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After poking around for a couple of hours on archives.gov I found that while the DD214's may be cordoned off, enlistment records are not. I actually found my grandfather's enlistment record for the Army Air Corps. The trouble is it's not any kind of official document or microfiche record, but just an entry in a goverment database. On the plus side, I suppose I could just email the link to NFCU.
Do you guys think that's enough, or should I initiate a DD214 archive request?
(Moved post to new thread for more visibility.)
@8bitmachinegun, if it were me I would give them a quick call back and tell them exactly what you had, and if they give you the green-light you can still move forward with requesting an official DD 214 "just in case."
FWIW, it's been ages since we've heard of them giving anybody a hard time over membership, and those cases were almost exclusively people who joined as a 'household member' of someone who was already a member, which is completely valid but tends to draw more scrutiny.
I was accepted as a member of NFCU on just my word that my dad was in the Army. (My grandfather was too.) I proudly reminisced a little about my dad's service and that was it. I was in!
I haven't yet sent away for my dad's paperwork but I'm not really worried about it. From what I've heard they rarely ask. And I'm confident I can provide proof.
When was your grandfather in the Army? I think before 1950 it's all in the public record.
My grandfather served in the Army Air Corps from 1942 - 1945 (or '46.) He trained as a reconnaisance pilot cadet (his color blindness recommended him for this role), but had sinus problems at high altitude and was grounded. He served out the rest of the war as a reporter (his civilian job.) I'm not sure if it was just for the base newspaper, or something more glamorous like the Stars and Stripes. I know he served in Texas, so I'm thinking it was Brooks Field. Nothing extraordinary, I'm afraid. His career as a civilian journalist was more impressive; he covered the Apollo 11 launch from the press stand at the launch pad.
I've been looking at archives.org and it seems like the information is obtainable, but the weeks long delay is frustrating in this age of instant gratification.
@8bitmachinegun wrote:I've been looking at archives.org and it seems like the information is obtainable, but the weeks long delay is frustrating in this age of instant gratification.
You don't have to wait. I called up Navy and said, "is it true that I can qualify through my dad?" (and then probably needlessly rambled on about his service.) The guy I talked to assured me that I would qualify and took my info and I was in! This was a little over three months ago.
If the person you talk to says you HAVE to have your grandfather's info before joining, fine. Get the info. But don't assume that they won't let you in before you get it. And you don't have to bring it up at all! I didn't ask anything more about qualifying after the NFCU rep said I was in.
You and I both know that the information is obtainable. If they ever need it from us, we can get it. In fact, we can set the wheels in motion now via the .gov site. But it may not be necessary for you to wait to join. I wouldn't worry about it. Just call them up and tell them about your grandfather and see what they say.
I'm going to echo what everyone else said -
Call them up and chat with them, tell them how you're eligible, and they should let you in.
I come from a military family (father, both grandfathers, great grands, uncles, cousins, brother), and told them to pick who they wanted, and they let me in, they did request copies of my ID, but nothing as far as military.
Genealogy is a hobby of mine, so I already have a ton of records, including one of my grandfathers' DD-214s, but they've never asked.
As an aside, a ton of records were destroyed in a big fire in 1971 at the OMP, making things complicated for some people looking for older records, and one grandfather is all the DD-214 proof I have.
They seem to have their own ways of verifying military affiliation. I called used my grandfather for membership. Asked me branch and rank and approved me for membership and took my CC app on the same call. They really are very easy to work with.
So I've successfully joined NFCU, no muss, no fuss. I opened a checking and savings account, and I'm seriously considering making them my primary financial institution. The problem is the closest branch is ~100 miles away, and I occasionally need to make a cash deposit. From what I understand, I can use some partner ATMs to make a deposit, but I'm not sure how smooth that process is. Any comments?
As far as credit products go, I'm not sure what I should try for. I have a lot of hard pulls lately, both as a result of applying for CCs and auto loan shopping. My scores are fair to good depending on who you ask (see signature for details.) And I may be better served by getting a loan instead of a CC, since I'm looking to do extensive house repairs (>$10K in all likelihood.)