August 22, 1995 Honorable Robert Dornan Dear Congressman Dornan, I would like to start this request with a thank you for your years of support for the United States Military. I served my country just short of twenty-three years and appreciate your efforts on behalf of the military. The request that I make is not for me but for the family of one who lost his life more than fifty years ago in the service of his country. William Chinn was a bombardier aboard a B-26 aircraft that crashed near my home in the San Bernardino Mountains. He was a graduate of the Norden Bombsight School at Lowery Field, Colorado. When he was killed, it was thirty days before all graduates of that school were commissioned as 2nd Lieutenants in the Army Air Corps. His military records were destroyed in the St. Louis records fire, but I believe I can get a copy of his service number. The Air Force Safety Office in New Mexico should also be able to provide your office with this information. About three years ago I began a personal search and investigated a crash site near my home. The harder I looked for information the harder it became. As a result of this search I commissioned a plaque to be placed near the crash site of this downed aircraft. It would be a great honor to modify this plaque to indicate a commission for Pfc. Chinn. This commission due to the passing of time would be of little or no cost to the United States Air Force. The family would be thrilled and I myself would hope that this can happen and soon. At the dedication of the plaque, Pfc. Chinn's brother Albert flew to California. It was his first visit to where his younger brother had died. He was also able to meet the families of other crew members. Mr. Dornan, please, if there is anything you can do to make this happen, please help. Your efforts would be appreciated by all who know and care. I have enclosed for your information all the details and a copy of the investigation. Your efforts are appreciated. -- David G. Schmidt |
Congress of the United
States Robert K. Dornan Thank you for your recent letter concerning PFC William Chinn. Several others have written to me regarding this matter. I have initiated a congressional inquiry with the Department of Defense and I will be in touch with you just as soon as I have information to relay. In the meantime, if you have any questions or additional information, please contact my assistant, Mr. Gregg Smith, at my district office. I know how important this matter is to the Chinn family and I am hopeful that my office can be of assistance. Best regards, Robert Dornan |
Congress of the United
States Robert K. Dornan Mrs. Marie Schmidt Dear Mrs Schmidt: Enclosed is a response from the Department of Defense concerning the inquiry I made on behalf of PFC William Chinn. I hope this information is useful to you. Please feel free to contact me should you have further questions. I appreciate being given the opportunity to serve you. Sincerely, Robert Dornan |
The enclosure consisted of a cover letter and
DD Form 149,
"Application For Correction of Military Record"
| National Personnel Records Center 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri 63132-5100 Nov. 24, 1995 Honorable Robert K. Dornan Dear Mr. Dornan: This is in response to your inquiry of August 24, 1995, on behalf of David G. Schmidt, which was referred to us by the Office of the Legislative Liaison, Department of the Army, and received in this Center on October 16, 1995. Mr. Schmidt is requesting a change in the rank of William Chinn, a former member of the Army Air Corps who was killed prior to receiving a commission. The Privacy Act of 1974 prohibits this Center from amending military records as Mr. Schmidt has requested. The armed service which created the record is the legal custodian and must consider his request for an amendment to the record. Please have Mr. Schmidt complete the attached application, (DD Form 149, Application for Correction of Military Record) and send it to the appropriate address. The instructions are on the reverse side of the application form. We hope this information will be helpful to your constituent. Sincerely, David Petree |
| November 30, 1995 Robert K. Dornan Dear Congressman Dornan, I received the following form from your office on November 30, 1995, with the letter from the National Personnel Records Center. Sir, to be quite frank and honest, this is not what I expected or had hoped for. When I wrote to you it was in August with a request for a posthumous commission for Pfc. William Chinn, who died in an aircraft mishap on December 30, 1941. I gave your office all the information I had and the supporting documentation. Pfc. Chinn was the Bombardier aboard U.S. Army Aircraft 40-1475 when he died. All bombardiers were commissioned in January 1942, this was just 30 days after his untimely death. I shared with you the work I had done researching this information and also that a memorial had been placed on Keller Peak at the crashsite near my home as a tribute to this crew who died in the early days of WWII. Perhaps there has been a misunderstanding as to what I was requesting. What is the procedure to get a posthumous commission for U.S. Army Air Corps personnel? The National Records Center sent you a form which you sent to my mother. They are stating that the form should be sent to the appropriate office and as far as I can tell, they are the office???? Mr. Dornan, how tough can it be to do this? Please review your file in this matter and perhaps you can advise me on a better method to accomplish my goal. I was hoping that by Christmas 1995, I could add to the memorial that "Thanks to the efforts of Congressman Robert K. Dornan and friends who cared, Pfc William (Billy) Chinn was commissioned to 2nd Lt. posthumously, December 1995." I stated in my letter to you that family members of the crew and William's brother and sister are all quite elderly and I sure would like this to happen while they are alive to see it. Sincerely, David G. Schmidt |
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