma said-it may be that she said he wasn't buried with full honors instead of a 21-gun. Never having served myself, I'll assume any error was mine.

[Harry Beanbag]

Yeah, I thought I specified Arlington, TX in my original post specifically to avoid the confusion.

The rest of your post confused me so I just had to double check on this point as well. :) ;)



He did receive a 3 shot volley. I may be confused on what grandma said-it may be that she said he wasn't buried with full honors instead of a 21-gun. Never having served myself, I'll assume any error was mine.

A lot of people confuse the standard 3 shot volley with a 21 gun salute if they don't know any better. In actuality, the 21 gun salute is usually used as a greeting, not a goodbye.