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BOOTCAMP PLATOON NUMBERS/ROSTERS
Two of my most frequent reference requests have to do with boot
camp platoon numbers and platoon rosters. A client either wants
to know the platoon number to request a copy of a particular
platoon photo or recruit graduation book or they would like the
number and roster so they can contact members of a particular
platoon. In this day when so much information is readily available,
it is simply unfathomable to these clients that rosters of all
the boot camp platoons have not been maintained in some format
which is both available and easily accessible to the general
public. Starting in the mid 1990s, MCRDSD's paper, CheVron began
publishing the rosters of graduating platoons. However, prior
to that time, only a handful of rosters have survived. These
appear as follows:
SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE (The exact time span is unknown, but I know that they were being printed up to December 7, 1941.) This newspaper is stored in the Newspaper Room of the San Diego Central Library. You may call 619-236-5816 or contact them at www.sandiego.gov/public-library.
Graduation books (1953+). Our collection is scant until the mid 1980s. Until 1960, these books are not dated.
If you don't remember or are ordering for a friend or family member, you can request military records at:
REQUEST MILITARY RECORDS
Not all military records, however, will include boot camp platoon numbers.
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Additional Options
LEATHERNECK provides two free, space-available sections in which
you can place an ad, "Mail Call" and "Reader Assistance." Send
your requests via e-mail to
leatherneck@mca-marines.org or write to:
Mail Call Editor
P.O. Box 1775
Quantico, VA 22134
MARINE CORPS TIMES, a publication of MILITARY TIMES, offers the same type of column. Contact them on line at militaryonline@militrytimes.com or call them at 703-750-8636.
Boot camp platoon numbers are not
normally included in a Marine's Service Record book. Occasionally,
the battalion number (1950s+) or the graduation date appears,
and there have been cases where the platoon number was noted
in the recruit's medical records, (if they received medical treatment
while in boot camp) and on chits for blood donations and purchase
of war or savings bonds. You can contact the National Personnel
Records Center in St. Louis, MO and in your request for the Marine's
Service records, note that you are particularly looking to find
the platoon number and the graduation date. If you are not the
Marine's next of kin, be sure to mention the Freedom of Information
Act in your request. If you obtain a graduation date, and we
have the corresponding graduation book in our collection, we
can check it for the name of your Marine. We can also provide
a photocopy of the insert for that platoon.
Ruth Lorona , Command Museum
619-524-4426
ruth@mcrdmhs.org
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