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St. Louis Mini-Reunion 7-8 June 2001 |
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National Archives and Record Center - St. Louis, MO |
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In late April 2001, members of the "USARSUPTHAI" website decided to request a visit to the National Archives Record Center (NARC) in St. Louis, MO. The reason for the request was to search the Morning Reports and Unit Personnel Rosters for information on US Army units assigned to or commanded from Korat, Thailand. After numerous telephone calls, the request was formally transmitted to NARC and FOIPA (Freedom Of Information) activities on 11 May 2001. The group received approval to conduct the search on 23 May 2001. |
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On 7-8 June 2001, Jack Cook and John Strain crossed paths once again at the entrance gate of the NARC. This was the first time that these two gentlemen had seen each other's face in over twenty years. |
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I guess that you know the story about the "best laid plans of mice and men". We had agreed to meet at the front gate. We found out that you couldn't park at the front gate. It was like a small race track and everyone wanted your lane. But John was early, so he stood there with the Gate Guard waiting for Jack. We then went to the back of the building complex and parked. When we walked inside, we were abruptly stopped by the Security Guard. No Pass - No entrance. We called for my contact he wasn't available as yet. We went to McDonald's for a snack. We returned about 8:30 a.m., made contact and was taken inside a door to our right. Could have went in there before and waited, it was a room open to the public. The entrance and that room is a far as you can get without an escort. We were then allowed entry into the Data Research Room. |
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Microfiche reader/printers and tables filled this room. The labeled door is a coed restroom. This was really and exciting place to be. The machines are run down and hard to read. But John and I worked hard, squinted our eyes and even reached out for the handy magnifying glass that I brought. |
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John and I tried to figure out what we had been provided for search materials. The tapes were coded by the Unit UIC designator, and we didn't have any, and filed by the years. Each tape normally held about a year's worth of Morning Reports and a Roster for each of about twelve different units. And the units had no order, by type, number or activity. We had a whole box full of tapes and couldn't recognize but a few isolated units. We had our hands full and tied behind our backs. |
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Return to "Jack's Corner" |
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Go on to next page |
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